The effects of piperoxan on uptake of noradrenaline and overflow of transmitter in the isolated blood perfused spleen of the cat

Presynaptic Adrenoceptors

Presynaptic α2-adrenoceptors are localized on axon terminals of many noradrenergic and non-noradrenergic neurons in the peripheral and central nervous systems. Their activation by exogenous agonists leads to inhibition of the exocytotic release of noradrenaline and other transmitters from the neurons. Most often, the α2A-receptor subtype is involved in this inhibition. The chain of molecular events between receptor occupation and inhibition of the exocytotic release of transmitters has been determined. Physiologically released endogenous noradrenaline elicits retrograde autoinhibition of its own release. Some clonidine-like α2-receptor agonists have been used to treat hypertension. Dexmedetomidine is used for prolonged sedation in the intensive care; It also has a strong analgesic effect. The α2-receptor antagonist mirtazapine increases the noradrenaline concentration in the synaptic cleft by interrupting physiological autoinhibion of release. It belongs to the most effective antidepressive drugs. β2-Adrenoceptors are also localized on axon terminals in the peripheral and central nervous systems. Their activation leads to enhanced transmitter release, however, they are not activated by endogenous adrenaline.

Antagonism of the antidiarrhoeal effect of clonidine and the lethal effect of noradrenaline in rats: a reliable procedure to evaluate the in-vivo alpha 1- and alpha 2-blocking activity of drugs?

Eight compounds with alpha-adrenergic blocking activity were tested for their ability to antagonize the antidiarrhoeal effect of clonidine (clonidine test) and the lethal effect of noradrenaline (noradrenaline test). Six of the compounds studied are alpha-adrenergic blocking agents with known alpha 2/alpha 1 selectivity. Two compounds, ketanserin (R 41 468) and butanserin (R 53 393), are 5-hydroxytryptamine S2-antagonists. The ED50-values (mg kg-1) obtained in the clonidine test were: phentolamine (0.34), RX781094 (0.34), yohimbine (0.51), piperoxan (9.36), butanserin (greater than 5.0), prazosin (greater than 10.0), phenoxybenzamine (greater than 40.0), and ketanserin (greater than 80.0). In the noradrenaline test the ED50's (mg kg-1) were: butanserin (0.014), prazosin (0.032), phentolamine (0.59), phenoxybenzamine (1.02), ketanserin (4.69), RX781094 (12.4), piperoxan (21.5), and yohimbine (25.0). The selectivity alpha 2/alpha 1-ratios (ED50 clonidine/ED50 noradrenaline were: yohimbine (0.020), RX781094 (0.027), piperoxan (0.44), phentolamine (0.58), ketanserin (greater than 39), prazosin (greater than 312), and butanserin (greater than 357). These results show that yohimbine and RX781094 are equipotent and relatively selective alpha 2-antagonists; piperoxan and phentolamine block both alpha 1- and alpha 2-receptors at closely related doses; ketanserin, prazosin and butanserin are selective blockers of alpha 1-receptors, ketanserin being very weak, prazosin and butanserin being very potent compounds in this respect. The potent and selective alpha 1-blocking activity of butanserin, combined to its 5-HT S2-antagonism makes butanserin a very interesting experimental drug in view of earlier reported data concerning the amplifying effects between 5-hydroxytryptaminergic and noradrenergic vascular mechanisms.

Characterization and localization of [3H]-clonidine binding in membranes prepared from guinea-pig spleen

1. [3H]-Clonidine binds to membranes prepared from guinea-pig spleen with high affinity. 2. Kinetic experiments indicated that [3H]-clonidine associates rapidly to the binding site and that the binding is reversible. A study of the dissociation of [3H]-clonidine from splenic membranes revealed two components. The slowly dissociating component corresponded to a high affinity process (Kd = 2.1 nmol/l) in good agreement to that obtained by saturation analysis. 3. Over the concentration range used, saturation experiments revealed only a single population of sites with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 2.4 nmol/l and a density of 5.1 pmol/g wet weight tissue. 4. Examination of the relatively potency of a series of alpha-adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists indicates that [3H]-clonidine binding is to alpha 2-adrenoceptors. 5. High levels of binding were obtained to lymphocytes prepared from guinea-pig spleen and to membranes from the splenic capsule. Pretreatment of animals with 6-hydroxydopamine produced changes in apparent affinity of binding with little change in the number of receptor sites. 6. It is concluded that [3H]-clonidine labels is a site resembling the alpha 2-adrenoceptor in guinea-pig spleen. Few if any of these sites are located prejunctionally and a significant fraction are associated with lymphocytes.

