11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid activates the L-arginine/nitric oxide pathway in human platelets

The present study was to test the hypothesis that 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (11,12-EET), a metabolic product of arachidonic acid by cytochrome P450 epoxygenase, regulates nitric oxide (NO) generation of the L-arginine/NO synthase (NOS) pathway in human platelets. Human platelets were incubated in the presence or absence of different concentrations of 11,12-EET for 2 h at 37 degrees C, followed by measurements of activities of the L-arginine/NOS pathway. Incubation with 11,12-EET increased the platelet NOS activity, nitrite production, cGMP content, and the platelet uptake of L-[H-3]arginine in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, 11,12-EET attenuated intracellular free Ca2+ accumulation stimulated by collagen, which was at least partly mediated by EET-activated L-arginine/NOS pathway. It is suggested that 11,12-EET regulates platelet function through up-regulating the activity of the L-arginine/NOS/NO pathway.Cell BiologySCI(E)0ARTICLE1-251-5630