Sumatriptan is a Potent Vasoconstrictor of Human Dural Arteries Via a 5-HT1-Like Receptor

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Abstract
The action of sumatriptan, putatively a selective 5-HT 1D or 5-HT 1 -like receptor agonist which is effective in the treatment of migraine, has been studied on fresh human dural (middle meningeal) arteries. In low concentrations (10-8 -10-7 M) it was found to be a significantly stronger vasoconstrictor of dural arteries compared to cerebral and temporal arteries. However, its potency was less than that of 5-HT. The sumatriptan-induced vasoconstriction was antagonized by methiothepin (10-9 -10-8 M), but not by ketanserin (10-7 M). The observations suggest that the sumatriptan-induced contraction of the dural artery is mediated via activation of 5-HT 1D or 5-HT 1 -like receptors, whereas it does not appear to activate the 5-HT 2 receptors.