Tryptamine-induced vasoconstrictor responses in rat caudal arteries are mediated predominantly via...

It has been suggested that tryptamine can stimulate specific receptors distinct from those for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). We have examined this possibility in the rat isolated caudal artery, paying particular attention to the involvement of monoamine oxidase metabolism and alpha-adrenoceptors, two factors that can complicate the quantification of antagonist potencies at 5-HT receptors. 5-HT and tryptamine were agonists over the concentration-ranges 3.0 X 10(-8) - 3.0 X 10(-5) mol l-1 and 1.0 X 10(-6) - 3.0 X 10(-4) mol l-1 respectively. The sensitivity of the caudal artery to tryptamine was increased by about 44 fold in the presence of iproniazid (5.0 X 10(-5) mol l-1) and about 17 fold in the presence of pargyline (1.0 X 10(-5) mol l-1), while responses to 5-HT and methoxamine were unaffected. In the absence of iproniazid, ketanserin and methysergide were potent antagonists of responses to 5-HT with pA2 values of 9.08 and 9.11 and slopes of the Schild regressions of 1.15 and 1.00 respectively. However, against tryptamine the antagonists were weaker such that pA2 values were similar to those against 5-HT but the slopes of the Schild regressions were 0.47 and 0.47. In the presence of iproniazid (or pargyline), the 5-HT antagonists were more potent against tryptamine such that the pA2 values and the slopes of the Schild regressions were not significantly different from those against 5-HT. Phentolamine was a weak antagonist of responses to both 5-HT and tryptamine in the presence of iproniazid. 5 The findings in this study suggest that the contractile action of tryptamine in rat caudal artery is mediated predominantly by the same receptor as 5-HT and that the differential inactivation of tryptamine by monoamine oxidase enzymes largely accounts for the different susceptibilities of 5-HT and tryptamine to the antagonists examined.