This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fetkovska, N. Articles by Pletscher, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fetkovska, N. Articles by Pletscher, A.

Hypertension, Vol 15, 267-273, Copyright © 1990 by American Heart Association

ARTICLES

5-Hydroxytryptamine kinetics and activation of blood platelets in patients with essential hypertension

N Fetkovska, R Amstein, F Ferracin, M Regenass, FR Buhler and A Pletscher
Department of Research, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.

To investigate possible alterations in 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) kinetics and sensitivity of blood platelets in patients with essential hypertension, 45 essential hypertensive patients and 45 normotensive healthy subjects matched in pairs for age, sex, and smoking status were compared. There were 18 women and 27 men in each group, ranging from 30 to 73 years of age. Results of essential hypertensive patients differed in several ways from those of normotensive subjects. In essential hypertensive patients, maximal 5HT uptake velocity (Vmax) decreased with increasing blood pressure and age and was reduced the most in older men. Vmax was positively related to the EC50 of 5HT for inducing a shape change reaction. In essential hypertensive patients, both Vmax of 5HT uptake and the EC50 of 5HT for shape change showed positive correlations with the 5HT content in platelets; the former relation was different between the essential hypertensive and normotensive groups (F = 5.53; p = 0.02). These results indicate reduced uptake of 5HT by blood platelets and suggest enhanced 5HT plasma concentrations in local areas, especially vascular lesions in essential hypertensive patients. Increased periplatelet concentrations of 5HT may lead to preactivation of platelets and possibly stimulation of vascular smooth muscle via their 5HT2-receptors. These changes are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of increased thromboembolic complications in essential hypertensive patients, particularly in older men.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. W. Watts The love of a lifetime: 5-HT in the cardiovascular system Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, February 1, 2009; 296(2): R252 - R256. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Ni, K. Lookingland, and S. W. Watts Arterial 5-Hydroxytryptamine Transporter Function Is Impaired in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate and N{omega}-Nitro-L-Arginine But Not Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Hypertension, July 1, 2006; 48(1): 134 - 140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. K. L. Banes, S. M. Shaw, A. Tawfik, B. P. Patel, S. Ogbi, D. Fulton, and M. B. Marrero Activation of the JAK/STAT pathway in vascular smooth muscle by serotonin Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, April 1, 2005; 288(4): C805 - C812. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Musselman, U. M. Marzec, A. Manatunga, S. Penna, A. Reemsnyder, B. T. Knight, A. Baron, S. R. Hanson, and C. B. Nemeroff Platelet Reactivity in Depressed Patients Treated With Paroxetine: Preliminary Findings Arch Gen Psychiatry, September 1, 2000; 57(9): 875 - 882. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]