Sensory innervation of perivascular adipose tissue: a crucial role in artery vasodilatation and leptin release

摘要

Aims Electrical field stimulation (EFS) elicits robust sensory neurogenic relaxation responses in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed but these responses are absent or difficult to demonstrate in isolated arteries. We believe that this mismatch is due to the absence of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) as it is conventionally removed in studies on isolated vessels. We aimed to determine whether sensory nerves are expressed in PVAT, their physiological roles and their possible interactions with PVAT-derived adipokines.