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A comparison of the electrophysiological actions of phentolamine with those of some other antiarrhythmic drugs on tissues isolated from the rat heart.

Glass microelectrodes were used to record transmembrane electrical activity from cells located just beneath the endocardial surface of segments from the atrial and right ventricular free walls of rat hearts during superfusion and electrical stimulation in vitro at 37 degrees C. Availability of the fast sodium channels for current flow was inferred from the maximum rate of rise of membrane potential during phase 0 of the action potential. Phentolamine mesylate (2 to 20 microM) caused a concentration-dependent block of the fast sodium channel. This was reflected in prolongation of the refractory period and slowing of recovery of excitability following the action potential, without significant change in action potential duration or resting membrane potential. Increase in the concentration of KCl in the superfusate from 5 to 10 mM depolarized the muscle and potentiated the blocking action of phentolamine. Both the depolarizing and the phentolamine-potentiating actions of KCl were counteracted by simultaneous elevation of the concentration of CaCl2 in the superfusate from 2 to 10 mM. The blocking action of phentolamine was enhanced by increasing the frequency of electrical stimulation in the range 0.01 to 10 Hz. In respect of the properties listed above, lignocaine hydrochloride was similar to phentolamine but was different from quinidine sulphate in that the effects of the latter drug were not potentiated by KCl. Two other alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists, prazosin and yohimbine, both displayed actions similar to those shown by phentolamine. Tolazoline was only weakly active and dihydroergotamine (60 microM) was inactive. Dibenamine and phenoxybenzamine, unlike the previously named drugs, caused an irreversible block of the fast sodium channel. These blocking actions of alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists were not prevented by simultaneous exposure to the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine (1 mm). 8 Muscle from both reserpine pretreated and non-pretreated rats responded indistinguishably to phentolamine.

Action Potentials↗

Do both adrenaline and noradrenaline stimulate cardiac alpha-adrenoceptors to induce positive inotropy of rat atria?

1. The positive inotropic responses of rat paced left atria to adrenaline and noradrenaline were recorded. Desmethylimipramine (DMI, 1 microM) and metanephrine (10 microM) were initially present throughout. 2. The positive chronotropic responses of spontaneously beating right atria to adrenaline were used as a reference. In these, pindolol, in increasing concentrations, caused progressive shift of the concentration-response curves to the right, which yielded a pA2 value (8.15) compatible with antagonism of beta-adrenoceptors. 3. The left atrial tension responses to adrenaline showed an initial progressive displacement by pindolol (up to 3 microM) which gave an unexpectedly low pA2 value (6.48). However, with further increases in pindolol concentration there was no additional shift of the curve. In the presence of pindolol (3 microM), prazosin (0.1 microM) displaced the curve to the right but the pA2 value derived from this shift (7.75) was less than expected for alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonism. 4. When the experiments in the presence of pindolol (3 microM) were repeated in the absence of DMI, prazosin displaced the concentration-response curves for adrenaline-induced left atrial tension to a greater extent and the pA2 value (8.76) was now compatible with adrenaline stimulating typical alpha 1-adrenoceptors. 5. The concentration-response curves for noradrenaline-induced left atrial tension were also progressively displaced to the right by pindolol (0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 microM). These concentrations yielded a Schild plot of unity slope and a pA2 value of 7.94 +/- 0.04. This was not significantly different from the pA2 value of 8.02 +/- 0.07 determined for pindolol against isoprenaline in the left atria, which indicates a normal interaction of noradrenaline with beta-adrenoceptors in the absence and presence of low concentrations of pindolol. 6. A further increase in the concentration of pindolol to 3 microM failed to induce an additional shift of the noradrenaline curves, whether a 'before and after' antagonist or a 'naïve tissue' design was adopted. Similarly, the rightwards shift of the concentration-response curves by timolol reached a limit as the concentration was increased. In all cases the limit of shift occurred at a noradrenaline EC50 value of 5-10 microM. 7. At the limit of beta-adrenoceptor antagonism, prazosin and dibenamine did not displace the noradrenaline curves further. The residual inotropic response to noradrenaline therefore appeared to be mediated via neither alpha- nor beta-adrenoceptors. 8. DMI, in the absence of beta-blockade, produced the potentiation of adrenaline and noradrenaline expected of a neuronal uptake inhibitor. However, in the presence of pindolol, there was no potentiation of the right atrial rate response to adrenaline while its left atrial tension responses were antagonized. This suggested that DMI was acting as an alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist. It also explained the less-than-expected shift by prazosin of the adrenaline responses in the presence of both pindolol and DMI, the latter drug already exerting some alpha-blocking activity. In contrast, the left atrial tension responses to noradrenaline in the presence of pindolol (1 microM) were neither potentiated nor antagonized by DMI. 9. When the effects of prazosin upon left atrial tension responses to noradrenaline in the presence of pindolol (10 microM) were examined in the presence of a lower concentration of DMI (O.1 microM) or cocaine (1O microM), again there was no further shift of the curve. However, when the effect of prazosin) The Macmillan Press Ltd 1989 598 K.L. WILLIAMSON & K.J. BROADLEY was examined in the absence of DMI, but in the presence of pindolol (1 and 1O microM) or timolol (3 microM), there was a small shift of the curves by prazosin (0.1 microM). This yielded pA2 values of 7.19, 7.34 +/- 0.1 and 7.66 +/- 0.09, which were at least one order of magnitude less than literature values and that obtained with adrenaline (8.76 +/- 0.18), and are not consistent with noradrenaline stimulating an alpha 1-adrenoreceptor in the presence of beta-adrenoceptor blockade, the increase in left atrial tension by noradrenaline does not appear to be mediated by beta l- or typical alpha-adrenoceptors. This is in contrast to adrenaline which in these conditions stimulates typical alpha 1-adrenoceptors.

