Fig. 2. Effects of propofol and diclofenac on acetylcholine-induced relaxation in endothelium-intact strips of rabbit mesenteric artery. ( A ) Acetylcholine (ACh, 1 μM) was applied for 2 min (indicated by the horizontal bars) during the tonic contraction induced by 10 μM norepinephrine (NE) before (control) and after a 15 min pretreatment with 10 μM propofol (Ab) or 3 μM diclofenac (Bb). (Bc), after the recording of the response shown in (Bb), acetylcholine was again applied 15 min after the addition of 10 μM propofol to the existing 3 μM diclofenac. Norepinephrine was applied for 8 min at 25-min intervals. The responses shown in ( A ) and ( B ) were obtained from different strips. ( C and D ) Summary of the effects of propofol (10 μM, n = 6) or diclofenac (3 μM) without and with propofol (10 μM; n = 7) on the acetylcholine-induced maximum relaxation. Mean of data with SD shown by vertical lines. All tests were carried out in a solution containing 0.1 mM L-NOARG, 5 μM guanethidine, 0.3 μM nicardipine, and 3 μM propranolol. *Significant difference from the corresponding control ( P < 0.001).