Cardiovascular Protective Effects And Regulation Mechanism Of Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide

Chapter 1Delayed preconditioning by cardiac ischemia involvesendogenous calcitonin gene-related peptidevia the nitric oxide pathwayBACKGROUNDBrief episodes of ischemia enhance the resistance of the myocardium to subsequent ischemic insults. This phenomenon, termed ischemic preconditioning (IPC), was found to consist of two phases: an early phase and a late phase. Recently, more interest has focused on the latter, because of its sustained duration and effective cardioprotection. It has been shown that ischemic preconditioning involves multiple endogenous active substances, which may mediate the cardiaprotection via interactions with one anotherCalcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a principal transmitter in sensory nerves, has been considered as an endogenous myocardial protective substance. CGRP is not only a important mediator in early protection of cardiac ischemic preconditioning, but also participates in mediation of delayed preconditioning induced by intestinal ischemia, heat stress and some drugs.