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Angiotensin II enhances the development of atherosclerotic lesion in which cellular proliferation and/or migration are critical steps. Although cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27, and Rho/Rho-kinase pathway have recently been implicated as factors regulating these events cooperatively, their role in vivo has not been fully elucidated. We evaluated the contribution of p27 and Rho-kinase to angiotensin II-induced vascular injury using p27-deficient mice. Two-week angiotensin II (1500 ng/kg per minute SC) infusion elicited similar degrees of elevation in systolic blood pressure in wild-type mice (159+/-5 mm Hg) and p27-deficient mice (157+/-5 mm Hg; P>0.05). Angiotensin II infusion to wild-type mice resulted in increases in the medial thickness of aorta, proliferating cell number, and monocyte/macrophage infiltration within the vasculature. In p27-deficient mice, however, these changes were more prominent than those in wild-type mice. Treatment of wild-type mice with fasudil, a selective Rho-kinase inhibitor, did not alter blood pressure but significantly upregulated p27 expression, decreased medial thickness of aorta, reduced proliferating cell number, and prevented monocyte/macrophage infiltration. These protective effects of fasudil were attenuated in p27-deficient mice. In conclusion, p27 constitutes an important modulator of angiotensin II-induced monocyte/macrophage infiltration and vascular remodeling, which is mediated in part by Rho-kinase stimulation. Inhibition of Rho-kinase activity improves angiotensin II-induced vascular injury through p27-dependent and p27-independent mechanisms.

We examined the role of free radicals in renal microvascular tone induced by various vasoactive stimuli. Isolated perfused rat hydronephrotic kidneys were used for direct visualization of renal microcirculation. The effect of tempol on angiotensin II-, norepinephrine-, KCl-, and pressure-induced afferent arteriolar constriction was evaluated. Under angiotensin II-induced constriction, tempol (3 mmol/L) caused 57 +/- 8% dilation of afferent arterioles. In contrast, tempol elicited only 38 +/- 8% and 26 +/- 9% dilation of norepinephrine- and KCl-induced constriction. Similarly, myogenic response induced by elevating renal arterial pressure from 80 to 180 mmHg was resistant to the vasodilator action of tempol (22 +/- 7% inhibition). Furthermore, tempol failed to reverse nitro-L-arginine methylester-induced afferent constriction, nor had vasodilator effect on the angiotensin II-induced constriction in the presence of nitro-L-arginine methylester. In contrast, nitroprusside elicited marked vasodilation of angiotensin II- (97 +/- 5% reversal) and norepinephrine-induced afferent constriction (89 +/- 6% reversal), but had less effect on KCl- (46 +/- 8% reversal) and pressure-induced constriction (26 +/- 9% reversal). These different actions were also observed when polyethylene-glycolated superoxide dismutase was used as an antioxidant. In conclusion, the role of free radicals in afferent arteriolar tone varies, depending on the underlying vasoconstrictor stimuli, with greater contribution of free radicals to angiotensin II-induced constriction. The heterogeneity in the responsiveness to free radical scavengers is attributed to both magnitude of free radicals produced and sensitivity of the underlying vasoconstrictors to nitric oxide.