Role of protein kinase C in the regulation of acetylcholine release in the central nervous system of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Previous studies have shown that the central cholinergic nervous system may be involved in blood pressure control. In the present study, we investigated the role of protein kinase C in the regulation of cholinergic nervous activity in the central nervous system in hypertension. In superfused slices of the striatum obtained from spontaneously hypertensive rats and age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats, we examined the effects of the protein kinase C inhibitor H-7 on the release of [3H]-acetylcholine in vitro. The stimulation-evoked [3H]-acetylcholine release was not different between spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats. The protein kinase C inhibitor H-7 reduced the stimulation-evoked [3H]-acetylcholine release to a greater extent in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in Wistar-Kyoto rats. The results of the present study showed that the enhanced calcium-protein kinase C system might actively participate in the regulation of cholinergic nervous activity in the central nervous system in hypertension.