Perivascular nerves and vascular endothelium: recent advances

Abstract

Within the last few years, advances have been made regarding perivascular nerves and the endothelium of the vascular system, both potentially important in the understanding of the mechanisms of local control of blood flow. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been identified in rat cerebrovascular nerve s , neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been demonstrated in umbilical endothelium, the arg i n i n e - vasopressin (VP) system has been discovered in the heart (including coronary endothelium), and P2X receptors have been o b s e r ved in vascular endothelial cells. After a brief introduction to vascular biology, this rev i ew will focus on the above-mentioned new data