Perivascular innervation in cerebral arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats and of normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats was studied. Adrenergic nerve fibers and neuropeptide Y-containing nerve fibers, indicative of vasoconstrictor nerves, were denser in all cerebral arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats than those of Wistar-Kyoto rats. In contrast, cholinergic nerve fibers and vasoactive intes tinal polypeptide, substance P-containing nerve fibers, indicative of vasodilator nerves, remained unchanged in all cerebral arteries of spontaneously hyperten sive rats, as compared with findings in the Wistar-Kyoto rats. Thus, not only adrenergic nerve fibers but also neuropeptide Y-containing nerve fibers may play an important role in preventing the disruption of the blood-brain barrier and the development of hypertensive encephalopathy in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Heistad DD, Marcus ML, Gross PM: Effects of sympathetic nerves on cerebral vessels in dog, cat, and monkey . Am J Physiol235:H544-552, 1978 .
2.
Lee Tj-F , Saito A.: Altered cerebral vessel innervation in the spontaneously hypertensive rat . Circ Res55:392-403, 1984.
3.
Furness JB, Costa M., Emson PC, et al: Distribution, pathways and reactions to drug treatment of nerves with neuropeptide Y- and pancreatic polypeptide-like immunoreactivity in the guinea-pig digestive tract. Cell Tissue Res234:71-92, 1983.
4.
Edvinsson L. , Emson P., McCulloch J., et al: Neuropeptide Y: Cerebrovascular innervation and vasomotor effects in the cat. Neurosci Lett43:79-84, 1983.
5.
Allen JM, Schon F., Todd N., et al: Presence of neuropeptide Y in human circle of Willis and its possible role in cerebral vasospasm. Lancet8:550-552, 1984.
6.
Edvinsson L. , Copeland JR, Emson PC, et al: Nerve fibers containing neuropeptide Y in the cerebrovascular bed: Immunocytochemistry, radioimmunoassay, and vasomotor effects. J Vereb Blood Flow Metab7:45-57, 1987.
7.
Larsson L-I. , Edvinsson L., Farenkrug J., et al: Immunohistochemical localization of a vasodilatory polypeptide (VIP) in cerebrovascular nerves . Brain Res113:400-404, 1976.
8.
Edvinsson L. , Fahrenkrug J., Hanko J., et al: VIP (vascactive intestinal polypeptide)-containing nerves of intracranial arteries in mammals . Cell Tissue Res208:135-142, 1980.
9.
Lee Tj-F , Saito A., Berezin I.: Vasoactive intestinal popeptide-like substance: The potential transmitter for cerebral vasodilation. Science224:898-901, 1984.
10.
Yamamoto K. , Matsuyama T., Shiosaka S., et al: Overall distribution of substance P-containing nerves in the wall of the cerebral arteries of the guinea pig and its origins. J Comp Neurol215:421-426, 1983.
11.
Maccarrone C., Jarrott B.: Differences in regional brain concentrations of neuropeptide Y in spontaneously hypertensive (SH) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Brain Res345:165-169, 1985.
12.
Falck B., Hillarp NA, Thieme G., et al: Fluorescence of catecholamines and related compounds condensed with formaldehyde. J Histochem Cytochem10:348-354, 1962.
13.
Karnovsky MJ , Roots L.: A direct-coloring thiocholine method for cholinesterases. J Histochem Cytochem12:219-221, 1964.
14.
Kawamura K. , Ando K., Takebayashi S.: Perivascular innervation of the mesenteric artery in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Hypertension14:660-665, 1989.
15.
Kobayashi S. , Tsukahara S., Sugita K., et al: Histochemical studies on the postnatal development of autonomic nerves in mice cerebral arteries. Histochemistry73:15-20, 1981.
16.
Iwayama T., Furness JB, Burnstock G.: Dual adrenergic and cholinergic innervation of the cerebral arteries of the rat. Circ Res26:635-645, 1970.
17.
Sadoshima S. , Thames M., Heistad D.: Cerebral blood flow during elevation of intracranial pressure: Role of sympathetic nerves. Am J Physiol241:H78-H84, 1981.
18.
Bill A., Linder J.: Sympathetic control of cerebral blood flow in acute arterial hypertension . Acta Physiol Scand96:114-121,1976.
19.
Mackenzie ET , McGeorge AP, Graham DI, et al: Effects of increasing arterial pressure on cerebral blood flow in the baboon. Pfluegers Arch378:189-195, 1979.
20.
Sadoshima S. , Heistad D.: Sympathetic nerves protect the blood brain barrier in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. Hypertension4:904-907, 1982.
21.
Gillespie JS , Rae RM: The response of arteries to nerve stimulation and to noradrenaline and the relationship of this to innervation density and wall thickness. J Physiol208:60-61, 1970.
22.
Sercombe R. , Aubuneau P., Edvinsson L., et al: Neurogenic influence on local cerebral blood flow. Effect of catecholamines or sympathetic stimulation as correlated with the sympathetic innervation. Neurology25:954-963, 1975.
