Pulmonary and Indole Pharmacology Oxidant Stress Induced Injury

The role of serotonin (5-HT) in cardiovascular disease has been elusive; however, recent observations that the active transport of 5-HT

 into platelets is reduced in hypertension and that smooth muscle cells from hypertensive blood vessels are more responsive to 5-HT than normotensive blood vessels has stimulated renewed interest in the role of 5-HT in hypertension.  The development of selective 5-HT receptor antagonists and their demonstrated ability to lower blood pressure has further linked circulating 5-HT levels to 5-HT receptor activation on vascular smooth muscle cells.  These observations have focused attention on 5-HT as a potentially important element in the maintenance of increased vascular resistance which is characteristic of hypertension, and the need to understand what controls the circulating levels of this vasoactive amine.  The circulating level of 5-HT is normally maintained at concentrations below those required to activate vascular smooth muscle 5-HT receptors. This control is achieved through active uptake mechanisms which are located on the outer surface of both platelets and endothelial cells which line blood vessels.  No information is presently available on the regulation of these active transport processes.  It is the goal of this research project to determine the mechanisms by which platelets regulate 5-HT transport.  The achievement of this goal will provide valuable information concerning the control of circulating 5-HT levels, which will be crucial to understanding the role of 5-HT in peripheral vascular diseases and to the development of new strategies for its prevention

Inclusion of a competency-based curriculum in medical Pharmacology, J.A. Near, T.R. Bosin and J.B. Watkins, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 366:26-29