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...

agonist, phenylephrine, showed 2 opposite effects on ICa (transient decrease followed by sustained increase). However, selective 1A-adrenoceptor stimulation ( 0.1 mol/L A61603) only potentiated ICa, and selective 1B-adrenoceptor stimulation (10 mol/L phenylephrine with 2 mol/L WB4101) only deceased ICa. The positive effect by 1A-adrenoceptor stimulation was blocked by the inhibition of phosphol...

This study was carried out to determine whether epinephrine alters the sensitivity of rat vagal sensory neurons. In anesthetized rats, inhalation of epinephrine aerosol (1 and 5 mg/ml, 3 min) induced an elevated baseline activity of pulmonary C fibers and enhanced their responses to lung inflation (20 cm H(2)O, 10 s) and right atrial injection of capsaicin (0.5 microg/kg). In isolated rat nodos...

Noradrenaline (NA) modulates synaptic transmission in various sites of the CNS. In the cerebellar cortex, several studies have revealed that NA enhances inhibitory synaptic transmission by beta-adrenoceptor-and cyclic AMP-dependent pathways. However, the effects of alpha-adrenoceptor activation on cerebellar inhibitory neurotransmission have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore we investiga...

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...

We compared the duration of the protective effect of two beta-adrenoceptor agonists, fenoterol (200 micrograms) and salbutamol (200 micrograms), the anticholinergic agent ipratropium (80 micrograms), and the combination of fenoterol (200 micrograms) and ipratropium (80 micrograms) against challenge by eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH). Twelve patients with asthma performed EVH for two o...

To investigate alpha1B-adrenoceptor function, we developed a phosphorothioate antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AO) to inhibit the expression of the alpha1B-adrenoceptor subtype in DDT1 MF2 cells. We measured the cellular uptake of the AO and its effect on alpha1B-adrenoceptor mRNA expression, protein density, and coupling to phospholipase C. Cells treated with either a control oligodeoxynucleoti...

The objective of this study was to determine whether the different time-course characteristics of α1-adrenoceptor-mediated contraction in arteries can be related to the subtypes involved. Contractile responses to noradrenaline (NA) were compared with inositol phosphate accumulation and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 phosphorylation after α1-agonist stimuli in the same vessels in...

Neurokinin A (NKA) induces bronchoconstriction mediated by tachykinin NK(2) receptors in animals and humans, and may be increased in asthma. Because beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonists are the most widely used bronchodilators in asthma, we investigated the effects of the beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonist fenoterol on NK(2) receptor messenger RNA (mRNA) and receptor density as well as the functional respon...

β-blockers are widely used to improve symptoms and prolong life in heart disease primarily by inhibiting the actions of endogenous catecholamines at the β1-adrenoceptor. There are two common naturally occurring polymorphisms within the human β1-adrenoceptor sequence: Ser or Gly at position 49 in the N-terminus and Gly or Arg at position 389 in the C-terminus and some clinical studies have sugge...