Nitric oxide and passive limb movement: a new approach to assess vascular function

• DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.224741
• Publication Date: 2012-02-07T07:01:33Z
• Authors: Joel D. Trinity; H. Jonathan Groot; Gwenael Layec; Matthew J. Rossman; Stephen J. Ives; Sean Runnels; Ben Gmelch; Amber Bledsoe; Russell S. Richar...
• Keywords: Adult; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Leg; omega-N-Methylarginine; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Physiology; Movement; Blood Pressure; Hyperemia; Nitric Oxide; Femoral Artery; Vasodilation; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Exercise Physiology; Heart Rate; Regional Blood Flow; Humans; Cardiac Output; Enzyme Inhibitors

Key points Passive limb movement elicits a robust increase in limb blood flow (LBF) and limb vascular conductance (LVC) without a concomitant increase in skeletal muscle metabolism. The peripheral vascular mechanisms associated with the increase in LBF and LVC are unknown. Using an intra‐arterial infusion of NG‐monomethyl‐l‐arginine (l‐NMMA) to inhibit nitric oxide synthase (NOS) the hyperaemic and vasodilatory response to passive limb movement was attenuated by nearly 80%. This finding demonstrates that the increases in LBF and LVC during passive limb movement are primarily NO dependent. Passive limb movement appears to have significant promise as a new approach to assess NO‐mediated vascular function, an important predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.