A VASOACTIVE SERUM COMPONENT AND REACTIVITY OF ISOLATED RAT AORTA AFTER CHRONIC ALCOHOL ADMINISTRATION

Norepinephrine-induced contractility and relaxation to acetylcholine o f isolated aortas taken from normal and chronic alcoholic rats were me asured. Similar experiments were performed adding serum from normal (N S) or alcoholic rats (AS), with or without norepinephrine and acetylch oline. Responses of normal and alcoholic aortas to agonists were compa rable. NS and AS induced contractions on normal aorta, but the respons es of alcoholic aortas were lower; contractions induced by AS on both aortas were larger than those induced by NS. AS decreased verapamil-in duced relaxation more than NS. A presser circulating factor might be r esponsible.