Dr. Amjad Shatarat

Blood vessels are controlled by different mechanisms to regulate the blood flow. One of these important mechanisms that controls the activity of the blood vessels is the autonomic mechanism. Autonomic nervous system is heavily involved in the regulation of blood vessels through the release of different neurotransmitters. The most common neurotransmitter among the autonomic neurotransmitters is norepinephrine. However, other neurotransmitters have been shown to play an important role in the regulation of blood vessels. ATP has been shown to be an active sympathetic neurotransmitter in the regulation of blood vessels tone. Recent studies have shown that the role of ATP is however underestimated especially under the traditional conditions (basal tone) of tone. Raising the tone of blood vessels using different vasocontractile agents such as U46619 revealed that ATP became the main neurotransmitter mediating the vasocontractile responses. My work is focusing on conducting further investigations to examine the role of ATP as a sympathetic neurotransmitter in blood vessels and other smooth muscles. The main techniques used are the pressure myograph, wire myograph and immunohistochemistry.