Premium
Alterations in regional blood flow in rats following sensitization to the nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis : effects of PAF antagonists
Author(s) -
Mathison Ronald,
Rimmer Carol,
Davison Joseph S.,
Wallace John L.,
Befus A. Dean
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1990.tb12095.x
Subject(s) - sensitization , blood flow , nippostrongylus brasiliensis , jejunum , platelet activating factor , immunology , endocrinology , medicine , biology , immune system
1 Changes in tissue and organ blood flow associated with sensitization of rats to the nematode parasite, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis , were studied 30 to 35 days after infection, a time when very few worms remain in the animal. 2 Neither active nor passive sensitization modified heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, cardiac output or total peripheral resistance. Passive sensitization and administration of non‐immune sera did not modify blood flow to any of the tissues studied. 3 Active sensitization increased hepatic arterial blood flow, but decreased blood flow to the stomach, duodenum, jejunum and the submandibular glands. These effects cannot be attributed to residual nematode infections as treatment with the anthelmintic, thiabendazole, did not alter blood flow relative to untreated, actively sensitized rats. 4 The effects of active sensitization on blood flow were probably due to an action of platelet‐activating factor (PAF) since treatment of actively sensitized animals with the selective antagonists, WEB‐2086 and BN 52021, reversed the decrease in flow seen to the intestinal regions. The PAF antagonists increased blood flow to the kidneys and the trachea of sensitized animals. 5 These results suggest that the PAF released from undetermined sources in nematode‐sensitized rats, produces altered blood flow, primarily to the stomach and proximal small bowel.