Ruthenium red inhibits tail skin vasodilatation evoked by intracerebroventricular injection of capsaicin in the rat.

The effect of Ruthenium red on the tail skin vasodilatation evoked by an intracerebroventricular injection of capsaicin was studied in the anesthetized rat. Injection of capsaicin into the lateral ventricle resulted in a marked elevation of the tail skin temperature, indicative of peripheral vasodilatation. Ruthenium red, given by intracerebroventricular injection, significantly inhibited this response, which is known to be mediated by central warmth-sensitive neuronal structures. The findings suggest that the sensitivity to Ruthenium red, reportedly characteristic of the capsaicin-sensitive neurons in the peripheral nervous system, is also a trait of the capsaicin-sensitive nerve cells in the central nervous system. This is the first evidence indicating that similar molecular mechanisms, presumably involving changes in cellular calcium metabolism, contribute to the capsaicin-induced activation of neurons in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.