Exercise training is known to be an effective means of improving functional capacity and quality of life in patients with peripheral arterial insufficiency (PAI). However, the specific training-induced physiological adaptations occurring within collateral vessels remain to be clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of exercise training on vasomotor properties of isolated peripheral collateral arteries. We hypothesized that daily treadmill exercise would improve the poor vasodilatory capacity of collateral arteries isolated from rats exposed to surgical occlusion of the femoral artery. Following femoral artery ligation, animals were either kept sedentary or exercise trained daily for a period of 3 weeks. Hindlimb collateral arteries were then isolated, cannulated and pressurized via hydrostatic reservoirs to an intravascular pressure of either 45 or 120 cmH(2)O. Non-occluded contralateral vessels of the sedentary animals served as normal Control. Vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine (ACh; 1 x 10(9)-1 x 10(5)m) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 1 x 10(9)-1 x 10(4)m), constrictor responses to phenylephrine (PE; 1 x 10(9)-1 x 10(4)m), and flow-induced vasodilatation were determined. Endothelium-mediated vasodilatation responses were significantly greater to either ACh (P < 0.02) or intravascular flow (P < 0.001) in collateral arteries of trained rats. Neither blockade of cyclooxygenase with indomethacin (Indo; 5 microm) nor blockade of endothelial nitric oxide synthase with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 300 microm) eliminated this ACh- or flow-induced vasodilatation. The depressed vasodilatory response to SNP caused by vascular occlusion was reversed with training. These data indicate that exercise training improves endothelium-mediated vasodilatory capacity of hindlimb collateral arteries, apparently by enhanced production of the putative endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor(s). If these findings were applicable to patients with PAI, they could contribute to an improved collateral vessel function and enhance exercise tolerance during routine physical activity.
