Inger Jansen

Perivascular peptides relax cerebral arteries concomitant with stimulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate accumulation or release of an endothelium-derived relaxing factor in the cat

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) have been proposed to be neurotransmitters/neuromodulators in cerebral perivascular nerve fibers. Here, we present pharmacological and biochemical evidence showing that these peptides have different modes of relaxing cerebral blood vessels in the cat. CGRP causes pronounced relaxation, this occurs simultaneously with stimulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation. The strong VIP-induced dilatation is parallelled by cAMP accumulation, albeit of a lower magnitude than with CGRP. The SP-induced relaxation was much weaker than that of CGRP and VIP, and it was not associated with cAMP accumulation. Only at concentrations of SP where maximum relaxation had occurred, was a nonsignificant cAMP accumulation seen. The responses to SP and acetylcholine were absent in arteries where the endothelium had been removed, whereas the relaxations induced by CGRP and VIP persisted.

Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide and Cerebral Blood Vessels: Distribution and Vasomotor Effects

The innervation of cerebral blood vessels by nerve fibers containing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and the vasomotor effects of this peptide are described for a number of different mammalian species. CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers were present in the adventitia of cerebral arteries in all species examined (guinea pig, cat, rabbit, rat, and mouse). Numerous perikarya containing CGRP immunoreactivity are demonstrable in the trigeminal ganglion of all species. In the cerebral perivascular nerve fibers and in trigeminal perikarya, CGRP is often colocalized with substance P and neurokinin A. Marked interspecies differences exist both in the density of CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers and in the cerebrovascular levels measured with radioimmunoassay. The highest concentrations were observed in cerebral vessels from guinea pigs, the lowest concentration in rabbit vessels, and intermediate levels in the feline and human cerebral vasculature. CGRP is a potent dilator of cerebral arteries in all species examined (human pial, feline middle cerebral, rabbit, guinea pig and rat basilar arteries). The concentration of CGRP eliciting half-maximal responses ranged from 0.4 nM (human pial artery) to 3 nM (rat and rabbit basilar arteries). Pretreatment of cerebral arteries with low concentrations of either substance P (0.1 nM) or neurokinin A (3 nM) attenuated slightly the CGRP-induced relaxations of guinea pig basilar arteries. Calcitonin was found to be a very weak dilator of cerebral arteries from human and guinea pig. Thus, cardiovascular nerve fibers containing CGRP appear to be present in all mammalian species (although to varying degrees) and CGRP is invariably a potent dilator of the cerebral arteries for all species.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide, neurokinin A and substance P : effects on nociception and neurogenic inflammation in human skin and temporal muscle

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) was injected alone and in combination with substance P (SP) or neurokinin A (NKA) into the forearm skin and temporal muscle of human volunteers. In the skin, 50 pmol of CGRP induced a wheal response and a delayed erythema. No pain was recorded. No interaction between CGRP and SP or NKA was observed. In the temporal muscle, 200 pmol of CGRP alone did not induce pain or tenderness but, in combination with SP or NKA, CGRP elicited a significant pain sensation. It is concluded that CGRP may be involved in neurogenic inflammation and that only SP, of the three peptides present in nociceptive C fibers, seems to be of major importance in relation to cutaneous nociception. Simultaneous neurogenic release of CGRP and other neuropeptides in skeletal muscle may induce myofascial pain.

PACAP, a VIP-like Peptide: Immunohistochemical Localization and Effect upon Cat Pial Arteries and Cerebral Blood Flow

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) is a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)–like peptide recently isolated from ovine hypothalami. Nerve fibers containing PACAP immunoreactivity were present in the adventitia and the adventitia-media border of cat cerebral arteries. Double immunostaining revealed that PACAP-immunoreactive nerve fibers constituted a sub-population of the VIP-containing fibers. PACAP effected a concentration-dependent relaxation of feline middle cerebral arteries that had been precontracted with prostaglandin F2α. The maximum relaxation, 24 and 34% of precontraction, was achieved with PACAP-38 and PACAP-27, respectively, at a concentration of 10−6 M. In cats anesthetized with α-chloralose, intracerebral microinjection of PACAP effected a moderate increase in cerebral blood flow. The maximal increase (18.6 ± 6%) was observed following the injection of 5 μg PACAP.