Animals↗

Different mechanisms of action of agents acting on beta-adrenoceptors in barium-stimulated and electrically-stimulated rat vas deferens.

1. The relaxation induced by beta-adrenoceptor agonists in rat vas deferens was examined under two different experimental conditions: on electrically-induced twitch responses (35 V, 3 ms, 0.07 Hz), and on contractions induced by single doses of barium chloride (300 microM). The experiments were performed in vasa of reserpine-treated rats, after blockade of alpha-adrenoceptors and extraneuronal uptake with dibenamine (10 microM, 30 min), and neuronal uptake with cocaine (10 microM). 2. When twitch responses were used, the values of pD2, interpolated from cumulative concentration-response curves for isoprenaline (Iso), adrenaline (Ad), and noradrenaline (NA) showed a rank order of potency consistent with the presence of beta 2-adrenoceptors (Iso greater than Ad much greater than NA). 3. When twitch responses were used, the non-selective beta-antagonist, propranolol, caused a concentration-dependent parallel shift to the right of Iso concentration-response curves. Similar shifts were obtained by use of the beta 2-antagonist, isopropylmethoxamine (IMA), and higher doses of the beta 1-antagonist, practolol, according to the expectations from receptor occupation theory. Practolol presented the lowest value of pKB, 5.03, corroborating the presence of beta 2-adrenoceptors. 4. When twitch responses were used, and Ad or NA employed instead of Iso, the antagonists produced shifts of concentration-response curves which were smaller than expected from theory, precluding the determination of pKB values. This indicates that other mechanisms are involved besides an interaction with a single population of postsynaptic beta 2-adrenoceptors. 5. When barium chloride was used instead of twitch responses, although the potencies of Iso and Ad were increased respectively by about 30 fold and 5 fold, the rank order of potency was still consistent with an interaction with beta 2-adrenoceptors. In addition, the antagonists produced parallel and concentrationdependent shifts of the curves of all the agonists, as expected from receptor theory. The values of pKB for a given antagonist were not modified by interchanging the agonists used, indicating a typical interaction with a single population of beta 2-adrenoceptors. When compared to the field-stimulated vas, the values of pKB for propranolol and IMA against isoprenaline were respectively 1.3 and 0.6 log units larger. These results suggest the beta l-adrenoceptor agents act by different mechanisms of action in barium-stimulated and electrically-stimulated vas. 6. It is suggested that when barium is used, the effects of agents acting on beta l-adrenoceptors are mediated only by postsynaptic beta 2-receptors, while other complicating factors, probably nerve-dependent presynaptic mechanisms, may be involved with electrical stimulation.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗

Characterization of postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors in the arteries supplying the oviduct.

