The effects of ketamine, phencyclidine and lidocaine on catecholamine secretion from cultured bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

The ability of ketamine, phencyclidine and analogues to alter catecholamine secretion from cultured bovine adrenal chromaffin cells was investigated. Both ketamine and phencyclidine specifically inhibited nicotinic agonist-induced secretion at concentrations which did not alter secretion induced by elevated K+ depolarization. The inhibition of nicotinic agonist-induced secretion was not overcome by increasing concentrations of nicotinic agonist. The effects of stereoisomer pairs of phencyclidine-like drugs - dexoxadrol, levoxadrol and (+)PCMP, (-)PCMP - did not reveal stereospecificity for the inhibition, in contrast to the stereospecific behavioral effects of the drugs. The local anesthetic lidocaine (0.3 mM) also noncompetitively inhibited nicotinic agonist-induced secretion without inhibiting elevated K+-induced secretion. The data indicate that ketamine and phencyclidine at clinically relevant concentrations specifically inhibit the adrenal chromaffin cell nicotinic receptor at a site similar to or identical with the site of action of local anesthetic. Although the nicotinic receptor inhibition is probably not related to the anesthetic and behavioral effects of ketamine and phencyclidine, it is likely that the centrally mediated increase in sympathetic nervous system activity which is characteristic of these drugs is moderated by the peripheral blocking effects on catecholamine secretion from the adrenal medulla.