LOCALIZATION OF PROLYL HYDROXYLASE BY THE IMMUNOPEROXIDASE METHOD IN CARDIOVASCULAR TISSUES OF HYPERTENSIVE RATS

Abstract

An immunohistochemical method and light microscopy were utilized to determine localization of prolyl hydroxylase in the cardiovascular tissues of hypertensive rats. The blood vessels and renal glomerulus from these animals demonstrated an enhanced immunoreaction for prolyl hydroxylase. As the most prominent staining was observed in medial smooth muscle cells of blood vessels, these are probably the major collagen-producing cells in arteriosclerotic lesions induced by hypertension. In the glomerulus, endothelial cells and probably mesangial cells are mainly responsible for the collagen formation. An intense immunoreaction was also found in the fibroblasts which proliferated in the area of myocardial fibrosis in hypertensive rats, while there was no specific staining in myocardial cells in either hypertensive or normotensive rats.