The impact of vasoactive peptides on nitric oxide production in cultured sympathetic neurons

• Published in: Neuroscience Vol. 93; no. 2; pp. 605 - 609
• Main Authors: Khatun, S, Kanayama, N, Belayet, H.M, Sato, E, Tokunaga, N, Kobayashi, T, Terao, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.07.1999; Elsevier
• Subjects: angiotensin; Angiotensin II - pharmacology; Animals; Arginine - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Calcium - physiology; Cells, Cultured; Chick Embryo; endothelin; Endothelin-1 - pharmacology; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Fluorescent Dyes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Microelectrodes; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - metabolism; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester - pharmacology; nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - biosynthesis; Nitric Oxide Donors - pharmacology; Nitric Oxide Synthase - antagonists & inhibitors; Nitric Oxide Synthase - metabolism; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; norepinephrine; Norepinephrine - pharmacology; Penicillamine - analogs & derivatives; Penicillamine - pharmacology; Peripheral nervous system. Autonomic nervous system. Neuromuscular transmission. Ganglionic transmission. Electric organ; S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine; Sympathetic Nervous System - cytology; Sympathetic Nervous System - drug effects; Sympathetic Nervous System - metabolism; sympathetic neuron culture; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; norepinephrine; nitric oxide; Ang-II, angiotensin-II; PBS, phosphate-buffered solution; HEPES, N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine- N′-2-ethanesulfonic acid; sympathetic neuron culture; ET-1, endothelin-1; L-NAME, N w-nitro- l-arginine methyl ester; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; VSMCs, vascular smooth muscle cells; NM, nutrient medium; cNOS, constitutive NOS; MEM, minimum essential medium; NE, norepinephrine; endothelin; SNAP, S-nitroso- N-acetyl- d-penicillamine; NO, nitric oxide; angiotensin; Renin angiotensin system; Vertebrata; Endothelin; Autonomic nervous system; Nitric oxide; Angiotensin; Norepinephrine; Chicken; Aves; Catecholamine; Sympathetic nervous system; In vitro
• ISSN: 0306-4522; 1873-7544
• DOI: 10.1016/S0306-4522(99)00161-X

The concentration of nitric oxide was found to be decreased in a hypersympathetic condition. We carried out experiments on cultured sympathetic neurons from 12–14-days-old chick embryos to investigate the role of vasoactive peptides and amine on nitric oxide production. Stimulation of cultured neurons with endothelin-1, norepinephrine and angiotensin-II initially increases nitric oxide production and subsequently decreases it in a dose-dependent manner ( P<0.05, n=7). Stimulation of Fura-2 acetoxymethyl ester-loaded neurons with endothelin-1, norepinephrine and angiotensin-II increases the calcium influx (within 30–90 s) and it is then restored to the initial level ( P<0.05, n=7). An additional observation was that specific stimulator l-arginine significantly increases the nitric oxide release and calcium influx into the cells, whereas N w-nitro- l-arginine methyl ester blunts nitric oxide release dose dependently ( P<0.05, n=7) and does not change the calcium concentration in the cells. We propose that vasoactive peptides and amines inhibit nitric oxide production in the cultured sympathetic neuron by regulation of intracellular calcium concentration.