Abstract

Experiments were carried out to determine the effects of ouabain and dihydroouabain, both at 10 microM, on the vasoconstrictor responses of isolated rabbit blood vessel rings to both serotonin and angiotensin II. Ouabain plus dihydroouabain increased the sensitivity of central ear artery to serotonin and markedly reduced the antagonist potency of 0.1 microM prazosin against serotonin in this blood vessel; dihydroouabain alone had no effect. Ouabain, markedly reversed the reduction of maximal contractile response by both 2-brom-d-lysergic acid diethylamide against serotonin in aorta and 2-n-propyl-4-trifluoromethyl-1-[(2'-1H-tetrazol-5yl)biphenyl -4- yl)methyl]imidazole-5-carboxylic acid (EXP 3892) against angiotensin II in femoral artery; dihydroouabain had no effect. Whereas both 10 microM ouabain and dihydroouabain produced nearly maximal inhibition of Na+K+ATPase, dihydroouabain failed to modulate the vasoconstrictor responses to either serotonin or angiotensin II. Thus, it is concluded that the vasoconstrictor modulatory effects of ouabain are mediated by mechanisms unrelated to Na+K+ATPase inhibition. The present results are consistent with the hypothesis that both 5-hydroxytryptamine2 and angiotensinergic receptors can exist in high and low activity states. It is proposed that 5-hydroxytryptamine2 receptors exist in a low activity state in the ear artery, or are converted to the low activity state by 2-brom-d-lysergic acid diethylamide in the aorta. Hypothetically, 2-n-propyl-4-trifluoromethyl-1- [(2'-(1H-tetrazol-5yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl]imidazole-5-carbo xylic acid also converted the angiotensinergic receptor to the low activity state in femoral artery. In all three cases, ouabain enhanced vasoconstriction to serotonin and angiotensin II, respectively, possibly by allosterically modulating the respective receptors in these vessels to their high activity states.