Abstract
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and nitric oxide (NO) are known to exert vasodilatory actions in a variety of vascular beds. Recent evidence suggests that CGRP may mediate some aspects of the vasodilation elicited by NO. The present studies examined the responses of parenchymal microvessels in the rat hippocampus to CGRP and an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. Hippocampal slices were prepared from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Microvessels in the neuropil of submerged slices were examined using computer-assisted videomicroscopy. Drugs were administered by addition to the medium superfusing the slices. The resting diameter of vessels analyzed in this study ranged from 12 to 25 micrometers. Treatment with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N-nitro-L-arginine (NNLA; 100 μM), constricted vessels to 51.1±7.7% of resting diameter (n=9). Application of CGRP (10 nM) in the presence of NNLA resulted in the dilation of the preconstricted vessels to 97.0±9.6% of their resting diameter (n=4). These findings suggests that CGRP-induced dilation is not mediated by increased production of NO. Ongoing experiments are investigating the possible role of CGRP in mediating NO-induced vasodilation.
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Jin, Y., Fergus, A., Thai, QA. et al. Vasodilatory Actions of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide and Nitric Oxide in Parenchymal Microvessels of the Rat Hippocampus. Neuropsychopharmacol 11, 273 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1380167
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1380167