HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 293/1/H266    most recent 00859.2006v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Damon, D. H. Articles by Marko, S. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Damon, D. H. Articles by Marko, S. B.

Vascular-derived artemin: a determinant of vascular sympathetic innervation?

Department of Pharmacology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont

Submitted 10 August 2006 ; accepted in final form 1 March 2007

Vascular sympathetic innervation is an important determinant of blood pressure and blood flow. The mechanisms that determine vascular sympathetic innervation are not well understood. The present study tests the hypothesis that vascular-derived artemin promotes the development of sympathetic innervation to blood vessels by promoting sympathetic axon growth. RT-PCR and Western analyses indicate that artemin is expressed by cultured vascular smooth muscle and arteries, and artemin coreceptors, glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor 3 and ret, are expressed by postganglionic sympathetic neurons. The effects of artemin on axon growth were assessed on explants of neonatal rat sympathetic ganglia. In the presence, but not in the absence, of nerve growth factor, exogenous artemin stimulated neurite growth. Femoral arteries (FA) from adult rats contain artemin, and these arteries stimulated sympathetic neurite growth. Growth in the presence of FA was 92.2 ± 11.9 mm, and that in the absence of FA was 26.3 ± 5.4 mm (P < 0.05). FA stimulation of axon growth was reduced by an antibody that neutralized the activity of artemin (P < 0.05). These data indicate that artemin is expressed in arteries, and its receptors are expressed and functional in the postganglionic sympathetic neurons that innervate them. This suggests that artemin may be a determinant of vascular sympathetic innervation.

vascular smooth muscle; sympathetic nervous system; axon growth

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Sawada, H.-H. Kim, M. A. Moskowitz, and J. K. Liao Rac1 Is a Critical Mediator of Endothelium-Derived Neurotrophic Activity Sci. Signal., March 10, 2009; 2(61): ra10 - ra10. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. B. Marko and D. H. Damon VEGF promotes vascular sympathetic innervation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, June 1, 2008; 294(6): H2646 - H2652. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]