Abstract

In rabbits fed with hypercholesterolemic diet the normal coronary vasodilator response to serotonin is replaced by vasoconstriction sensitive to 5HT2 receptor blockade. These experiments were designed to determine the receptor subtype involved in the contractile response of large isolated coronary arteries (without endothelium) taken from control and atherosclerotic rabbits. In both tissues the agonists' rank potency was 5-carboxamidotryptamine > serotonin (5HT) > sumatriptan > 8-OHDPAT: (+/-)-8-Hydroxydipropylaminotetralin HBr > 2-methylserotonin. In arteries from young rabbits, 5HT and sumatriptan induced contractions which were not influenced by ketanserin up to 3 x 10(-8) M. However, the 5HT2 antagonist at the concentration of 10(-6) M induced a significant rightward shift of the concentration-response curves. The contractions to the two serotoninergic agonists were competitively inhibited by methiothepin. NAN 190, a 5HT1A antagonist, LY 53857, a 5HT1C and 5HT2 antagonist, cyanopindolol, a 5HT1A and 5HT1B antagonist and ICS 205-930, a 5HT3 and 5HT4 antagonist (up to 10(-6) M) did not inhibit the contractile response to 5HT. Rauwolscine (10(-6) M) significantly shifted the concentration-response curves to the two agonists. Very similar results were obtained in coronary arteries from atherosclerotic rabbits. These data demonstrate that in rabbit epicardial coronary artery smooth muscle, the receptor involved in the serotoninergic response is a 5HT1-like subtype, possibly a 5HT1D. In this preparation, under our experimental conditions, there was no evidence for the presence of 5HT2 receptors. The induction of atherosclerosis did not induce significant changes in the serotoninergic response in these large coronary arteries, illustrating the marked heterogeneity between microvasculature and large arteries in the rabbit heart.