Abstract
Nitric oxide (NO) produced in the wall of blood vessels is necessary for the regulation of vascular tone to ensure an adequate blood supply of organs and tissues. In this review, we present evidence that the functioning of endothelial NO-synthase (eNOS) changes considerably during postnatal maturation. Alterations in NO-ergic vasoregulation in early ontogeny vary between vascular beds and correlate with the functional reorganization of a particular organ. Importantly, the anticontractile effect of NO can be an important mechanism responsible for the protectively low blood pressure in the immature circulatory system. The activity of eNOS is regulated by a number of hormones, including thyroid hormones which are key regulators of the perinatal developmental processes. Maternal thyroid hormone deficiency suppresses the anticontractile effect of NO at perinatal age. Such alterations disturb perinatal cardiovascular homeostasis and lead to delayed occurring cardiovascular pathologies in adulthood. The newly discovered role of thyroid hormones may have broad implications in cardiovascular medicine, considering the extremely high prevalence of maternal hypothyroidism in human society.
Highlights
The endothelium is a cellular monolayer that lines the inside of all blood and lymphatic vessels and is characterized by a high secretory activity
We propose that a strong Nitric oxide (NO)-dependent control of coronary artery tone is essential for an adequate blood supply to the heart throughout life
Summarizing the above data on changes in the endothelium-dependent regulation of vascular tone during early postnatal ontogenesis, we conclude that such changes are organ-specific and in many cases associated with changes in the contribution of NO to arterial tone regulation (Table 1)
Summary
Postnatal ontogenesis is characterized by intensive growth and development of tissues and organs, including the cardiovascular system. During early postnatal ontogenesis, the distribution of cardiac output between various organs is very different to the adult organism: blood supply to the brain, skeletal muscles and kidneys is lower, and that to the intestine and the skin is higher than in adults [6]. The redistribution of blood flow between different organs in postnatal ontogenesis is due to a change in a variety of mechanisms that regulate vascular tone, including the postnatal maturation of sympathetic nervous control [7,8], as well as changes in the functional activity of smooth muscle cells [5,8,9,10].
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