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Cat cerebral arteries are functionally innervated by serotoninergic fibers from central and peripheral origins
M J Moreno1, A López de Pablo, M V Conde
1Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
Background And Purpose:
Tryptophan hydroxylase activity and responses to tyramine were analyzed in cat cerebral arteries to investigate serotoninergic innervation.
Methods:
Enzymatic activity and responses to tyramine were measured in vessels from animals subjected to cervical gangliectomy and dorsal and median raphe nuclei lesions.
Results:
Tryptophan hydroxylase activity in cat cerebral arteries was reduced after ganglia removal and raphe nuclei destruction. Contractile responses of the middle cerebral artery after gangliectomy were decreased by ketanserine. Dorsal raphe nucleus destruction had a significant effect on the contractile response, whereas median raphe nucleus destruction had only a slight effect.
Conclusions:
Cat cerebral arteries receive serotoninergic innervation from central and peripheral origins.