Influence of blockade of alpha 1-adrenoceptors, beta 1-adrenoceptors and vasopressin V1A receptors on the cardiovascular effects of gamma 2-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (gamma 2-MSH).

gamma 2-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (gamma 2-MSH) and related melanotropins have been shown to have various cardiovascular effects, including acute, short-lasting increases in blood pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). gamma 2-MSH, administered intravenously, dose-dependently increased MAP and HR with an ED50 of approximately 30 nmol/kg and a maximal effect on MAP of approximately 55 mm Hg and on HR of around 70 beats per minute. Intravenous (i.v.) pretreatment with the alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, prazosin, caused the dose-response curve for the effect of gamma 2-MSH on MAP to shift to the right with a decrease in slope, whereas it had no effect on the dose-response curve for the effect on HR. I.v. pretreatment with the beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, metoprolol, had no effect on the dose-response curve for the effect of gamma 2-MSH on MAP, but it caused the dose-response curve for the effect of the peptide on HR to shift to the right with a decrease in slope. Neither i.v. nor intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of the vasopressin V1A receptor antagonist, SR 49059 ((2S) 1-[(2R 3S)-5-chloro-3-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(3,4-dimethoxy-benzene-sulfonyl)- 3-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-2-carbonyl]-pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide), had significant effects on the dose-response curves for the effects of the peptide on either MAP or HR. The doses of prazosin, metoprolol and SR 49059 were found to be effective in counteracting the effects of agonists for these receptors (phenylephrine, isoprenaline and [Arg8]vasopressin, respectively). Taken together, these results support the postulate that the effects of gamma 2-MSH are, at least partially, due to an increase in sympathetic outflow to the periphery (Gruber and Callahan (1989), Am J Physiol 257: R681-R694), and that this increase leads to increased activation of vascular alpha 1-adrenoceptors and cardiac beta 1-adrenoceptors. If, as was suggested by these authors, gamma 2-MSH acts via activation of a central vasopressin system, it is via a vasopressin receptor subtype other than the vasopressin V1A receptor, since i.c.v. administration of a selective vasopressin V1A receptor antagonist failed to interfere with the pressor and cardioaccelerator effects of gamma 2-MSH.

Flesinoxan dose-dependently reduces extracellular 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in rat median raphe and dorsal hippocampus through activation of 5-HT1A receptors.

The effects of systemic administration of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) 5-HT1A receptor agonists flesinoxan and 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin on extracellular 5-HT were measured using microdialysis probes in both median raphe nucleus and dorsal hippocampus. Both 5-HT1A agonists dose-dependently decreased dialysate 5-HT levels from both brain regions. The effects of flesinoxan in the median raphe (0.3 mg/kg) and dorsal hippocampus (1.0 mg/kg) could be blocked by the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist N-[2-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-(2-pyridyl)cyclohexane carboxamide trihydrochloride (WAY 100,635) at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg s.c. The antagonist itself had no effect at this dosage. Local perfusion of flesinoxan for 30 min through the dialysis probe into the median raphe region at concentrations of 20, 100, and 1,000 nM resulted in a significant decrease in dialysate 5-HT content from both regions. The effect of 100 nM flesinoxan could be blocked by coperfusion of 1,000 nM WAY 100,635. The data indicate that flesinoxan is a potent 5-HT1A receptor agonist and also support the notion that somatodendritic 5-HT1A autoreceptors regulate both terminal and somatodendritic 5-HT release.