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5-Hydroxytryptamine releases adenosine from primary afferent nerve terminals in the spinal cord
M Sweeney1, T White, J Sawynok
1Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada.
Brain Research
|October 18, 1988
Abstract:
5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin, 5-HT) increased the release of endogenous adenosine from dorsal, but not ventral, spinal cord synaptosomes. This release was reduced by (i) the 5-HT receptor antagonist methysergide, (ii) removal of Ca2+ from the medium, (iii) inhibition of ecto-5'-nucleotidase and (iv) capsaicin pretreatment. These data suggest that activation of 5-HT receptors on primary afferent terminals releases a nucleotide which is converted extracellularly to adenosine. This adenosine may contribute to the spinal antinociceptive effect of 5-HT.