The 5-HT1-like receptor mediating the increase in canine external carotid blood flow: close resemblance to the 5-HT1D subtype.

1. It has recently been shown that the increase in external carotid blood flow induced by 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT) in the anaesthetized dog, being mimicked by 5-carboxamidotryptamine (5-CT), inhibited by methiothepin, vagosympathectomy and sympatho-inhibitory drugs, and resistant to blockade by ritanserin and MDL 72222, is mediated by stimulation of prejunctional 5-HT1-like receptors leading to an inhibitory action on carotid sympathetic nerves; these 5-HT1-like receptors are unrelated to either the 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B or 5-HT1C (now 5-HT2C) receptor subtypes. Inasmuch as 5-CT, 5-methoxytryptamine, sumatriptan and metergoline display high affinity, amongst other 5-HT binding sites, for the 5-HT1D subtype, in the present study we have used these drugs in an attempt to determine whether the above inhibitory prejunctional 5-HT1-like receptors correlate with the 5-HT1D subtype. 2. One-minute intracarotid (i.c.) infusions of 5-HT (0.3, 1, 3 and 10 micrograms), 5-CT (0.01, 0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 micrograms), 5-methoxytryptamine (1, 3, 10 and 30 micrograms) and sumatriptan (1, 3, 10, 30 and 100 micrograms) resulted in dose-dependent increases in external carotid blood flow (without changes in mean arterial blood pressure or heart rate) with the following rank order of agonist potency: 5-CT >> 5-HT > 5-methoxytryptamine > or = sumatriptan. Interestingly, sumatriptan-induced vasodilatation was followed by a more pronounced vasoconstriction. 3. The external carotid vasodilator effects of 5-HT, 5-CT, 5-methoxytryptamine and sumatriptan were dose-dependently and specifically antagonized by metergoline (10, 30 and/or 100 micrograms kg-1, i.v.). In addition, 5-methoxytryptamine- and sumatriptan-induced vasodilator effects were, respectively, markedly inhibited or abolished after vagosympathectomy, as previously shown for 5-CT and 5-HT.4. Sumatriptan showed tachyphylaxis in its vasodilator component and antagonized 5-HT-induced external carotid vasodilatation in a specific manner, suggesting that a common site of action may be involved.5. Taken together, the above results support our contention that 5-HT, 5-CT, 5-methoxytryptamine and sumatriptan produce external carotid vasodilatation in the dog by an action that might primarily involve a prejunctional inhibition on carotid sympathetic nerves; a secondary component of this vasodilator response may be postsynaptic (endothelium-dependent and/or even directly on the vasculature).Based on the rank order of agonist potency, inhibition by vagosympathectomy and blockade by metergoline, we suggest that the inhibitory prejunctional 5-HT1-like receptors mediating external carotid vasodilatation in the dog closely resemble the 5-HTID receptor subtype. The pharmacological profile of these receptors is similar (sympathetic nerves of the rat kidney and human saphenous vein, as well as porcine coronary endothelium) to other putative 5-HTID receptors mediating vascular responses.