1. In vitro experiments were designed to characterize postjunctional alpha-adrenoceptor subtypes in ring segments (1 mm length; outer diameter 300-500 microns) from arteries supplying the oviduct of the heifer. 2. Noradrenaline, adrenaline and phenylephrine evoked concentration-dependent contractile responses. The pD2 values were 5.67, 5.89 and 5.93, respectively. Medetomidine clonidine and B-HT 920 (2-amino-6-allyl-5,6,7,8-tetra-hydro-4H-(thiazo)-4,5-d-azepoine ) were ineffective. 3. The alpha-adrenoceptor selective antagonists, prazosin (1 nM-0.1 microM) and rauwolscine (0.1-10 microM) competitively antagonized the response to noradrenaline. The pA2 values were 9.38 and 6.83, respectively. 4. The dissociation constant (KD) for noradrenaline calculated by use of the irreversible antagonist, dibenamine, was 3.95 (2.09-5.81) microM. The occupancy-response relationship was non-linear. Half-maximal response to noradrenaline was obtained with 22% receptor occupancy while maximal response required 100% occupancy. 5. B-HT 920 evoked a biphasic contractile concentration-dependent response in preparations incubated in a physiological solution containing 20 mM K+, 0.1 microM prazosin and 1 microM propranolol. Rauwolscine 0.1 microM significantly (P less than 0.01) blocked the first component of the B-HT 920 concentration-response curve with an apparent pA2 value of 8.52 (7.86-9.18). 6. These results strongly suggest that alpha-adrenoceptors in oviductal arteries are mainly of the alpha 1 subtype, although a possible role for alpha 2-adrenoceptors cannot be excluded.

Acetylcholine↗

Interactions between responses mediated by activation of adenosine A2 receptors and alpha 1-adrenoceptors in the rabbit isolated aorta.

1. This paper describes aspects of the functional antagonism between the responses mediated by activated alpha 1-adrenoceptors and adenosine A2 receptors in the adventitia- and endothelium-denuded aorta of the rabbit. 2. Adenosine A2 receptor agonists relaxed aortic rings pre-contracted with phenylephrine. The relaxation response was agonist concentration-dependent and saturable. The respective contractile and relaxation responses were stable, reproducible, and reversible. 3. Increasing the phenylephrine concentration caused a progressive attenuation of the action of adenosine A2 receptor agonists, consisting of a decreased maximal response and a dextral shift of the adenosine agonist concentration-response curve. This functional antagonism could be completely reversed upon removal of adenosine by either the addition of adenosine deaminase or by wash-out of the adenosine agonist from the tissue. The relaxation response to the adenosine A2 receptor partial agonists, N6-cyclohexyladenosine and R-(-)-N6-(2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine, was abolished at higher phenylephrine concentrations (e.g. 30 EC50). 4. A 1000 fold increase in the adenosine concentration was required to shift the value of the EC50 of phenylephrine six fold, while a similar increase in the value of the EC50 of adenosine could be elicited by only a 32 fold increase in the phenylephrine concentration. A 30 fold increase in the phenylephrine concentration shifted the value of the EC50 of 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine four fold. 5. Analysis of the functional antagonism between the responses mediated by these receptors using the Black & Leff (1983) operational model of agonism allowed for the estimation of the agonist dissociation constant, KA, and the apparent efficacy, tau, for both phenylephrine and adenosine A2 receptor agonists. Increasing the concentration of phenylephrine reduced the value of tau for adenosine agonists in a concentration-dependent and saturable manner. Similarly, increasing the concentration of adenosine reduced the value of tau for phenylephrine in a concentration-dependent and saturable manner. The phenylephrine KA value obtained by the method of functional antagonism (1.9 microM) was similar to that obtained by the receptor inactivation method (2.1 microM). 6. Partial occlusion of the alpha 1-adrenoceptor by the alkylating agent, dibenamine, demonstrated that the magnitude of the adenosine A2 receptor-mediated relaxation was inversely proportional to the number of functional alpha 1-adrenoceptors. 7. It is concluded that the magnitude of functional antagonism is proportional to the stimulus elicited through either receptor. We propose that this tissue preparation and pair of receptors is a good model to study quantitative aspects of functional antagonism between activated receptors.

