Sympathetic neurogenic Ca2+ signalling in rat arteries: ATP, noradrenaline and neuropeptide Y

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) plays an essential role in the control of total peripheral vascular resistance by controlling the contraction of small arteries. The SNS also exerts long-term trophic influences in health and disease; SNS hyperactivity accompanies most forms of human essential hypertension, obesity and heart failure. At their junctions with smooth muscle cells, the peri-arterial sympathetic nerves release ATP, noradrenaline (NA) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) onto smooth muscle cells. Confocal Ca2+ imaging studies reveal that ATP and NA each produce unique types of postjunctional Ca2+ signals and consequent smooth muscle cell contractions. Neurally released ATP activates postjunctional P2X(1) receptors to produce local, non-propagating Ca2+ transients, termed 'junctional Ca2+ transients', or 'jCaTs'. Neurally released NA binds to alpha(1)-adrenoceptors and can activate Ca2+ waves or more uniform global changes in [Ca2+]. Neurally released NPY does not appear to produce Ca2+ transients directly, but significantly modulates NA-induced Ca2+ signalling. The neural release of ATP and NA, as judged by postjunctional Ca2+ signals, electrical recording of excitatory junction potentials and carbon fibre amperometry to measure NA, varies markedly with the pattern of nerve activity. This probably reflects both pre- and postjunctional mechanisms, which are not yet fully understood. These phenomena, together with different temporal patterns of sympathetic nerve activity in different regional circulations, are probably an important mechanistic basis of the important selective regulation of regional vascular resistance and blood flow by the sympathetic nervous system.