Differences in inositol phosphate production in rat tail artery and thoracic aorta

Pharmacomechanical coupling of vascular smooth muscle is believed to be mediated by inositol trisphosphate (IP3). Numerous studies have demonstrated an increase in inositol phosphates following tissue stimulation using either intact aortic strips or cultured cells from aorta. However, little information is available concerning inositol phosphates in vascular tissue other than in the large conduit vessel, the aorta. This present study was designed to examine the role of inositol phosphate metabolism following adrenergic stimulation of the muscular rat tail artery as compared to the aorta. Segments of thoracic aorta and tail artery from male Sprague Dawley rats were labeled with [3H]inositol and stimulated with norepinephrine. The norepinephrine concentration that resulted in a half-maximal stimulation of inositol phosphates was approximately 10(-6) M in both the aorta and tail artery. Although the sensitivity of the two vessels to norepinephrine stimulation were similar, the stimulated levels of IP, IP2, and IP3 were from 1 to 2 orders of magnitude greater in the tail artery than in aorta. IP production in aorta and tail artery was a linear function of time (from 0 to 30 min). Significant levels of IP3 (the 1,4,5-IP3 isomer as determined by HPLC) could only be detected in the tail artery and appeared to be produced optimally after 5 min of stimulation. The several order of magnitude increase in adrenergic stimulated inositol phosphate production in the tail artery was not due to either an increased magnitude of [3H]inositol incorporated into PI, PIP, and PIP2 or to a greater percentage of smooth muscle cells per unit tissue of the rat tail artery. We believe the results of this study demonstrate that the increased inositol phosphate metabolism in the vascular smooth muscle cells of the tail artery is an intrinsic property of the cell. Moreover, due to the significant levels of all inositol phosphates produced in the tail artery, this muscular artery may be a better model, as compared to the aorta, for future studies investigating pharmacomechanical coupling of vascular smooth muscle.