Adenosine↗

Therapeutic trials in hamster dystrophy.

Verapamil and prenylamine, which antagonize calcium influx into heart muscle cells, Dibenamine and propanolol, alpha and beta adrenergic bockers, respectively, and prostaglandin E1, which acts on permeability of cell membranes and on adrenergic neurotransmission, were all shown to markedly reduce the severity of heart lesions in UM-X7.1 cardiomyopathic hamsters. The beneficial effects of these compounds seen essentially preventive, in that they do not afford protection for fully developed skeletal muscle lesions. The occurrence of the pathologic changes in the myocardium coincides with an increased adrenergic nerve activity, and it is believed that these drugs function mainly by decreasing calcium conductivity across the sarcolemmal membranes of cardiocytes.

Animals↗

Alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in bovine prostate.

The object of this study was to examine the existence and characteristics of alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in the bovine prostate using the radioligand binding assay method. [3H]Prazosin was used as the radioligand and its binding sites in bovine prostate were classified into two subtypes. One subtype showed a high affinity (alpha 1High, Kd: 101.1 pM and Bmax: 11.8 fmol (mg protein)-1) and the other had a low affinity (alpha 1Low, Kd: 3371.4 pM and Bmax: 50.5 fmol (mg protein)-1). Although the same pKi values of clorethylclonidine, p-aminoclonidine, benoxathian and dibenamine to both alpha 1High and alpha 1Low binding sites in bovine prostate tissue were observed, other alpha 1 antagonists used in this study had different pKi values for the two alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes. The existence and binding characteristics of alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in bovine prostate were clarified. It is possible that agents selective for one site may contribute to the development of better drugs for the treatment of bladder outlet obstructions of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Animals↗

Response of the cat's pad eccrine sweat glands to intravascular injections of catecholamines.

1. Using a sensitive method for detecting and monitoring sweat secretion, a study has been made of the effects of adrenaline and noradrenaline on the cat's pad sweat gland activity in the anaesthetized cat.2. Intravenous or intra-arterial injections of adrenaline or noradrenaline only very occasionally caused these glands to secrete.3. The predominant effect of these drugs on glands which are already secreting in response to plantar nerve stimulation is inhibitory.4. The catecholamine inhibition could be reduced or blocked by phentolamine, but not by propranolol, dibenamine or phenoxybenzamine.5. It is concluded that these glands can be directly activated by intravascular injections of adrenaline or noradrenaline, but that the inhibitory effect of concomitant vasoconstriction usually prevents a response being detected at the skin surface.

Animals↗

Effects of cholinergic and adrenergic blocking agents on the activity of the eccrine sweat glands.

1. The effects of blocking agents on the responsiveness of the cast' pad and human forearm sweat glands have been studied.2. Of the anti-adrenergic substances examined (dibenamine, phenoxybenzamine, bretylium, guanethidine and phentolamine) only high doses of guanethidine and phentolamine produced any consistent and significant measure of blockade, and small doses of atropine were as effective as these large doses of guanethidine or phentolamine.3. It is concluded from the blockade of chemical stimulation as well as transmission by these substances that (1) there are only cholinergic fibres innervating eccrine sweat glands, and (2) any inhibitory action by anti-adrenergic substances is due to interaction with cholinergic receptors in the glands.

