Naka Yamaga, Hiromu Kawasaki*, Keiichi Inaizumi, Miho Shimizu, Arisa Nakamura and Yuji Kurosaki
Department of Clinical Pharmaceutical Science, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 1-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
*Corresponding author. FAX: +81-86-251-7970, E-mail: kawasaki@pheasant.pharm.okayama-u.ac.jp
Abstract: Age-related changes in levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) mRNA of the dorsal root ganglia was studied in 8-, 12- and 15-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). CGRP mRNA levels in SHR but not in WKY decreased with age. The contents of CGRP-like immunoreactivities in the atrium and mesenteric artery of 15-week-old SHR were greater than those in age-matched WKY. These results suggest that the outflow of CGRP-containing nerves from the spinal cord and CGRP release from CGRP nerve terminals decreases in SHR.
Keywords: Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) mRNA, Mesenteric arterial CGRP content, Spontaneously hypertensive rat
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