Regulation of NO from endothelial cells by the decrease of cellular cAMP under arsenite exposure

In an attempt to delineate the direct effect of arsenite-induced endothelial dysfunction on nitric oxide (NO) production, confluent bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) were incubated with arsenite, and endothelial NO synthase expression and NO production were measured. Exposure of arsenite decreased NO production for up to 24 h. This decrease was accompanied by decreases in cAMP, protein kinase A (PKA) activity, and furthermore, significant reduction of pCREB. In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate that exposure of arsenite decreases NO production by a reduction of pCREB and PKA activity that may be mediated by cAMP, leading to endothelial dysfunction.