Evaluation of thoracic aortic endothelial functions in CD200ko mice and the possible role of oxidative stress and TNF-alpha in these responses

The aim of this study is to determine whether endothelial functions are altered in CD200KO mice and to evaluate whether oxidative stress and TNFα affect these functions. Endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent relaxation responses in the thoracic aortic tissue of two groups of mice were evaluated by acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside, respectively. In addition, experiments were repeated in the CD200KO group in the presence of infliximab and SOD to investigate the role of TNFα and superoxide radicals in endothelium-dependent relaxations. While there was no difference in endothelium-independent relaxation responses in both groups, endothelium-dependent relaxation responses were significantly impaired in CD200KO group compared to the control group. In this group, decreased relaxation responses in thoracic aortic tissue were significantly improved with infliximab and SOD incubations. Considering the results of this study, it can be suggested that the impairment in endothelium-dependent relaxation responses in CD200KO mice is related to the TNFα and ROS, but further studies are required to fully elucidate the underlying mechanism.