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Evidence for an Astrocyte‐Derived Vasorelaxing Factor with Properties Similar to Nitric Oxide
Author(s) -
Murphy Sean,
Minor Robert L.,
Welk Greg,
Harrison David G.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1990.tb08860.x
Subject(s) - nitric oxide , astrocyte , pharmacology , chemistry , medicine , neuroscience , psychology , central nervous system
To determine whether astrocytes release nonprostanoid vasodilators, cells on microcarrier beads were superfused with various agents in the presence of indomethacin, and the effluent was bioassayed and also analyzed for nitric oxide by a chemiluminescence technique. Bradykinin and A23187 induced release of a factor that relaxed arterial rings, an effect that was blocked by hemoglobin. The effluent contained either nitric oxide or a related compound that could be reduced to nitric oxide. Production of this factor was competitively inhibited by the arginine analogs N G ‐nitro‐L‐arginine and N G ‐methyl‐L‐arginine and could be restored with L‐arginine. Quisqualate and norepinephrine were also effective in causing the release of nitric oxide from astroglial cells. Thus, astrocyte‐derived relaxing factor has properties similar to those of an endothelium‐ and neuronderived relaxing factor.