The nitric oxide donor SIN-1 is free of tolerance and maintains its cyclic GMP stimulatory potency in nitrate-tolerant LLC-PK1 cells.

PURPOSE: Using an established cell culture model, the present study investigates whether linsidomine (SIN-1), a spontaneous donor of nitric oxide and active metabolite of the antianginal drug molsidomine, induces tolerance to its own cyclic GMP stimulatory action or shows a diminished response after tolerance induction with glyceryl trinitrate.

METHODS

Incubations with nitric oxide donors were carried out in LLC-PK1 kidney epithelial cells. Intracellular levels of cyclic GMP, the vasodilatory second messenger of nitric oxide, were determined by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS

A 5-h preincubation with glyceryl trinitrate (0.01-100 microM) led to complete inhibition of a subsequent cyclic GMP stimulation by glyceryl trinitrate but left the cyclic GMP response to SIN-1 unaltered. Similarly, cyclic GMP elevations by the spontaneous nitric oxide donors sodium nitroprusside and spermine NONOate were not affected after pretreatment with glyceryl trinitrate. Moreover, pretreatment with SIN-1 (1-1000 microM) had no significant effect on SIN-1-dependent cyclic GMP stimulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that in LLC-PK1 cells, SIN-1 is free of tolerance induction and not cross-tolerant to glyceryl trinitrate. This may be due to the spontaneous nitric oxide release from SIN-1, which in contrast to nitric acid esters does not require enzymatic bioactivation and may therefore be unaffected by nitrate tolerance.