Fibrillin-1 deficiency perturbs aortic cholinergic relaxation and adrenergic contraction in a mouse model of early onset progressively severe Marfan syndrome.

Introduction: The pathogenic role of nitric oxide (NO) signaling during development of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) in Marfan syndrome (MFS) is currently unclear. We characterized vasomotor function and its relationship to the activity of the NO-generating enzymes in mice with early onset progressively severe MFS.

Methods: Wire myography, immunoblotting, measurements of aortic NO and superoxide levels were used to compare vasomotor function, contractile-protein levels, and the activity of endothelial and inducible NO synthase (eNOS and iNOS, respectively) in ascending thoracic aortas of Fbn1mgR/mgR mice relative to wild type (WT) littermates.

Results: Isometric force measurements of aortic rings from 16-day-old male Fbn1mgR/mgR mice revealed a significant reduction in acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxation and increased phenylephrine (PE)-promoted contractility, associated with abnormally low eNOSSer1177 phosphorylation, decreased NO production and augmented superoxide levels. Greater aortic contractility was associated with α1-adrenoceptor upregulation and normal levels of contractile proteins. While iNOS inhibition had no effect on vasomotor functions, mutant aortic rings pre-incubated with a non-specific NOS inhibitor yielded a greater PE response, implying a significant contribution of endothelial dysfunction to aortic hypercontractility.

Conclusion: Impaired eNOS signaling disrupts aortic cholinergic relaxation and adrenergic contraction in MFS mice with dissecting TAA.