Person:
Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco

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First Name
Francisco
Last Name
Pérez Vizcaíno
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Medicina
Department
Farmacología y Toxicología
Area
Farmacología
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 15
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    Kv7 channels critically determine coronary artery reactivity: left-right differences and down-regulation by hyperglycaemia
    (Cardiovascular Research, 2015) Morales Cano, Daniel; Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Barreira, Bianca; Pandolfi, Rachele; Chamorro, Virginia; Jimenez, Rosario; Villamor, Eduardo; Duarte, Juan; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis
    Aims Voltage-gated potassium channels encoded by KCNQ genes (Kv7 channels) are emerging as important regulators of vascular tone. In this study, we analysed the contribution of Kv7 channels to the vasodilation induced by hypoxia and the cyclic AMP pathway in the coronary circulation. We also assessed their regional distribution and possible impairment by diabetes. Methods and results We examined the effects of Kv7 channel modulators on K+ currents and vascular reactivity in rat left and right coronary arteries (LCAs and RCAs, respectively). Currents from LCA were more sensitive to Kv7 channel inhibitors (XE991, linopirdine) and activators (flupirtine, retigabine) than those from RCA. Accordingly, LCAs were more sensitive than RCAs to the relaxation induced by Kv7 channel enhancers. Likewise, relaxation induced by the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin and hypoxia, which were mediated through Kv7 channel activation, were greater in LCA than in RCA. KCNQ1 and KCNQ5 expression was markedly higher in LCA than in RCA. After incubation with high glucose (HG, 30 mmol/L), myocytes from LCA, but not from RCA, were more depolarized and showed reduced Kv7 currents. In HG-incubated LCA, the effects of Kv7 channel modulators and forskolin were diminished, and the expression of KCNQ1 and KCNQ5 was reduced. Finally, vascular responses induced by Kv7 channel modulators were impaired in LCA, but not in RCA, from type 1 diabetic rats. Conclusion Our results reveal that the high expression and function of Kv7 channels in the LCA and their down-regulation by diabetes critically determine the sensitivity to key regulators of coronary tone.
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    Novel Loss-of-Function KCNA5 Variants in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
    (American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 2023) Vera Zambrano, Alba; Morales Cano, Daniel; Villegas Esguevillas, Marta; Cruz Utrilla, Alejandro; Fernández Malavé, Edgar Gonzalo; Escribano Subías, María Pilar; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis
    Reduced expression and/or activity of Kv1.5 channels (encoded byKCNA5) is a common hallmark in human or experimentalpulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Likewise, genetic variantsinKCNA5have been found in patients with PAH, but theirfunctional consequences and potential impact on the disease arelargely unknown. Herein, this study aimed to characterize thefunctional consequences of sevenKCNA5variants found in a cohortof patients with PAH. Potassium currents were recorded by patch-clamp technique in HEK293 cells transfected with wild-type ormutant Kv1.5 cDNA. Flow cytometry, Western blot, and confocalmicroscopy techniques were used for measuring protein expressionand cell apoptosis in HEK293 and human pulmonary artery smoothmuscle cells.KCNA5variants (namely, Arg184Pro and Gly384Arg)found in patients with PAH resulted in a clear loss of potassiumchannel function as assessed by electrophysiological and molecular modeling analyses. The Arg184Pro variant also resulted in apronounced reduction of Kv1.5 expression. Transfection withArg184Pro or Gly384Arg variants decreased apoptosis ofhuman pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells compared withthe wild-type cells, demonstrating thatKCNA5dysfunction inboth variants affects cell viability. Thus, in addition toaffecting channel activity, both variants were associated withimpaired apoptosis, a crucial process linked to the disease. Theestimated prevalence of dysfunctionalKCNA5variants in thePAH population analyzed was around 1%. The data indicatethat someKCNA5variants found in patients with PAH havecritical consequences for channel function, supporting the ideathatKCNA5pathogenic variants may be a causative orcontributing factor for PAH.