Animals↗

Effects of dopamine on carotid chemo- and baroreceptors in vitro.

1. The effects of dopamine on the sensory discharges originating from arterial chemo- and baroreceptors were studied in vitro using carotid bodies or sinuses excised from anaesthetized cats and superfused with Locke's solution. 2. Intrastream injections of dopamine 10-200 mug produced a transient depression of the frequency of chemoreceptor discharges. This effect was observed in response to the first injection in eighteen out of twenty preparations. 3. The inhibitory effect of dopamine can counteract partially or totally the excitation of chemoreceptors evoked by simultaneous application of acetylcholine or cyanide. 4. This inhibitory effect of dopamine is reduced or abolished by pretreatment with dopaminergic (Spiroperidol) or alpha-adrenergic (Dibenamine) blockers. 5. In response to repeated injections of dopamine applied at short intervals, the inhibitory effect is replaced by a biphasic effect (early inhibition followed by late excitation), a late and long-lasting excitation or no changes in chemoreceptor activity. The late excitatory effects of dopamine are not blocked by dopaminergic or alpha-adrenergic blockers. 6. Noradrenaline does not affect the chemoreceptor activity of the superfused carotid body. DL-DOPA induces only a late and long-lasting excitatory effect. 7. In carotid sinus preparations, dopamine induces a weak but long-lasting increase in the frequency of baroreceptor discharges. 8. It is concluded that dopamine may play a modulatory role in the generation of chemoreceptor activity through local regulatory processes.

Acetylcholine↗

Neural regulation on the active sodium-potassium transport in hypokalaemic rat skeletal muscles.

C.N.S.-induced suppression of muscle Na-pump activity was studied in fast 'twitch' muscle, extensor digitorum longus, of hypokalaemic rats which were fed a K-deficient diet for 0-9 weeks. The results were compared with those of slow 'tonic' muscle, soleus, reported previously. K-deficient diet caused blood hypokalaemia and a considerable K+ loss and Na+ accumulation in the skeletal, heart and smooth muscles. The cellular K+ loss was in the order of soleus greater than extensor digitorum longus greater than diaphragm greater than duodenum greater than auricle greater than ventricle; C.N.S. organs such as cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, spinal cord and liver were spared this K+ fall. Skeletal, heart and smooth muscles lost more K+ with prolongation of hypokalaemic periods, whereas plasma K+ concentration did not fall much below 1.6 mM during hypokalaemia. Peripheral nerve section, cervical and brain-stem transection, decerebration and cortical spreading depression with 20% KCl, which activated the active Na+ and K+ transport in soleus muscles during hypokalaemia, could not enhance the pump activity in extensor digitorum longus muscles. Alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonists such as phenoxybenzamine, phentolamine and dibenamine and a specific blocker of post-synaptic alpha 1-adrenoreceptor, prazosin, did not stimulate Na+ and K+ transport in the extensor digitorum longus muscles during hypokalaemia while the beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist, propranolol, also had no effect. The sensitivity of the active Na+ and K+ transport system in rat muscles to ouabain applied intraperitoneally was greater in extensor digitorum longus muscles than in soleus muscles. The binding experiment with a radiolabelled ligand of alpha 1 adrenoreceptor antagonist, [3H]prazosin, demonstrated the presence of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors on the soleus muscle membranes of hypokalaemic rats, but not of normal rats. alpha 1 Adrenergic receptors were not detected on the extensor digitorum longus muscle membranes prepared from either hypokalaemic or normal rats. The correlation between the C.N.S.-induced inhibition on the Na pump in soleus muscle during hypokalaemia and the occurrence of alpha 1 adrenergic receptors on the muscle was discussed.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗

Pharmacological evidence that adenosine triphosphate and noradrenaline are co-transmitters in the guinea-pig vas deferens.