Distribution and effects of neuropeptide Y, vasoactive intestinal peptide, substance P, and calcitonin gene-related peptide in human middle meningeal arteries: Comparison with cerebral and temporal arteries

A sparse to moderate supply of nerve fibers containing neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity (NPY-LI), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP-LI), substance P (SP-LI), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP-LI) was demonstrated in the walls of human middle meningeal arteries. Comparison with similar studies on human cerebral and temporal arteries indicated a similar distribution and density. The immunoreactive material in all three arterial regions was characterized by reversed-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and radioimmunoassay (RIA). The major peak of NPY-LI, VIP-LI, SP-LI, and CGRP-LI in each extract eluted approximately with the same elution volume as that of the corresponding synthetic analogues. The concentration of NPY in the middle meningeal arteries was lower as compared to the temporal arteries. Low concentrations of SP-LI and CGRP-LI were found in the middle meningeal arteries as compared to the cerebral arteries. In isolated ring segments of human middle meningeal and cerebral arteries, NPY caused vasoconstriction but did not potentiate the contractile response of noradrenaline. In the temporal artery, NPY did not induce contraction but potentiated the vasoconstrictor response to noradrenaline. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, peptide histidine methionine-27, SP, neurokinin A, and CGRP relaxed all three types of cephalic arteries. The peptide effects were not antagonized by propranolol, atropine, or cimetidine. Comparison of the responses to VIP and SP of vessels from the different regions showed a similar pattern of reactivity. The response to SP was slightly (p less than 0.05) more potent, whereas the responses to CGRP were less potent in the middle meningeal as compared to that in cerebral (p less than 0.005) vessels.

Neurokinin A in cerebral vessels: characterization, localization and effects in vitro.

Nerve fibres displaying neurokinin A (NKA)-immunoreactivity (IR) were seen in trigeminal nerve cell bodies and around cerebral blood vessels. NKA-positive fibres had the same general distribution as those displaying substance P (SP)-IR. Double or sequential immunostaining revealed coexistence of NKA- and SP-IR in a population of small nerve cell bodies in the trigeminal ganglion and in perivascular nerve fibres of brain vessels; both tachykinins were also noted to coexist with calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-IR. The presence of NKA- and SP-IR in cerebral vessels from guinea pig was verified by high-performance liquid chromatography and radioimmunochemistry. The levels NKA-IR were higher than those of SP-IR in cerebral vessels of rat, guinea pig and rabbit. In cat, pig, cow and human brain vessels, the levels of NKA- and SP-IR were equal. Major cerebral vessels at the base of the brain contained higher levels of NKA- and SP-IR than pial vessels on the cerebral convexities. Only low levels of NKA-IR and SP-IR were measured in choroid plexus and dura mater. Precontracted isolated arterial segments of middle cerebral (cat), basilar (rabbit, guinea pig and rat) and pial arteries (man) relaxed following the in vitro administration of NKA and SP. The responses occurred in the same concentration range; the IC50 value for NKA was, however, about 10 times higher than that for SP, while the maximum relaxation was equal. In basilar arteries from guinea pig, the peptides NKA, SP and CGRP all induced strong and potent relaxations. There was no evidence that one of the peptides might potentiate the relaxant effects in vitro of another. The present data suggest that NKA, SP and CGRP are costored and can be released together and cooperate in the mediation of vascular reactions in response to activation of the trigemino-cerebrovascular pathway.

Pain and tenderness in human temporal muscle induced by bradykinin and 5-hydroxytryptamine

Pain was induced in 19 healthy individuals by double-blind injections into the temporal muscle of 0.2 ml of physiological saline with or without active substances added. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (2 nmol) caused pain similar to saline, bradykinin (2 nmol) only insignificantly more pain (0.05 less than p less than 0.1), while a mixture of the two substances in half dosage (1 nmol + 1 nmol) caused pain significantly above saline (p less than 0.01). Variations in the response to saline did not permit a conclusion to be made on the question of induced tenderness. However, the mixture of the two substances appeared to lower the pressure-pain threshold as measured by a pressure algometer (p less than 0.05).

