NO contributes to abnormal vascular calcium regulation and reactivity induced by peritonitis-associated septic shock in rats.

Calcium plays an important role in determining vascular smooth muscle tone. Norepinephrine (NE)-induced vascular contraction contains two components: 1) Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum as the fast phase and 2) Ca2+ influx via a voltage-dependent calcium channel as the slow phase. This study used functional isometric tension recording to evaluate mediators contributing to abnormal NE-induced Ca2+ handling and reactivity in isolated thoracic aortas from septic rats.