[Influence of intracerebroventricular injection of sodium nitroprusside L-arginine and NG-nitro-L-arginine on cardiovascular activity in conscious rats].

In order to study the cardiovascular effect of NO in conscious rats, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), the precursor of NO (L-Arginine, Arg-Arg) and one of the inhibitor of NOS (NG-nitro-L-arginine, NNLA) were intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected. Our experimental results indicated that, an apparent dose-dependent hypertensive effect was produced by icv administration of SNP (8, 16, 32 and 32 micrograms), a tachycardiac effect was also produced at the same time. In addition, hypertension and tachycardia were produced by icv L-arginine and the dipeptide Arg-Arg. Furthermore a hypotensive and bradycardiac effect can be produced by icv NNLA. These results suggest that there is a positive effect on cardiovascular activity due to increase of endogeneuse NO in the rat brain and a negative effect on cardiovascular activity due to decrease of endogeneuse NO in the rat brain.