Objective: Plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), an important substance for maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis, are lower in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) than in normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) increases IGF-I production in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that stimulation of sensory neurons might increase the production of IGF-I in SHR.
Design: Levels of CGRP and IGF-I in plasma, kidneys and heart in WKY and SHR and cellular cyclic AMP levels in dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRGs) isolated from WKY and SHR were measured by an ELISA-based method.
Results: Levels of CGRP and IGF-I in plasma, kidneys and heart of SHR were about half of those of WKY. Administration of capsaicin significantly increased levels of CGRP and IGF-I in plasma and tissues of SHR to the levels in WKY and these increases were completely reversed by pretreatment with capsazepine, an inhibitor of vanilloid receptor-1 activation. CGRP release and cellular levels of cAMP in DRGs isolated from SHR were significantly lower than those in DRGs isolated from WKY. Capsaicin increased both CGRP release and cellular cAMP levels in DRGs isolated from SHR to the levels in DRGs isolated from WKY.
Conclusions: Sensory neuron activation might be lower in SHR than in WKY probably due to decreased production of cAMP in sensory neurons, explaining why IGF-I levels in plasma and tissues are lower in SHR than in WKY.