Systemic blood pressure is controlled by changes in the resistance of the peripheral vascular bed for example in the mesenteric blood vessels. The tone of peripheral blood vessels is primarily maintained by sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves. Although vasodilator innervation has been identified in certain isolated elastic arteries, it is not known whether vasodilator nerves contribute to the regulation of the peripheral resistance vessels. We present pharmacological evidence for the existence of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) vasodilator nerves in the mesenteric resistance vessel of the rat and that the resistance is controlled by not only sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves but also NANC vasodilator nerves. We also show that the neurogenic vasodilation was selectively abolished by depleting endogenous calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a potent vasodilator neuropeptide, from perivascular nerves. This indicates that CGRP is a novel vasodilator neurotransmitter and may play a role in control of the total peripheral resistance of systemic circulation through a local reflex mechanism.

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The role of endogenous calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the nonadrenergic noncholinergic depressor response to spinal cord stimulation was studied in the pithed rat in vivo. Pithed rats were given hexamethonium (2 mg/kg per minute i.v.) to block autonomic outflow, and mean blood pressure was artificially maintained at approximately 100 mm Hg with methoxamine (10-15 micrograms/kg per minute i.v.). Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord at the level of the lower thoracic vertebra (T9-12) caused a fall in blood pressure in a frequency-dependent (0.5-10 Hz), voltage-dependent (2.5-50 V), and pulse duration-dependent (0.25-8 msec) manner. The heart rate did not change during the depressor response. The depressor response was long lasting, and the maximum response was elicited by stimulation at 4-6 Hz. The neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (100 micrograms/kg i.v.) abolished the depressor response to spinal cord stimulation, whereas treatment with propranolol (0.5 mg/kg per minute i.v.), atropine (0.05 mg/kg per minute i.v.), or a combination of pyrilamine (0.5 mg/kg per minute i.v.) and cimetidine (0.5 mg/kg per minute i.v.) did not affect the response. In pithed rats treated with capsaicin (total dose of 500 mg/kg s.c.), spinal cord stimulation caused a slight depressor response. Exogenous CGRP, but not acetylcholine, isoproterenol, histamine, or substance P, caused a sustained fall in blood pressure that mimicked the spinal cord stimulation-induced depressor response. Continuous infusion of CGRP[8-37] (60 nmol/kg per minute i.v.), a CGRP receptor antagonist, markedly inhibited the depressor responses not only to spinal cord stimulation but also to exogenous CGRP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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The effect of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in neurotransmission of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-containing vasodilator nerves was investigated in rats. In perfused mesenteric vascular beds with active tone, perivascular nerve stimulation (PNS; 1-8 Hz) caused a frequency-dependent vasodilator response, which was abolished by 300 nM tetrodotoxin (TTX), 500 nM capsaicin, 1 microM human CGRP-(8-37), or cold storage denervation (4 degrees C for 72 h). NPY (5, 10, and 50 nM) concentration dependently inhibited the vasodilator response to PNS, whereas NPY had little effect on vasodilation induced by exogenous CGRP (10 and 100 pmol) or 1 nmol acetylcholine (ACh). NPY (10 nM) inhibited the neurogenic release of CGRP-like immunoreactivity induced by PNS (4 and 8 Hz), which was abolished by 300 nM TTX and the removal of Ca2+ from the medium. Combined perfusion with 5 nM NPY and 10 nM norepinephrine additively inhibited the vasodilator response to PNS but not to exogenous CGRP and ACh. Immunohistochemistry showed the distinct distribution of CGRP- and NPY-like immunoreactivity-containing fibers in rat mesenteric arteries. These results suggest that NPY modulates presynaptically the release of CGRP from CGRP-containing vasodilator nerves in rat mesenteric arteries.