Inhibition of the action of bradykinin and acetylcholine on paravascular pain receptors by tetrodotoxin and procaine.

Intra-arterial injection of the algogens bradykinin and acetylcholine into the isolated perfused rabbit ear connected to the body by its nerve only elicit a dose-dependent reflex fall in blood pressure. Procaine and tetrodotoxin were used to investigate whether bradykinin and acetylcholine exerted their algesic effect via different types of nerve fibers. Procaine reduced the effect of bradykinin and acetylcholine to a very similar degree. Tetrodotoxin reduced the effect of bradykinin slightly more than that of acetylcholine. It is assumed that on the whole bradykinin and acetylcholine act via the same nerve fibers but bradykinin seems to have some more affinity to fibers with a fewer number of sodium channels than acetylcholine.