Summary
Injections of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (60 mg/kg, i.p.) caused a significant reduction in the noradrenaline content of the mouse heart, large intestine and seminal vesicle, 2 and 6 days after drug application. The long-lasting depletion of noradrenaline was found to be due to a degeneration of adrenergic nerve terminals as verified by fluorescence and electron microscopical observations.
The results show that 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine is either as potent as (e.g. in the heart) or less potent than 6-hydroxydopamine (e.g. in the vas deferens) in depleting noradrenaline. The pronounced effects of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine on the adrenergic nerves of the seminal vesicle (supplied by the same short adrenergic neurones as the vas deferens) suggest that 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine may be used as a tool for the induction of a chemical sympathectomy in certain peripheral organs of laboratory animals, supplementary to 6-hydroxydopamine.
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Baumgarten, H.G., Groth, H.P., Göthert, M. et al. The effect of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine on peripheral adrenergic nerves in the mouse. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 282, 245–254 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00501233
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00501233