Abstract

PACAP and VIP have prominent effects on cardiac function in several species, but little is known about their influence on the murine heart. Accordingly, we evaluated the expression of PACAP/VIP receptors in mouse heart and the response of isolated atria to peptide agonists. Quantitative PCR demonstrated that PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2 receptor mRNAs are present throughout the mouse heart. Expression of all three receptor transcripts was low, PAC1 being the lowest. No regional differences in expression were detected for individual receptor mRNAs after normalization to L32. Pharmacological effects of PACAP-27, VIP, and the selective PAC1 agonist maxadilan were evaluated in isolated, spontaneously beating atria from C57BL/6 mice of either sex. Incremental additions of PACAP-27 at 1min intervals caused a concentration-dependent tachycardia with a logEC50=−9.08±0.15M (n=7) and a maximum of 96.3±5.9% above baseline heart rate. VIP and maxadilan also caused tachycardia but their potencies were about two orders of magnitude less. Increasing the dosing interval to 5min caused a leftward shift of the concentration-response curve to maxadilan but no changes in the curves for PACAP-27 or VIP. Under this condition, neither the potency nor the efficacy of maxadilan differed from those of PACAP-27. Neither PACAP-27 nor maxadilan caused tachyphylaxis, and maximal responses to maxadilan were maintained for at least 2h. We conclude that all three VIP/PACAP family receptors are expressed by mouse cardiac tissue, but only PAC1 receptors mediate positive chronotropic responses to PACAP-27 and VIP.

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