Chronic l -Arginine Administration Attenuates Cardiac Hypertrophy in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

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Abstract
Nitric oxide inhibits proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells and contractility of cardiomyocytes in vitro. In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), evidence suggests intrinsic abnormalities of the l-arginine–nitric oxide axis, such as low cGMP-dependent protein kinase in the heart and abnormal l-arginine metabolism. To investigate the in vivo effect of l-arginine on cardiac hypertrophy, 30 SHR and 30 Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were randomly grouped to receive l-arginine (7.5 g/L in drinking water) or vehicle for 12 weeks. l-Arginine treatment did not affect body weight or arterial pressure in either strain. In vehicle-treated animals, the heart/body weight ratio was significantly higher in SHR than in WKY (P<.01). l-Arginine treatment decreased the heart/body weight ratio in SHR (P<.05) but did not affect it in WKY. Expression of skeletal α-actin mRNA, known to be expressed in the hypertrophied myocardium, was attenuated in l-arginine–treated SHR compared with vehicle-treated S...