Inhibitory Effect of Aclarubicin on Endothelium-Dependent Relaxation of Rat Aorta

Abstract
The effects of aclarubicin on endothelium-dependent and -independent vasorelaxations were investigated in aortic strips from rats. Aclarubicin (5.9-23.6 microM) inhibited endothelium-dependent relaxation and the increment of the cyclic GMP level in aortic strips in response to acetylcholine but not the endothelium-independent relaxation and the increase of cyclic GMP level in response to sodium nitroprusside. Aclarubicin also inhibited endothelium-dependent relaxations in response to ATP and calcium ionophore A23187. These results suggest that aclarubicin can inhibit endothelium-dependent relaxation by acting somewhere distal to receptor stimulation in vascular endothelial cells.