Abstract
The effects of nonselective nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors [N-ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) and N-ω-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA)] and specific neuronal NOS (nNOS) inhibitor [vinyl-l-N-5-(1-imino-3-butenyl)-l-ornithine (l-VNIO)] on adrenergic nerve-mediated vasoconstriction were studied in rat perfused mesenteric vascular beds without endothelium. Perfusion of l-NAME, l-NNA, or l-VNIO markedly augmented vasoconstrictor responses to periarterial nerve stimulation (PNS; 2-8 Hz) without affecting vasoconstriction induced by exogenously injected norepinephrine (NE). Addition of l-arginine, a precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), reversed the augmentation of the PNS response by l-NAME. The PNS (8 Hz)-evoked NE release in the perfusate was increased by l-NAME perfusion. In preparations treated with capsaicin [a depleter of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-containing nerves], l-NAME did not augment vasoconstrictor responses to PNS or NE injection. Combined perfusion of CGRP(8-37) (a CGRP receptor antagonist) and l-NAME induced additive augmentation of the vasoconstrictor response to PNS but did not affect the response to NE injection. In preparations with active tone produced by methoxamine and in the presence of guanethidine, l-NAME perfusion did not affect the vasodilator response induced by PNS. Immunostaining of the mesenteric artery showed the presence of nNOS-like immunopositive nerve fibers, which were absent in arteries pretreated with capsaicin. These findings suggest that NO, which is released from perivascular capsaicin-sensitive nerves, presynaptically inhibits neurogenic NE release to modulate adrenergic neurotransmission.
Footnotes
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This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid 09672326, 10557244, and 16390157 for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in Japan.
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doi:10.1124/jpet.105.094656.
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ABBREVIATIONS: NE, norepinephrine; NANC, nonadrenergic noncholinergic; PNS, periarterial nerve stimulation; CGRP, calcitonin gene-related peptide; NO, nitric oxide; NOS, nitric-oxide synthase; nNOS, neuronal NOS; l-NAME, N-ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester; l-NNA, N-ω-nitro-l-arginine; l-VNIO, vinyl-l-N-5-(1-imino-3-butenyl)-l-ornithine; SD, sodium deoxycholate; ACh, acetylcholine; LI, like immunoreactivity.
- Received August 24, 2005.
- Accepted October 17, 2005.
- The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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