The influence of ciclosporine A on the vasoactive effects of serotonin in in vitro perfused human umbilical arteries.

Abstract

Pregnancy is feasible in organ-transplanted women, but little is known about possible effects of ciclosporine A on the circulation in the fetus and placenta. To investigate the influence of ciclosporine A (CsA) on the vasoactive effects of serotonin in human umbilical arteries. In vitro perfusion was performed in umbilical cord segments from seven organ-transplanted patients on CsA based immunosuppression and in 17 cords from uncomplicated pregnancies. Serotonin was administered in stepwise increasing concentrations from 10(-10) to 10(-5) M. In preparations from normal pregnancies, serotonin 10(-7) M, was administered before and 30 min after the start of a continuous CsA infusion (1.0 mg/l). The influence of CsA 0.1 or 1.0 mg/l on the basal, unstimulated perfusion pressure was investigated in separate experiments. Changes in perfusion pressure due to constrictory or dilatatory responses. In all preparations from the organ-transplanted patients, serotonin induced a constrictory response that was non-significantly lower than that observed in the control group. The frequency of a dilatatory response preceding the vasoconstriction was 3/7 and 12/17 (non-significant) in the CsA-treated and control groups, respectively. In the experiments with CsA administration, a non-significant increase in the constrictory serotonin response was observed as compared to the control experiments. CsA did not alter the basal, unstimulated perfusion pressure. CsA did not have any significant influence on the vasoactive effect of serotonin in human umbilical arteries perfused in vitro.