Nicotine (100 microM), but not electrical field stimulation or potassium chloride (0.1-3 microM), caused capsaicin (1 microM)- and tetrodotoxin (1 microM)-sensitive relaxations of guinea-pig isolated basilar artery precontracted with prostaglandin F2 alpha. Nicotine-induced responses were blocked by the neurokinin NK1 receptor antagonist, GR82334 (10 microM), but were unaffected by the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist, CGRP-(8-37) (1 microM). This suggests that nicotine activates capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves in guinea-pig basilar artery to cause relaxation predominantly via substance P release. The vascular 5-HT1 receptor agonist, sumatriptan (0.3 and 3 microM), inhibited nicotine-induced relaxation (by 50 and 80% respectively); the inhibitory effect of sumatriptan (0.3 microM) was attenuated in the presence of the non-selective 5-HT1 receptor antagonist, methiothepin (0.1 microM). These data suggest that sumatriptan can inhibit sensory neurotransmission in guinea-pig basilar artery via activation of inhibitory prejunctional 5-HT1 receptors on sensory nerve terminals.