Model System for Transient Forearm Blood Vessel Dysfunction

Overview

This study will develop a model system that can be used to test medications for improving the ability of blood vessels to resist damage from diseases such as heart attack and stroke. The endothelium (inner layer of blood vessels) has built-in defense mechanisms to prevent blockage of blood flow, including the ability to stretch the vessel when it senses that blood flow is threatened. People with heart attack risk factors, such as high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes lose this ability. This study will develop a model that can measure the response to a lack of blood flow in the arm and be used to test new medicines to improve blood vessel health. Healthy males between 18 and 45 years of age who have no history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes and who have not smoked for at least 3 months before entering the study may be eligible to enroll. Participants lie in an adjustable reclining bed. Small catheters (tubes) are placed in the artery and vein of the forearm of the non-dominant arm at the inside of the elbow. Blood samples are collected from the tubes. Then, pressure cuffs are placed on both wrists and upper arms. A strain gauge (rubber band-type device) is placed around the forearms. The pressure cuffs are inflated and blood flows into the forearm, stretching the strain gauge at a rate proportional to the blood flow. Then, small doses of acetylcholine (a medicine that causes blood vessels to expand) are injected into the artery tube. After 20 minutes, blood flow to the non-dominant arm is blocked by inflating the pressure cuff. The subject squeezes a rubber ball about every 2 seconds for 90 seconds. The cuff is deflated after 15 minutes and blood samples are withdrawn from the tube in the vein. After 15 minutes, the procedure is repeated one more time.

Endothelial dysfunction denotes abnormal contractile function of the inner lining of blood vessels. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis and diabetes and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In normal physiology, endothelial cells synthesize and release factors that modulate blood vessel growth, inflammation, homeostasis, and vascular tone. Recently, endothelial dysfunction has been recognized as an early event in ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. IR injury causes damage to tissue and is important in many settings including acute coronary artery occlusions and cerebral ischemia. A model to examine the physiology of IR induced endothelial dysfunction and to test pharmacologic agents to prevent IR induced endothelial dysfunction is of paramount importance given the rise in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Recently in Protocol 06-H-0024, our group found that 20 minutes of ischemic stress causes no absolute endothelial dysfunction to the forearm using venous plethysmography to measure blood flow, despite numerous publications that support this model. We believe that the previously published data are based on a computational error resulting in an erroneous data interpretation (discussed in the introductory section of this proposal). Using NMR spectroscopy in protocol 06-H-0024 we have found that by adding exercise to exhaustion (usually 1 to 2 minutes of concentric exercise) to a 15-minute period of forearm ischemia results in a significantly more robust metabolic stress to the forearm, than 20 minutes of ischemia alone. Given the potential utilization of the restoration of endothelial function as a therapeutic strategy, we propose this pilot study to examine whether 15 minutes of ischemia with exercise to exhaustion (usually 1-2 minutes of concentric exercise) will cause transient IR dependent blunting of endothelial vasodilation as measured by venous plethysmography. In this study, an extension of Protocol 06-H-0024, we hypothesize that in human subjects the addition of concentric exercise to exhaustion, as a means to deplete high energy phosphate stores, will contribute to the development of transient endothelial dysfunction when performed in parallel with a 15-minute forearm ischemic stress. The establishment of a human system to enable the study of transient forearm vessel endothelial dysfunction will enable us to explore therapeutic interventions to protect against endothelial dysfunction.