The contractile response of the guinea-pig vas deferens to tetanic nerve stimulation was biphasic. The first phase was mimicked by exogenously applied ATP. The second more tonic phase was mimicked by exogenously applied noradrenaline (NA). Intracellular micro-electrodes were used to record the electrical response of the vas deferens to nerve stimulation and to exogenously applied ATP and NA. Local application of ATP (10(-5) to 10(-3)M), by pressure ejection from a micropipette, produced a depolarization similar in magnitude and time course to the excitatory junction potential (e.j.p.). NA produced no such response. Superfusion of the vas deferens with ATP and NA (10(-6) to 10(-4)M) produced a depolarization. The depolarization produced by NA was more gradual than that produced by the same concentration of ATP. The ATP-receptor antagonist ANAPP3 (arylazido aminopropionyl-ATP) preferentially antagonized the first component of the neurogenic contractile response and also antagonized the e.j.p. The alpha-receptor antagonist prazosin preferentially antagonized the second phase of the neurogenic contractile response and enhanced the e.j.p. Similar results were obtained using the irreversible alpha-receptor antagonists phenoxybenzamine and dibenamine. Cocaine (10(-6) and 10(-5)M) enhanced the second phase of the contractile response to nerve stimulation, but reduced the first phase. Lidocaine (10(-5) and 10(-4)M) had no such effect. Cocaine (10(-6) and 10(-5)M) reduced the magnitude of e.j.p.s. at all stimulation frequencies from 1 to 8 Hz. In the presence of the selective alpha 2-receptor antagonist yohimbine (10(-7)M), both phases of the contractile response to nerve stimulation were enhanced to the same degree. This concentration of yohimbine also increased the magnitude of e.j.p.s. In the presence of 10(-7) M-yohimbine, cocaine (10(-6) and 10(-5)M) still enhanced the second phase of the contractile response, but no longer reduced the initial phase of the contraction or e.j.p.s to the same degree. In vas deferens from animals pre-treated with reserpine (2 mg/kg.day), the second phase of the contractile response to nerve stimulation was reduced but neither the first phase of the contraction nor the e.j.p.s was blocked. These results suggest that the first phase of the neurogenic contractile response of the vas deferens and the e.j.p. are mediated by ATP acting on P2-purinoreceptors, whereas NA mediates phase two, via alpha 1-adrenoceptors. The results also suggest that release of ATP and NA is influenced by a negative feed-back mechanism involving presynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors.

Action Potentials↗

Effects of catecholamines injected into the septal area of the rat brain on natriuresis, kaliuresis and diuresis.

Urinary output of Na+ and K+, and volume of urine have been studied in conscious, unrestrained, water-loaded male rats following the intraseptal injection of catecholamines. Natriuresis and kaliuresis increased after injecting noradrenaline (NA), the intensity being dose related. The dose-response curve suggests that a monomolecular interacting takes place between NA and pharmacological receptors present in the septal area. No change was observed in diuresis. Systematic mapping of the septal area yielded about the same results for all sites except a zone located in the lateral nucleus that was more sensitive. An alpha blocker (dibenamine), injected intraseptally before NA, showed an inhibitory effect while a beta blocker (propranolol) yielded a potentiation effect. These same effects of the blocking agents were observed when adrenaline was used instead of NA. Lidocaine, which inhibits the re-uptake of NA, showed an enhancement of the natriuretic and kaliuretic effect of NA, and the same effect was observed when the enzymatic destruction of NA was prevented by nialamide, an inhibitor of monoaminoxidase. Dopamine showed a natriuretic effect, but no effect was observed on K+ and urine output. Serotonin had no action on natriuresis, kaliuresis and diuresis.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗

Pharmacologic responsiveness of isolated single eccrine sweat glands.

