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(Hypertension. 2004;43:945.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial Commentary

Neurotransmission in Central Cardiovascular Control

10 Suggestions for Microinjections

From the Hypertension and Stroke Research Laboratories, Department of Physiology, University of Sydney, and Department of Neurosurgery, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, Australia.

Correspondence to Paul M. Pilowsky, BMBS, PhD, FAHA, Hypertension and Stroke Research Laboratories, Department of Physiology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Email pilowsky@med.usyd.edu.au

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

In the article by Lin et al¹ new information is provided concerning the central actions of the acetylated growth hormone secretagogue peptide, ghrelin.^2–4 In this study the authors show that microinjection of ghrelin into the nucleus tractus solitarius caused small but significant changes in blood pressure and sympathetic nerve activity. To a certain extent, this study is a useful addition to our knowledge about central cardiovascular regulation. Many brain nuclei are now established to be important in the control of the circulation and the reflexes that maintain cardiovascular stability.^5,6 However, the neurotransmitters that the neurons at these sites use, the receptors that they interact with, and the second messenger systems involved in transducing the effects of neurotransmitter release into intracellular events that range from channel opening to gene transcription are incredibly poorly understood. Each additional piece of information, such as that provided by Lin et al, is valuable. To their credit, they provide raw data showing the response and they used localized microinjection techniques to restrict the response to one brain nucleus. Most importantly, they used sympathetic nerve recording to prove that the effects observed are due, at least in part, to the effects of changes in sympathetic activity. Is this adequate? In examining the article by Lin et al, a number of areas for further investigation are presented. Lin et al raise some of these questions, such as a possible role for tonically released ghrelin. In this brief commentary I would like to suggest a list of necessary experiments . . . [Full Text of this Article]