Here we show that secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) that is immunochemically indistinguishable from type II sPLA2 is (i) stored in neuroendocrine cells, (ii) released in response to neurotransmitters or depolarization, and (iii) involved in the regulation of catecholamine secretion by these cells. Rat brain synaptic vesicle fractions contained PLA2 activity, which was neutralized completely by an antibody raised against rat type II sPLA2. sPLA2 immunoreactive with anti-(type II sPLA2) antibody was released from synaptosomes in response to depolarization evoked by a high concentration of potassium in the presence of Ca2+. Rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, which differentiated into adherent cells similar to sympathetic neurons in response to nerve growth factor, were used for the detailed analysis of the dynamics and function of sPLA2 in neuronal cells. Antibody against rat type II sPLA2 precipitated approximately 80% of the PLA2 activity in PC12 cell lysates. Transcript for type II sPLA2 was detected in PC12 cells by reverse transcriptase-PCR. When neuronally differentiated PC12 cells were stimulated with carbamylcholine or potassium, sPLA2 was released into the medium and reached a maximal approximately 40% release by 15 min. Inhibitors specific to type II sPLA2 suppressed catecholamine secretion by PC12 cells which had been activated by carbamylcholine. Furthermore, treatment of PC12 cells with exogenous type II sPLA2 alone elicited catecholamine secretion. These observations indicate that sPLA2 released from neuronal cells may regulate the degranulation process leading to release of neurotransmitters and are compatible with our earlier finding that this enzyme is involved in the degranulation of rat mast cells.

A fully automated in-line extraction reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with chemiluminescence detection was developed for the analysis of human and rat plasma catecholamines (CAs), norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E) and dopamine (DA). N-Methyldopamine (N-MeDA) was used as an internal standard. The method involves collection of plasma samples, which are first diluted with a sample dilution buffer containing N-MeDA, and in-line extraction of CAs using a carboxylic acid small resin precolumn (SERUMOUT-CEX). This pre-extraction process was coupled with an HPLC system including reversed-phase mode separation on an analytical column (TSK gel ODS-80Ts), fluorogenic derivatization with ethylenediamine (ED) and finally postcolumn peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction detection using bis [4-nitro-2-(3,6,9-trioxadecyloxycarbonyl)phenyl]oxalate (TDPO) and hydrogen peroxide. The optimized mobile phase compositions, flow rates, operation timing for the adsorption and desorption of CAs in the precolumn, the separation in the analytical column and the optimum fluorogenic and chemiluminogenic reaction conditions were investigated. The detection limit for all the CAs was about 1 fmol (signal-to-noise ratio is 2). Excellent linearity of the calibration curves for CAs was observed in the range from 5 to 500 fmol for each CA using the internal standard. The relative standard deviations of the method for determining NE (183 fmol), E (23.6 fmol) and DA (6.1 fmol) in 50 microL of human plasma (n = 3) were 2.8, 2.7 and 3.1%, respectively, for the within-day assay and 5.0, 3.8 and 4.0%, respectively, for the between-day assay. The method was applicable to the determination of CAs in 25-50 microL of human or rat plasma.

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A calcium antagonist, diltiazem, was infused continuously into Sprague-Dawley rats through the left femoral vein at four different flow rates. The mean arterial blood pressure and concentrations of plasma norepinephrine (NE) were measured in each single rat (n = 5) and the correlations between them were studied. Blood (150 microL) was collected 13 times during the infusion. Plasma NE was determined by HPLC-ethylenediamine condensation reaction-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection system (HPLC-ED-PO-CL). In four cases from 5 rats, the blood pressure reduction caused by diltiazem was inversely correlated to logarithm of plasma NE concentration. The relation was expressed as Y = -alogX+m. The coefficients of correlation were -0.9506, -0.9293, -0.9341 and -0.8675, respectively. The correlation for the last rat was worse (r = -0.0799). The good correlation would imply that the sympathetic nervous system released NE to maintain blood pressure up to the normal level, responding to the sympathetic nervous system released NE to maintain blood pressure up to the normal level, responding to the blood pressure reduction caused by diltiazem. The present experiment proved the feasibility of the determination method of NE utilizing HPLC-ED-PO-CL detection in applying to the individual rats.

ImaiNicardipine, a dihydropyridine type calcium channel blocker, was infused into 4-, 6-, and 23-wk-old spontaneously hypertensive (SH) and age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats (under sodium thiobutabarbital anesthesia and ventilation, n = 4) through the left femoral vein, resulting in the reduction of blood pressure. In each rat, mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and the concentration of plasma catecholamines (CAs), norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (E) were concomitantly determined, and the correlations between these three variables were studied. During the infusion of nicardipine, the plasma concentration of CAs was measured with an automatic detection system in blood samples collected from the right femoral artery of each rat. The reduction in blood pressure induced by nicardipine brought about an increase in plasma CA levels. The blood pressure correlated well with the logarithm of plasma NE or E concentration according to the formula Y= --a log (X) + m (Y, blood pressure; X, concentration of plasma NE or E; a, slope; and m, intercept). The slopes (as) of 6-wk-old and 23-wk-old SH rats were significantly greater than those of aged-matched WKY rats, meaning that the increment in plasma CAs in response to a decrease in blood pressure was smaller in SH than in WKY rats of similar ages. However, no significant differences were found between the as of 4-wk-old SH and WKY rats. We conclude that the increment in the baroreflex-mediated sympathetic activity in response to a drop in blood pressure induced by nicardipine is similar or greater in prehypertensive SH than in normotensive WKY 4-wk-old rats, while the increment becomes smaller in SH rats with the onset of hypertension (6-wk-old rats), and is much less in fully hypertensive adult (23-wk-old) SH rats than in age-matched WKY rats. On the basis of these findings and previous data obtained by neurogra- Many papers have reported that plasma catecholamines (CAs) can be used to evaluate baroreflexmediated sympathetic activity, because circulating CAs consist mainly of CAs liberated from the synapses of sympathetic nerves in proportion to the degree of such activity (1-10). We showed for the first time that the blood pressure reduction caused by the continuous infusion of diltiazem, verapamil, or nicardipine in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats correlated significantly with the increases in plasma norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) concentrations (11, 12). Further studies of diltiazem and nicardipine given by infusion to adult (23 to 28 wk old) spontaneously hypertensive (SH) and agematched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats revealed similar, close correlations in both strains (13). These findings showed the great contribution of baroreflex-mediated sympathetic activity to blood pressure regulation in SD, SH, and WKY rats, acting to raise the artificially diminished blood pressure to normal values. These results also revealed reduced sensitivity of the baroreflex-mediated sympathetic response in adult SH rats as compared with age-matched normo...