Vasopressin-induced turnover of phosphatidylinositol in the sensory nervous system of the rat.

Vasopressin and oxytocin immunoreactivity (AVP-IR, OT-IR) have been detected in the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia (TG, DRG) of the rat. We have investigated whether AVP or OT have any neurotransmitter role in these tissues by measuring the effects of the peptides on levels of intracellular second messengers. AVP and OT at concentrations up to 3 x 10(-6) M have no effect on the accumulation of cAMP. However, in tissue prelabelled with 3H-inositol, and in the presence of 10 mM Li+, AVP and OT cause an increase in the accumulation of inositol phosphates (IP), in a dose-dependent manner. AVP causes a maximum stimulation of 1.7 fold of control in TG, (p less than 0.01) and of 2.5 fold in DRG (p less than 0.01) at a concentration of 3 x 10(-7) M. OT causes a maximum stimulation of 1.3 fold of control in TG, (p less than 0.01), and of 1.75 fold of control in DRG, at a concentration of 3 x 10(-6) M. The stimulation of IP turnover by AVP in both tissues is inhibited by the specific V1-antagonist, (CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVP, at a concentration of 2 x 10(-5) M. The V2-agonist, DDAVP, has no effect on IP accumulation in either tissue at concentrations up to 3 x 10(-6) M. The response to exogenous AVP is still present in ganglia incubated in media without added CaCl2. We conclude that the rat TG and DRG contain receptors for AVP, and that these receptors have characteristics associated with the V1 subtype.