BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE CGP 12177 not only inhibits agonist effects mediated through the catecholamine site of the β1 -adrenoceptor with high affinity, but also exhibits agonist effects of its own at higher concentrations through a secondary, low-affinity β1 -adrenoceptor site or conformation. β-blocker affinities for this 'CGP 12177' site of the human β1 -adrenoceptor have thus far only been ch...

BACKGROUND Current therapy for relieving bronchoconstriction may be ineffective in severe asthma, particularly in the small airways. The aim of this study was to further characterise responses to the recently identified novel bronchodilators rosiglitazone (RGZ) and chloroquine (CQ) under conditions where β-adrenoceptor agonist efficacy was limited or impaired in mouse small airways within lung ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of adrenoceptor subtypes in regulating the spontaneous contractile activity of the inner lining of the urinary bladder (urothelium/lamina propria). MATERIALS AND METHODS The responses of isolated strips of porcine urothelium/lamina propria to noradrenaline, phenylephrine, and isoprenaline were obtained in the absence and presence of receptor subtype-selective...

Rosiglitazone (RGZ), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) ligand, is a novel dilator of small airways in mouse precision cut lung slices (PCLS). In this study, relaxation to RGZ and β-adrenoceptor agonists were compared in trachea from naïve mice and guinea pigs and trachea and PCLS from a mouse model of chronic allergic airways disease (AAD). Airways were precontracted with m...

BACKGROUND β-adrenoceptor activation in the hippocampus is sufficient to induce heterosynaptic long-term potentiation of perforant path input to the dentate gyrus. However, in vitro and in vivo studies suggest the plasticity effects of β-adrenoceptor activation may vary depending on the level of receptor activation. METHODS The present experiments use an in vivo model concurrently infusing di...

The importance of chronic stimulation of β-adrenoceptors in the development of cardiac dysfunction is the rationale for the use of β-blockers in the treatment of heart failure. Nebivolol is a third-generation β-blocker, which has further properties including stimulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and/or β3-adrenoceptors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether nebivolol has a...

Polyamines relax several smooth muscles and elicit cardiotonic effects in the rat heart via interactions with β-adrenoceptors. The aim of this work was to establish whether β(2)-adrenoceptors were involved in polyamine-relaxation of bovine tracheal strips. Endogenous polyamines displaced the specific radioligand, [(3)H]dihydroalprenolol, but spermine was the most potent. The polyamines elicited...