The Inhibitory Effect of Trimethylamine (TMA), an Intestinal Bacterial Metabolite, on Endothelial Vasorelaxation in Rat Mesenteric Artery

Abstract

The effect of the gut microbiota metabolite trimethylamine-(TMA) in isolated vessels is unknown yet. Previously TMAO, the hepatic oxidation product of TMA, at 3 mM has been shown to inhibit endothelium-dependent vasorelaxations of isolated arteries only after 24-hour-interactions. In this study, the effects of TMA (at 1 mM) on endothelium-dependent relaxations with acute (1 or 4 hours) and longer (24 hours) incubation periods were evaluated in superior mesenteric arteries of rat. Acute exposure to TMA of 1 hour significantly inhibited acetylcholine-stimulated endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing (EDH) type relaxations, and this inhibition gradually intensified as the incubation period was prolonged to 4, and 24 hours. The area under the curves (AUCs) of the relaxation-response curves after 1 and 24 hours of TMA incubation were found significantly different compared to each other, whereas similar AUC values were obtained after 4, and 24 hours of incubations. Contractile responses to phenylephrine, and nitric oxide (NO)-mediated relaxations of acetylcholine were similar in arteries before and after pretreatment with TMA for 24 hours. These data indicate that TMA selectively inhibits EDH-type relaxations in rat isolated mesenteric arteries. Although the inhibitory effect of TMA intensifies over time, it appears to be more pronounced during acute incubation periods. The findings strengthen the evidence that TMA is a more toxic metabolite on vascular tone than TMAO.