Neuropeptide Y antagonistic properties of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-trisphosphate in guinea pig basilar arteries.

The antagonistic properties on neuropeptide Y (NPY)-induced contraction of the guinea pig basilar artery of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate (PP56) has been examined using a sensitive in vitro system. It was observed that PP56 did not per se cause contraction or relaxation of precontracted vessel segments. However, it was found to be a non-competitive antagonist of NPY-induced contraction. This effect was observed in the concentration range 10(-8)-10(-6) M PP56. A slight potentiation of endothelin I-induced contraction was seen at high concentrations (10(-3) M). In contrast there was no modulation of the contractile effects elicited by bradykinin, noradrenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) or prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) apart from a slight reduction in maximum effect at 10(-4) M and 10(-3) M PP56. PP56 was observed to possess antihistaminic and anticholinergic properties in the concentration range 10(-5) M-10(-3) M. The relaxant effects of vasoactive intestinal peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide, neurokinin A and substance P were only modified to a minor extent by PP56 in concentrations of 10(-4) M and 10(-3) M. In conclusion, PP56 appears to be the first non-peptide which potently and rather selectively antagonizes NPY-induced contractions of the guinea pig basilar artery. In high concentrations, PP56 may modify the responses of other agents tested, including histamine and acetylcholine.

Tachykinins (substance P, neurokinin A, neuropeptide K, and neurokinin B) in the cerebral circulation : vasomotor responses in vitro and in situ

The vasomotor responses of tachykinins have been studied in the cerebral vasculature of human, pig, cat, and guinea pig. Substance P (SP), neurokinin A (NKA), neurokinin B (NKB), and neuropeptide K (NPK) induced concentration-dependent relaxations of precontracted cerebral arteries in all species when examined by a sensitive in vitro technique. In addition, the relaxant responses to SP, NKA, and NKB were studied in cat pial arterioles by peptide microapplication in situ. In human pial vessels, the order of relaxant potency was SP > NKB > NKA > NPK; in the pig middle cerebral artery, there was no difference in potency between the tachykinins; in the cat middle cerebral artery, SP = NKB > NKA = NPK; and in the guinea pig basilar artery, SP » NPK = NKA > NKB. Responses induced by SP, NKA, and NKB in the cat were comparable in vitro and in situ. Removal of the endothelium abolished relaxation induced by all four tachykinins. The relaxant responses of guinea pig basilar arteries to SP, NKA, and NPK were competitively antagonized by the SP antagonist Spantide. However, Spantide lowered the Imax of the NKB concentration–response curve without any rightward shift, suggesting action at a different site than the other tachykinins. In the guinea pig basilar artery, the relaxation seems to be exerted via a NK-1 receptor subtype while the receptor subtype is more unclear in cerebral arteries from human, cat, and pig. It is concluded that relaxations induced by SP, NKA, NKB, and NPK are dependent on the endothelium, and are antagonized either competitively or non-competitively by the SP antagonist Spantide. The origin of tachykinins acting through the endothelium is discussed.

Acetylcholine and vasoactive intestinal peptide in cerebral blood vessels: effect of extirpation of the sphenopalatine ganglion

The innervation of cerebral blood vessels by nerve fibers containing acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and the vasomotor effects of the two neurotransmitters have been analyzed in the rat following the uni- or bilateral removal of the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG), which is thought to be the major origin of this innervation. Histochemistry of AChE-positive nerve fibers and the immunoreactivity toward VIP revealed only a 30% reduction in the innervation pattern of the rostral part of the cerebral circulation following the operation. At ∼4 weeks postoperatively, the original nerve network was restored. Quantitative measurements of cholineacetyltransferase activity and VIP revealed similar reductions in the levels of collected large cerebral arteries at the base of the brain and in small pial vessels overlying the cerebral cortex at the various postoperative times following uni- or bilateral removal of the SPG. The two techniques thus complemented each other. Vasomotor reactivity to acetylcholine (ACh) and VIP was examined in proximal segments of the middle cerebral artery at the various postoperative times. Generally, the removal of the SPG had no effect on the responses to ACh or VIP. The evidence indicates that only approximately one-third of the cholinergic/VIP innervation of the rostral part of the cerebral circulation originates in the SPG.