b3-Adrenoceptor agonists have recently been introduced for the treatment of overactive urinary bladder syndrome. Their target, the b3-adrenoceptor, was discovered much later than b1and b2-adrenoceptors and exhibits unique properties which make extrapolation of findings from the other two subtypes difficult and the b3-adrenoceptor a less-understood subtype. This article discusses three aspects o...

INTRODUCTION IFNA1 (interferon alpha) is a key cytokine regulating the activity of numerous immune cells. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) as natural interferon-producing cells play critical roles as sensors of pathogens and link innate to adaptive immunity. CpG motifs within DNA sequences activating toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) are the main stimuli eliciting IFNA1 secretion from pDCs. Adrene...

Preterm delivery increases the risk of inadequate systemic blood flow and hypotension, and many preterm infants fail to respond to conventional inotrope treatments. If the profile of cardiac adrenoceptor subtypes in the preterm neonate is different to that at term this may contribute to these clinical problems. This study measured mRNA expression of β1, β2, α1A, α2A and α2B-adrenoceptor subtype...

Gu Q, Lin Y-S, Lee L-Y. Epinephrine enhances the sensitivity of rat vagal chemosensitive neurons: role of 3-adrenoceptor. J Appl Physiol 102: 1545–1555, 2007. First published December 14, 2006; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01010.2006.—This study was carried out to determine whether epinephrine alters the sensitivity of rat vagal sensory neurons. In anesthetized rats, inhalation of epinephrine aeros...

There have been occasional reports of female stress incontinence related to prazosin therapy for hypertension. This drug is now rarely used but recently longer acting alpha-adrenoceptor blocking drugs have been introduced. We have, therefore, investigated the prevalence of urinary incontinence in all our female patients who were receiving alpha-adrenoceptor blockers in comparison with women, ma...

Hypertension, diabetes mellitus (especially type 2 diabetes mellitus), metabolic syndrome and obesity are rapidly growing public health problems. Sympathetic nerve activation is observed in obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, which have strong genetic as well as environmental determinants. Reduced energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate are predictive of weight gain, and the symp...

Recent studies indicate that norepinephrine-induced contractile oscillations in the tail artery from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) may be a vascular phenomenon independent of blood pressure level. The objectives of this study were: (1) to characterize pharmacologically the alpha-adrenoceptor mediating norepinephrine-induced oscillations in tail artery; and (2) to investig...

PURPOSE Patients treated with propranolol, a nonselective β-adrenoceptor antagonist, develop severe anaphylaxis, but the mechanism remains unknown. We determined effects of β₁- and β₂-adrenoceptor antagonists on the anaphylaxis-induced increase in vascular permeability in mice. METHODS In anesthetized ovalbumin-sensitized C57BL mice, mean arterial blood pressure (MBP) was measured, and Evans ...

Aim Ninjinyoeito (NYT) is a Kampo medicine prescribed for patients with decreased mental and physical energy. Clinical studies demonstrate that NYT ameliorates depressive symptoms in various diseases. However, the underlying therapeutic mechanisms of action remain unclear. The monoaminergic system has been implicated neuropathology depression. Using immobility tail suspension test to evaluate d...

Possible central noradrenergic and cholinergic modulation of acute peripheral inflammation was investigated in rats, adopting the formaldehyde-induced pedal inflammation as the experimental model. Intracerebroventricularly (icv) administered noradrenaline (NA), alpha-adrenoceptor agonist, L-phenylephrine, alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine and non-selective beta-adrenoceptor blocker, propr...