Role of nitroxidergic nerve in dog retinal arterioles in vivo and arteries in vitro.

Functional role and anatomic location of nitroxidergic nerves were determined in dog retinal arteries and arterioles. Isolated retinal central arteries responded to nicotine with relaxations that were not influenced by atropine, timolol, or indomethacin and damage of the endothelium, but were abolished by hexamethonium, methylene blue, and oxyhemoglobin. The relaxation was abolished by NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor, and was restored by L-arginine. Relaxations caused by NO were not affected by L-NNA. Transmural electrical stimulation at 5 Hz relaxed the strips; the relaxation was abolished by L-NNA and tetrodotoxin. In anesthetized dogs, intraarterial injections of nicotine dilated retinal arterioles in the fundus oculi. This effect was abolished by L-NNA and restored by L-arginine. Intravenous injections of L-NNA constricted retinal arterioles, the effect being prevented by hexamethonium. There were nerve bundles and fibers containing NO synthase immunoreactivity in the adventitia and media in the retinal artery. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis that NO liberated from vasodilator nerves acts as neurotransmitter in dog retinal arteries and arterioles, and the arteriolar muscle tone is regulated by vasodilator nerve activity in vivo.