Regulation of blood pressure by nitroxidergic nerve

We discovered vasodilator innervation first in canine cerebral arteries, in which nitric oxide (NO) acts as a neurotransmitter; thus, the nerve is called nitroxidergic. Then, reciprocal innervation of noradrenergic and nitroxidergic nerves in canine peripheral arteries was determined; adrenergic nerve-mediated vasoconstriction is predominant over vasodilatation mediated by NO derived from the nerve. In anesthetized dogs, hypertension induced by NO synthase inhibitors is suppressed by hexamethonium. It is hypothesized that impairment of nitroxidergic nerve function by NO synthase inhibition is mainly involved in the genesis of hypertension.