Neuroreceptor mRNA expression in the rat mesenteric artery develops independently of innervation

Jacqueline K. Phillips, Caryl E. Hill*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    21 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Studies in autonomic targets have shown that nerves may be required for the development and maintenance of postsynaptic receptor populations. We have examined this relationship in the rat mesenteric artery, assessing mRNA expression levels for a range of neuroreceptors after neonatal sympathectomy, using 6-hydroxydopamine or antisera directed against nerve growth factor, and sensory denervation, using capsaicin. Total RNA was extracted from 28day old rats and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed, using primers specific for the α(1(A,B,D))- and α(2(A,B,C))-adrenergic, neurokinin (NK1-NK3), muscarinic (M1-M5) and P(2X) purinergic (P(2X1-7)) receptor families. Results showed no decreases in mRNA expression of any of the specific receptor subtypes after either sympathetic or sensory denervation. Small increases in mRNA expression were detected following sensory denervation for some of the receptor subtypes. We conclude that neither sympathetic nor sensory nerves are mandatory for the expression of mRNA of a range of neuroreceptors in the mesenteric vascular bed of the rat. Copyright (C) 1999 ISDN.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)377-386
    Number of pages10
    JournalInternational Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
    Volume17
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1999

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