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    Effects of Quercetin in a Rat Model of Hemorrhagic Traumatic Shock and Reperfusion
    (Molecules, 2016) Chamorro, Virginia; Pandolfi, Rachele; Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Barreira, Bianca; Martínez-Ramas, Andrea; Morales Cano, Daniel; Ruiz-Cabello, Jesús; Lorente, José; Duarte, Juan; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis; Álvarez-Sala Walther, Jose Luis; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco
    Background: We hypothesized that treatment with quercetin could result in improved hemodynamics, lung inflammatory parameters and mortality in a rat model of hemorrhagic shock. Methods: Rats were anesthetized (80 mg/kg ketamine plus 8 mg/kg xylazine i.p.). The protocol included laparotomy for 15 min (trauma), hemorrhagic shock (blood withdrawal to reduce the mean arterial pressure to 35 mmHg) for 75 min and resuscitation by re-infusion of all the shed blood plus lactate Ringer for 90 min. Intravenous quercetin (50 mg/kg) or vehicle were administered during resuscitation. Results: There was a trend for increased survival 84.6% (11/13) in the treated group vs. the shock group 68.4% (13/19, p > 0.05 Kaplan–Meier). Quercetin fully prevented the development of lung edema. The activity of aSMase was increased in the shock group compared to the sham group and the quercetin prevented this effect. However, other inflammatory markers such as myeloperoxidase activity, interleukin-6 in plasma or bronchoalveolar fluid were similar in the sham and shock groups. We found no bacterial DNA in plasma in these animals. Conclusions: Quercetin partially prevented the changes in blood pressure and lung injury in shock associated to hemorrhage and reperfusion.
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    Potential long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the pulmonary vasculature: Multilayered cross-talks in the setting of coinfections and comorbidities
    (Plos Pathogens, 2023) Kumar, Rahul; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Morales Cano, Daniel; Dhillon, Navneet K.; Kenneth Stapleford
    The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its sublineages pose a new challenge to healthcare systems worldwide due to its ability to efficiently spread in immunized populations and its resistance to currently available therapies. COVID-19, although targeting primarily the respiratory system, is also now well established that later affects every organ in the body. Most importantly, despite the available therapy and vaccine-elicited protection, the long-term consequences of viral infection in breakthrough and asymptomatic individuals are areas of concern. In the past two years, investigators accumulated evidence on how the virus triggers our immune system and the molecular signals involved in the cross-talk between immune cells and structural cells in the pulmonary vasculature to drive pathological lung complications such as endothelial dysfunction and thrombosis. In the review, we emphasize recent updates on the pathophysiological inflammatory and immune responses associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and their potential long-term consequences that may consequently lead to the development of pulmonary vascular diseases.
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    Restoration of Vitamin D Levels Improves Endothelial Function and Increases TASK-Like K+ Currents in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Associated with Vitamin D Deficiency
    (Biomolecules, 2021) Callejo Arranz, María; Morales Cano, Daniel; Mondejar Parreño, Gema; Barreira, Bianca; Esquivel Ruiz, Sergio Antonio; Olivencia Plaza, Miguel Ángel; Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco
    Vitamin D (vitD) deficiency is highly prevalent in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Moreover, PAH-patients with lower levels of vitD have worse prognosis. We hypothesize that recovering optimal levels of vitD in an animal model of PAH previously depleted of vitD improves the hemodynamics, the endothelial dysfunction and the ionic remodeling. Methods: Male Wistar rats were fed a vitD-free diet for five weeks and then received a single dose of Su5416 (20 mg/Kg) and were exposed to vitD-free diet and chronic hypoxia (10% O2) for three weeks to induce PAH. Following this, vitD deficient rats with PAH were housed in room air and randomly divided into two groups: (a) continued on vitD-free diet or (b) received an oral dose of 100,000 IU/Kg of vitD plus standard diet for three weeks. Hemodynamics, pulmonary vascular remodeling, pulmonary arterial contractility, and K+ currents were analyzed. Results: Recovering optimal levels of vitD improved endothelial function, measured by an increase in the endothelium-dependent vasodilator response to acetylcholine. It also increased the activity of TASK-1 potassium channels. However, vitD supplementation did not reduce pulmonary pressure and did not ameliorate pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricle hypertrophy. Conclusions: Altogether, these data suggest that in animals with PAH and severe deficit of vitD, restoring vitD levels to an optimal range partially improves some pathophysiological features of PAH.
