1 The subtypes of alpha1-adrenoceptor mediating contractions of rat vas deferens to endogenous and exogenous noradrenaline and to the exogenous agonists methoxamine, phenylephrine and A61603 have been examined. 2 The effects of antagonists on the shape of concentration-response curves, both tonic and phasic, to the four agonists were analysed. Prazosin produced parallel shifts in all cases. Par...

Rhinovirus (RV) infections account for approximately two thirds of all virus-induced asthma exacerbations and often result in an impaired response to β2 agonist therapy. Using an in vitro model of RV infection, we investigated the mechanisms underlying RV-induced β2 adrenoceptor desensitization in primary human airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC). RV infection of primary human bronchial epithelia...

Ryall, James G., Paul Gregorevic, David R. Plant, Martin N. Sillence, and Gordon S. Lynch. 2-Agonist fenoterol has greater effects on contractile function of rat skeletal muscles than clenbuterol. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 283: R1386–R1394, 2002. First published September 5, 2002; 10.1152/ajpregu.00324.2002.—Potential treatments for skeletal muscle wasting and weakness ideally poss...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Oestrogen confers cardioprotection by down-regulating the beta(1)-adrenoceptor and suppressing the expression and activity of protein kinase A. We hypothesized that oestrogen may also protect the heart by suppressing Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), another signalling messenger activated by the beta(1)-adrenoceptor, that enhances apoptosis. EXPERI...

Pyramidal neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) project to midbrain serotonergic neurons and control their activity. The stimulation of prefrontal 5-HT2A and AMPA receptors increases pyramidal and serotonergic cell firing, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) release in mPFC. As the mPFC contains abundant alpha1-adrenoceptors whose activation increases the excitability of pyramidal neurons, ...

Cerebral blood volume and intracranial pressure may be modified by influences on cerebral veins. The known adrenergic innervation of cerebral veins and their sensitivity to norepinephrine raised the question, whether pial veins can be selectively influenced through adrenoceptors in vivo. Therefore, alpha] and alpha2 adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists were locally injected into the perivascul...