Effects of asymmetric dimethylarginine on renal arteries in portal hypertension and cirrhosis

Figure 3 Effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors on acetylcholine-induced relaxation in renal artery. A: Concentration-response curves to acetylcholine on rings of rat renal artery from Sham, PPVL, and BDL groups in artery rings with endothelium (n = 8) and without endothelium (n = 6) and in artery rings with endothelium in the presence of L-NAME (3 × 10^-4 mol/L; n = 8) or ADMA (3 × 10^-4 mol/L; n = 8). Relaxation is expressed as a percentage of the contraction in response to norepinephrine; B: Difference between the areas under curves (AUCs) from artery rings with endothelium (Control) and treated with L-NAME or ADMA. ^aP < 0.05 vs L-NAME treated group and ^cP < 0.05 vs Sham and PPVL groups treated with ADMA. PPVL: Pre-hepatic portal hypertension; BDL: Bile duct ligation.