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Leukotriene C4 affects pulmonary and cardiovascular dynamics in monkey

Nature volume 295, pages 327–329 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

Leukotriene C4 (LTC4) and its metabolites LTD4 and LTE4 (Fig. 1) have been identified as the major active constituents of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A)1–3. Leukotrienes C4, D4 and E4 have rapidly gained recognition as bronchoconstrictors of hitherto unsurpassed potency in the guinea pig in vivo and in vitro4–7 as well as acting as oedema-forming substances in guinea pig3,5,7 and hamster8. Here we report that LTC4 is also a prominent bronchoconstrictor in the monkey; it increases transpulmonary pressure in the anaesthetized animal, mainly by decreasing pulmonary dynamic compliance, and it contracts isolated tracheal spiral tissue. Furthermore, LTC4 causes transient pulmonary and systemic hypertension, followed by a prolonged hypotensive period associated with decreased cardiac output, haemoconcentration and reduction in the number of circulating leukocytes. These in vivo findings in a primate imply that leukotrienes may also cause important alterations of cardiovascular and pulmonary function in man.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Medicine, Pharmacia AB, Uppsala, Sweden

    Göran Smedegård & Björn Revenäs

  2. Department of Experimental Allergy Research, Pharmacia AB, Uppsala, Sweden

    Göran Smedegård

  3. Department of Physiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Per Hedqvist & Sven-Erik Dahlén

  4. Department of Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sven Hammarström & Bengt Samuelsson

Authors
  1. Göran Smedegård
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  4. Björn Revenäs
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  5. Sven Hammarström
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  6. Bengt Samuelsson
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Smedegård, G., Hedqvist, P., Dahlén, SE. et al. Leukotriene C4 affects pulmonary and cardiovascular dynamics in monkey. Nature 295, 327–329 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/295327a0

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