An electropharmacological analyses of the effects of some drugs on neuromuscular transmission in the vas deferens of the guinea-pig

1 The effects of several drugs upon the excitatory junction potential (e.j.p.) in the guinea-pig vas deferens have been investigated. 2 Amiodarone, a noradrenergic neurone blocker which also blocks both alpha and beta-adrenoreceptors, did not reduce the e.j.p. 3 The alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonists, azapetine, piperoxan and prazosin, only enhanced the e.j.p. irrespective of their relative potencies at alpha 1 and alpha 2-adrenoreceptors. 4 Sotalol, a beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist, was without effect upon the e.j.p. 5 Clonidine and lysergic acid diethylamide, alpha-adrenoreceptor agonists, produced a dose dependent inhibition of the e.j.p. without apparently affecting the frequency or size of spontaneous junction potentials. 6 The effects of clonidine were antagonized by piperoxan in a competitive reversible manner. 7 It is argued that these results confirm the presence of alpha-adrenoreceptors prejunctionally upon the sympathetic excitatory innervation of the vas deferens but that although an endogenous alpha-adrenoreceptor agonist is released by nerve stimulation either the transmitter that is responsible for the e.j.p. is not noradrenaline or that the postjunctional receptors responsible for the generation of the e.j.p. are not adrenoreceptors.

Single pulse stimulation of guinea-pig vas deferens and the presynaptic receptor hypothesis

1 The effect of phenoxybenzamine on the efflux of [3H]-noradrenaline and the mechanical response to single pulse excitation of superfused guinea-pig vas deferens was determined to examine the validity of the currently accepted hypothesis of a presynaptic negative feedback system on adrenergic nerve terminals. 2 The adrenoceptor antagonist enhanced both the outflow of tritium and the mechanical response to single pulse stimulation. The efflux of labelled material and the responses to 4 pulses were also enhanced, as expected. 3 Blockade of neuronal and extraneuronal uptake did not by itself increase nerve-induced outflow or the mechanical response nor dated within the framework of a hypothesis that proposes that the enhancement of response and tritium efflux by phenoxybenzamine results from blockade of a feedback system whereby noradrenaline released by previous impulses inhibits its own subsequent release.

The characteristics of [3H]-clonidine binding to an alpha-adrenoceptor in membranes from guinea-pig kidney

1. [3H]-clonidine binds to membranes prepared from guinea-pig kidney. 2. At 25 degrees C the binding is rapid and saturable. 3. Scatchard analysis of the binding data showed that the Kd for [3H]-clonidine binding in kidney membranes is 8.54 nM and the density of binding sites 12.5 pmol/g wet wt. tissue. 4. Hill plots of the binding data showed that there were no cooperative site interactions associated with binding. 5. [3H]-clonidine binding could be displaced by drugs, the most potent being drugs with a high affinity for the alpha-adrenoceptor. The neuroleptic drugs (+)-butaclamol, cis-clopenthixol and cis-flupenthixol at high concentration also displaced [3H]-clonidine binding. 6. Drugs acting as agonists or antagonists of beta-adrenoceptors, histamine receptors, acetylcholine receptors as well as prostaglandins E1, E2, F1alpha and F2alpha, angiotensin II, arginine vasopressin, naloxone, nalorphine and pargyline had little effect on binding. 7. It is likely that the binding site labelled by [3H]-clonidine in guinea-pig kidney membranes is an alpha-adrenoceptor similar in some pharmacological aspects to an alpha2-adrenoceptor.