Evaluation of the serotonin receptor blockers ketanserin and methiothepin on the pulmonary hypertensive responses of broilers to intravenously infused serotonin

The pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension remains incompletely understood. Many factors have been implicated; however, there has been great interest in the potent pulmonary vasoconstrictor serotonin (5-HT) due to episodes of primary pulmonary hypertension in humans triggered by serotoninergic appetite-suppressant drugs. Pulmonary hypertensive patients have elevated blood 5-HT levels and pulmonary vasoconstriction induced by 5-HT is believed to be mediated through 5-HT1B/1D and 5-HT2A receptors that are expressed by pulmonary smooth muscle cells. The vascular remodeling associated with pulmonary hypertension also appears to require the serotonin transporter. We investigated the roles of 5-HT receptor blockers on the development of pulmonary hypertension induced by infusing 5-HT i.v. in broilers. For this purpose, we treated broilers with the selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin (5 mg/kg of BW) or with the nonselective 5-HT1/2 receptor antagonist methiothepin (3 mg/kg of BW). Receptor blockade was followed by infusion of 5-HT while recording pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary arterial blood flow. The results demonstrate that methiothepin, but not ketanserin, eliminated the 5-HT-induced pulmonary hypertensive responses in broilers. The 5-HT2A receptor does not, therefore, appear to play a role in the 5-HT-induced pulmonary hypertensive responses in broilers. Methiothepin did not inhibit pulmonary vascular contractility per se, because the pulmonary hypertensive response to the thromboxane A(2) mimetic U44069 remained intact in methiothepin-treated broilers. Methiothepin will be a useful tool for evaluating the role of 5-HT in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension syndrome (ascites) as well as the onset of pulmonary hypertension triggered by inflammatory stimuli such as bacterial lipolysaccharide.