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    HIV transgene expression impairs K+ channel function in the pulmonary vasculature
    (American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 2018) Mondejar Parreño, Gema; Morales Cano, Daniel; Barreira, Bianca; Callejo, Maria; Ruiz-Cabello Osuna, Jesús; Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Esquivel Ruiz, Sergio Antonio; Mathie, Alistair; Butrous, Ghazwan; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis
    Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is an established risk factor for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); however, the pathogenesis of HIV-related PAH remains unclear. Since K+ channel dysfunction is a common marker in most forms of PAH, our aim was to analyze whether the expression of HIV proteins is associated with impairment of K+ channel function in the pulmonary vascular bed. HIV transgenic mice (Tg26) expressing seven of the nine HIV viral proteins and wild-type (WT) mice were used. Hemodynamic assessment was performed by echocardiography and catheterization. Vascular reactivity was studied in endothelium-intact pulmonary arteries. K+ currents were recorded in freshly isolated pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) using the patch-clamp technique. Gene expression was assessed using quantitative RT-PCR. PASMC from Tg26 mice had reduced K+ currents and were more depolarized than those from WT. Whereas voltage-gated K+ channel 1.5 (Kv1.5) currents were preserved, pH-sensitive noninactivating background currents (IKN) were nearly abolished in PASMC from Tg26 mice. Tg26 mice had reduced lung expression of Kv7.1 and Kv7.4 channels and decreased responses to the Kv7.1 channel activator L-364,373 assessed by vascular reactivity and patch-clamp experimental approaches. Although we found pulmonary vascular remodeling and endothelial dysfunction in Tg26 mice, this was not accompanied by changes in hemodynamic parameters. In conclusion, the expression of HIV proteins in vivo impairs pH-sensitive IKN and Kv7 currents. This negative impact of HIV proteins in K+ channels was not sufficient to induce PAH, at least in mice, but may play a permissive or accessory role in the pathophysiology of HIV-associated PAH.
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    Ceramide Mediates Acute Oxygen Sensing in Vascular Tissues
    (Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, 2014) Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Moral Sanz, Javier; Morales Cano, Daniel; Barreira, Bianca; Moreno, Enrique; Ferrarini, Alessia; Pandolfi, Rachele; Ruperez, Francisco J.; Cortijo, Julio; Sánchez Luna, Manuel Ramón; Villamor, Eduardo; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis
    Aims: A variety of vessels, such as resistance pulmonary arteries (PA) and fetoplacental arteries and the ductus arteriosus (DA) are specialized in sensing and responding to changes in oxygen tension. Despite opposite stimuli, normoxic DA contraction and hypoxic fetoplacental and PA vasoconstriction share some mechanistic features. Activation of neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase) and subsequent ceramide production has been involved in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). Herein we aimed to study the possible role of nSMase-derived ceramide as a common factor in the acute oxygen-sensing function of specialized vascular tissues. Results: The nSMase inhibitor GW4869 and an anticeramide antibody reduced the hypoxic vasoconstriction in chicken PA and chorioallantoic arteries (CA) and the normoxic contraction of chicken DA. Incubation with interference RNA targeted to SMPD3 also inhibited HPV. Moreover, ceramide and reactive oxygen species production were increased by hypoxia in PA and by normoxia in DA. Either bacterial sphingomyelinase or ceramide mimicked the contractile responses of hypoxia in PA and CA and those of normoxia in the DA. Furthermore, ceramide inhibited voltage-gated potassium currents present in smooth muscle cells from PA and DA. Finally, the role of nSMase in acute oxygen sensing was also observed in human PA and DA. Innovation: These data provide evidence for the proposal that nSMase-derived ceramide is a critical player in acute oxygen-sensing in specialized vascular tissues. Conclusion: Our results indicate that an increase in ceramide generation is involved in the vasoconstrictor responses induced by two opposite stimuli, such as hypoxia (in PA and CA) and normoxia (in DA).
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    Activation of PPARβ/δ prevents hyperglycaemia-induced impairment of Kv7 channels and cAMP-mediated relaxation in rat coronary arteries
    (Clinical Science, 2016) Morales Cano, Daniel; Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Barreira, Bianca; Pandolfi, Rachele; Moral Sanz, Javier; Callejo Arranz, María; Mondejar Parreño, Gema; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis
    PPARβ/δ activation protects against endothelial dysfunction in diabetic models. Elevated glucose is known to impair cAMP-induced relaxation and Kv channel function in coronary arteries (CA). Herein, we aimed to analyse the possible protective effects of the PPARβ/δ agonist GW0742 on the hyperglycaemic-induced impairment of cAMP-induced relaxation and Kv channel function in rat CA. As compared with low glucose (LG), incubation under high glucose (HG) conditions attenuated the relaxation induced by the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin in CA and this was prevented by GW0742. The protective effect of GW0742 was supressed by a PPARβ/δ antagonist. In myocytes isolated from CA under LG, forskolin enhanced Kv currents and induced hyperpolarization. In contrast, when CA were incubated with HG, Kv currents were diminished and the electrophysiological effects of forskolin were abolished. These deleterious effects were prevented by GW0742. The protective effects of GW0742 on forskolin-induced relaxation and Kv channel function were confirmed in CA from type-1 diabetic rats. In addition, the differences in the relaxation induced by forskolin in CA incubated under LG, HG or HG + GW0742 were abolished by the Kv7 channel inhibitor XE991. Accordingly, GW0742 prevented the down-regulation of Kv7 channels induced by HG. Finally, the preventive effect of GW0742 on oxidative stress and cAMP-induced relaxation were overcome by the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) inhibitor dichloroacetate (DCA). Our results reveal that the PPARβ/δ agonist GW0742 prevents the impairment of the cAMP-mediated relaxation in CA under HG. This protective effect was associated with induction of PDK4, attenuation of oxidative stress and preservation of Kv7 channel function
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    Elevated pulmonary arterial pressure in Zucker diabetic fatty rats
    (PLoS ONE, 2019) Morales Cano, Daniel; Callejo Arranz, María; Barreira, Bianca; Mondejar Parreño, Gema; Esquivel Ruiz, Sergio Antonio; Ramos, Sonia; Martín Arribas, María Ángeles; Cogolludo, Angel; Moreno Gutiérrez, Laura; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Bader, Michael
    Diabetes is a very strong predictor of chronic systemic vascular diseases and acute cardiovascular events. Recently, associations between metabolic disorders and pulmonary hypertension have also been reported in both humans and animal models. In order to get some further insight into the relationship of pulmonary hypertension with obesity, insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, herein we have used the Zucker diabetic fatty rats (ZDF/clr-lepr fa) at 20 weeks fed a standard diet and compared to their lean Zucker littermates (ZL). ZDF rats were obese, had elevated plasma glucose levels and insulin resistance, i.e. a clinically relevant model of type 2 diabetes. They presented elevated systolic, diastolic and mean pulmonary arterial pressures and a parallel increase in the Fulton index. Systemic arterial pressures were also increased but the left ventricle plus septum weight was similar in both groups and the heart rate was reduced. Wall media thickening was observed in the small pulmonary arteries from the ZDF rats. Isolated pulmonary arteries mounted in a wire myograph showed similar vasoconstrictor responses to phenylephrine and 5-HT and similar responses to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine. However, the iNOS inhibitor 1400W enhanced the vasoconstrictor responses in ZDF but not in ZL rats. The protein expression of eNOS and iNOS was not significantly different in the lungs of the two groups. The lung expression of Bmpr2 mRNA was downregulated. However, the mRNA expression of Kcna5, Kcnk3, Kcnq1, Kcnq4 or Kcnq5, which encode for the potassium channels Kv1.5, TASK-1, Kv7.1, Kv7.4 and Kv7.5, respectively, was similar in ZL and ZDF rats. In conclusion, ZDF rats show increased pulmonary arterial pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary arterial medial thickening and downregulated lung Bmpr2 despite leptin resistance. These changes were mild but are consistent with the view that diabetes is a risk factor for pulmonary hypertension.
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    HIV and Schistosoma Co-Exposure Leads to Exacerbated Pulmonary Endothelial Remodeling and Dysfunction Associated with Altered Cytokine Landscape
    (Cells, 2022) Medrano García, Sandra; Morales Cano, Daniel; Barreira, Bianca; Pérez Vizcaíno, Francisco; Fernández Malavé, Edgar Gonzalo; Cogolludo Torralba, Ángel Luis
    HIV and Schistosoma infections have been individually associated with pulmonary vascular disease. Co-infection with these pathogens is very common in tropical areas, with an estimate of six million people co-infected worldwide. However, the effects of HIV and Schistosoma co-exposure on the pulmonary vasculature and its impact on the development of pulmonary vascular disease are largely unknown. Here, we have approached these questions by using a non-infectious animal model based on lung embolization of Schistosoma mansoni eggs in HIV-1 transgenic (HIV) mice. Schistosome-exposed HIV mice but not wild-type (Wt) counterparts showed augmented pulmonary arterial pressure associated with markedly suppressed endothelial-dependent vasodilation, increased endothelial remodeling and vessel obliterations, formation of plexiform-like lesions and a higher degree of perivascular fibrosis. In contrast, medial wall muscularization was similarly increased in both types of mice. Moreover, HIV mice displayed an impaired immune response to parasite eggs in the lung, as suggested by decreased pulmonary leukocyte infiltration, small-sized granulomas, and augmented residual egg burden. Notably, vascular changes in co-exposed mice were associated with increased expression of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines, including IFN-γ and IL-17A in CD4+ and γδ T cells and IL-13 in myeloid cells. Collectively, our study shows for the first time that combined pulmonary persistence of HIV proteins and Schistosoma eggs, as it may occur in co-infected people, alters the cytokine landscape and targets the vascular endothelium for aggravated pulmonary vascular pathology. Furthermore, it provides an experimental model for the understanding of pulmonary vascular disease associated with HIV and Schistosoma co-morbidity.