Pharmacologic responsiveness of the eccrine sweat gland has never been studied under well-defined in vitro experimental conditions. Using isolated cannulated single monkey palm eccrine sweat glands, the dose response to both cholinergic and alpha- and beta-adrenergic agents and the effects of various antagonists on agonists were studied. The maximal sweat rate was highest after stimulation with cholinergic agonists, was lower with the beta-adrenergic agonist, and was least with the alpha-adrenergic agonist. Each secretory response was inhibited by its specific antagonist. Attempts to demonstrate the spare receptor, if any, by means of preincubation of the glands with N-(2-chlorethyl)dibenzylamine (Dibenamine) were unsuccessful. From the hyperbolic dose-response curves the values for KA and KB, dissociation constants for agonists and antagonists, respectively, were thus tentatively estimated according to Clark's classical receptor theory. Schild plots for each agonist-antagonist interaction produced straight lines with slopes of near unity, indicating the adequacy of the methodology. It was concluded that the isolated eccrine sweat glands retain their pharmacologic viability in vitro and show responsiveness to cholinergic as well as both alpha- and beta-adrenergic stimulations.

Animals↗

Ergot alkaloid inhibition of melanophore stimulating hormone secretion.

Ergonovine maleate inhibits melanophore stimulating hormone (MSH) secretion from the incubated frog, rat, and mouse pituitary gland. This ergot alkaloid is partially effective at a concentration as low as 10(-8)M. The inhibitory effect on hormone release is irreversible under the experimental conditions studied. Ergonovine inhibition of MSH secretion is blocked by Dibenamine and chlorpromazine as is dopamine inhibition of MSH secretion. At higher concentrations chlorpromazine as is dopamine inhibition of MSH secretion. Similarities between the cellular mechanisms controlling MSH and prolactin secretion will be discussed.

Animals↗

Alpha-adrenergic blocking agents and the cardiovascular response to pharmacological doses of vasopressin.

The effects of alpha-adrenergic blockade with phentolamine or dibenamine on the cardiovascular response to pharmacological doses of vasopressin were studied in anesthetized dogs. Some observations were also made on the combined effects of vasopressin and norepinephrine. Changes in mean systemic arterial pressure, portal pressure, and resistance in the prehepatic splanchnic vasculature during vasopressin infusion were noted. A total of 97 dogs were used. alpha-Blockade appeared to enhance the response of arterial pressure to vasopressin, possibly because of loss of baroreceptor-mediated buffering action which normally attenuates its pressor action. Effects of vasopressin on mesenteric vascular resistance and portal pressure were unchanged or somewhat less after alpha-blockade, hence no evidence that its therapeutic effect would be improved by this combination. Vasopressin and norepinephrine when given together result in an additive pressor response with little or no evidence of potentiation.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗

Alpha-adrenoreceptor-related dissociation constants and intrinsic efficacies of stereoisomers of epinephrine.

THe alpha-adrenoreceptor-related dissociation constant and intrinsic efficacy of the stereoisomers of epinephrine were determined on the rabbit aortic strip. (-)-Epinephrine showed higher affinity than (+)-epinephrine or the desoxy analogue epinine. Efficacy of (+)-epinephrine relative to (-)-epinephrine was low (relative efficacy, er = 0.44). Epinephrine had about the same affinity and efficacy as (+)-epinephrine. When the alpha-adrenoreceptors were protected against dibenamine by an equimolar concentration of the isomers, (-)-epinephrine was found to be more effective than (+)-epinephrine or epinine. These results suggest that the stereoisomers of catecholamines differ not only in affinity but also in intrinsic efficacy.

Animals↗

Effect of catecholamines and sympatholytics on survival and circulatory parameters in protracted anaphylactic shock of guinea pigs.

Protracted anaphylactic shock of guinea pigs led to death in over 90% of the animals, and good protection was obtained with an infusion of adrenaline after dibenamine pretreatment. Adrenaline alone, in doses which prevented the anaphylactic fall of arterial blood pressure, had no beneficial effect. Practolol abolished the therapeutic action of the combination of dibenamine/adrenaline. Stimulation of beta-receptors by isoproterenol did not increase the survival rate. With dopamine, however, a significant prolongation of the survival times was obtained.

Anaphylaxis↗