Figure 2.

The effect of L-NAME and phosphoramidon (PPAD) on the tachykinin-induced contractions (a–c), and the effect of SP and carbachol on the contraction induced by phenylephrine (d, e) in the rabbit corpus cavernosum strips with an endothelium. In a–c, the tissues were treated with 100 μM L-NAME (an NO synthase inhibitor) or 1 μM PPAD (an endopeptidase inhibitor) 15 min before and during the application of 1 μM tachykinins. The tension developments were evaluated at sustained levels after the application of tachykinins and then were expressed as a percentage, assigning the 10 μM phenylephrine-induced contraction to be 100%. Data are the mean±s.e.mean (n=5) *P<0.05, **P<0.01, as compared with the control. n.s.; not significant. In (d) and (e), SP (1 pM–1 μM) and carbachol (1 μM) were applied during the sustained contraction induced by 10 μM phenylephrine, respectively.