[Effect of middle cerebral artery occlusion on serotonin metabolism in rat brain. The correlation with changes of cerebral blood flow and cerebral energy metabolism]

Endothelin causes contraction of canine and bovine arterial smooth muscle in vitro and in vivo

We have studied the effect of endothelin, an endothelium-derived peptide, on isolated canine and bovine cerebral arteries in vitro and on canine vertebral blood flow (VBF) in vivo. Endothelin produced a dose-dependent contraction of canine and bovine arterial smooth muscle with ED50 values ranging from 4 to 8 nM. The response to endothelin developed slowly and persisted as a sustained contraction. Maximal contraction by endothelin required the presence of extracellular calcium and was independent of the presence of endothelium. The maximal contraction produced by endothelin was approximately 2-3 times greater than that produced by neuropeptide Y or angiotensin II. The injection of endothelin into the vertebral artery decreased vertebral blood flow (VBF) dose-dependently without affecting systemic blood pressure or heart rate. The decrease in VBF produced by endothelin was long-lasting, like that produced by neuropeptide Y, but more potent. The present data, together with our previous study demonstrating that the intracisternal injection of endothelin induces an unusually long-lasting decrease in the basilar artery diameter angiographically, suggests that endothelin may act as a long-lasting vasoconstrictor in cerebral vascular disease.

Alterations of monoamine metabolites and of tryptophan in the basal cisternal CSF of patients after subarachnoid haemorrhage

Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and tryptophan (TRP) were measured in the CSF obtained from the basal cistern of 20 patients, who had undergone surgical obliteration of bleeding aneurysms within 3 days after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The concentrations of these substances, which were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), were the highest on days 3 or 4, and thereafter showed a gradual decrease with an increase in time. The cisternal CSF in patients who had severe preoperative clinical grades of SAH or vasospasm contained relatively higher concentrations of HVA, 5-HIAA and TRP than those contained in patients who did not. It is proposed that SAH stimulates the release of monoamines from the brain with the resultant extracellular accumulation of their metabolites and their diffusion into CSF during the acute stage. This stimulatory effect of SAH on the brain monoamine system may be consistent with those previously reported in cases of cerebral haemorrhage or infarction.