Effects of Goniopora toxin on guinea-pig blood vessels.

Effects of a marine polypeptide, Goniopora toxin (GPT) (molecular weight 12,000), were examined in isolated blood vessels guinea pigs. GPT, ranging from 10-100 nM, augmented the contractile response to electrical transmural stimulation in the thoracic aorta, portal vein, and mesenteric and femoral arteries. The effects were abolished by tetrodotoxin and bretylium, and were markedly attenuated by phentolamine. As GTP did not affect the resting tension spontaneous rhythmicity or noradrenaline-induced contraction, the toxin appears to act on the neural elements in the vascular wall rather than on the smooth muscle. In the portal vein preloaded with 3H-noradrenaline, GPT enhanced the 3H-efflux in response to electrical transmural stimulation, yet had not effect on the spontaneous efflux. The increase in stimulation-evoked 3H-efflux caused by GPT was more than 15 times larger than the increase seen with cocaine or phentolamine. Tetrodotoxin completely blocked the 3H-efflux induced by electrical transmural stimulation. These data suggest that GPT acts on nerve components in guinea pig blood vessels and increases the release of noradrenaline evoked by electrical stimulation of the nerve fibers. These effects are probably associated with prolongation of the action potential duration and repetitive discharges in the adrenergic nerve fibers.