Participation of Intracellular Calcium Stores in Serotonin-Induced Contractions in Rat Aorta

Serotonin 1 mumol/l induces a contractile response in the isolated rat aorta in both the presence or absence of extracellular Ca. The present study analyzes the influence of temperature and caffeine on subsequent serotonin-induced contractions. In Ca-free medium, the contraction elicited by serotonin was higher at 25 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. In addition, the existence of two independent intracellular Ca pools releasable by serotonin, one of them also sensitive to caffeine, is postulated. The results also showed that addition of serotonin decreases the contractile response to this agonist in Ca-free medium.