Effect of reserpine pretreatment on in vivo femoral arterial responses to vasodilator agents

CA Cauvin, CJ Devia and PL Kirkendol

This study determined the effects of reserpine pretreatment (1 mg/kg i.m., 24 hr before) on in vivo femoral arterial responses in the dog to the vasodilator agents acetylcholine, isoproterenol, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, adenosine, nitroglycerin and hydralazine. Femoral blood flow was monitored from the right femoral artery into which i.a. injections of the vasodilator agents were given just distal to the flow probe. Femoral vascular resistance was calculated as the ratio of mean systemic blood pressure to femoral blood flow. The response to each dose of vasodilator agent was evaluated by the magnitude of the slope of the regression line relating the resultant decrease in resistance to the resistance before the injection. Reserpine pretreatment increased slopes of these regression lines for adenosine, nitroglycerin, acetylcholine and isoproterenol, suggesting a general enhancement of vasodilator responses by reserpine. Both hydralazine pretreatment (1 mg/kg i.v., 1 hr before testing) and partial aortic occlusion during testing decreased femoral perfusion pressure without increasing vasodilator responses of the femoral arterial bed to adenosine, nitroglycerin, acetylcholine or isoproterenol. Therefore, the enhancement of vasodilator responses by reserpine was apparently not a result of decreased femoral perfusion pressure due to reserpine.

Volume 216, Issue 3, pp. 447-452, 03/01/1981
Copyright © 1981 by American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics