How Low Blood Flow Stress Affects Blood Vessel Health
Modulation of low shear stress-induced eNOS multi-site phosphorylation and nitric oxide production via protein kinase and ERK1/2 signaling
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists studied how weak blood flow stress changes how blood vessel cells make nitric oxide, a molecule that helps protect blood vessels. They found that low stress actually reduces nitric oxide production through specific cell signaling pathways.
Surprising Findings
Low shear stress initially increases nitric oxide at 5 minutes before causing a sustained decrease
This biphasic response contradicts the simple assumption that low flow = less NO production. The early increase suggests the body initially tries to compensate before failing.
Practical Takeaways
Understanding that low blood flow conditions (like in artery bends or branches) can directly cause inflammation and atherosclerosis through specific molecular pathways
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists studied how weak blood flow stress changes how blood vessel cells make nitric oxide, a molecule that helps protect blood vessels. They found that low stress actually reduces nitric oxide production through specific cell signaling pathways.
Surprising Findings
Low shear stress initially increases nitric oxide at 5 minutes before causing a sustained decrease
This biphasic response contradicts the simple assumption that low flow = less NO production. The early increase suggests the body initially tries to compensate before failing.
Practical Takeaways
Understanding that low blood flow conditions (like in artery bends or branches) can directly cause inflammation and atherosclerosis through specific molecular pathways
Publication
Journal
Molecular Medicine Reports
Year
2017
Authors
Xiangquan Kong, Xinliang Qu, Bing Li, Zhimei Wang, Yuelin Chao, Xiaomin Jiang, Wen Wu, Shao-Liang Chen
Related Content
Claims (7)
When blood flow forces are low, the cells lining blood vessels initially make more of a gas called nitric oxide (which helps blood vessels relax), but then they stop producing as much of it over time.
When blood vessels experience low blood flow (low shear stress), a protein called Akt helps trigger a process that produces nitric oxide, which keeps blood vessels healthy. But when we block Akt, the blood vessel's ability to produce nitric oxide gets even worse.
Scientists found that a specific signaling pathway called ERK1/2 is responsible for how blood flow changes affect an enzyme that controls nitric oxide production, and blocking this pathway stops the negative effects of low blood flow on nitric oxide.
Scientists found that a compound called 8-Bromo-cAMP can help restore a key process in blood vessel cells that makes nitric oxide (a molecule that helps blood vessels work properly) when blood flow is too weak.
When blood flows gently through veins, it turns on certain chemical switches on an enzyme called eNOS at two specific locations (Ser1177 and Thr495), but turns off a different switch at another location (Ser633) in the cells that line umbilical veins.