ISSN:
1432-1912
Keywords:
Hypoxia
;
Aortic strips
;
Transmural electrical stimulation
;
Noradrenaline release
;
α-Adrenoceptor
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary To clarify the effects of hypoxia on adrenergic transmission, we examined the contractile responses of isolated rabbit aortic strips to electrical stimulation, the concentration-response relationships for noradrenaline and KCl, and the electrical stimulation-evoked overflows of total [3H] and [3H]noradrenaline from strips preloaded with [3H]noradrenaline in media equilibrated with gas mixtures containing various concentrations of 02. Contractile responses to electrical stimulation were completely inhibited by tetrodotoxin and α-adrenoceptor antagonists such as phentolamine and phenoxybenzamine, but were not affected by indomethacin. When the concentration of O2 in the gas mixture was decreased from 95% to 20%, the contractile responses to electrical stimulation remained unchanged, but as the concentration of OZ was further decreased, the responses were inhibited concentration-dependently. At 0% O2, the response was inhibited by about 80% when compared with control values obtained at 95% O2, and the electrical stimulation-evoked overflows of total [3H] and [3H]noradrenaline into the superfusates were decreased by about 55%. At 0% 02, the concentration-response curve for exogenous noradrenaline was shifted to the right about 50-fold and the maximum response was decreased by 25%. The maximum contractile responses of aortic strips from animals pretreated with reserpine or 6-hydroxydopamine to high KCl were decreased slightly (about 15%). These results suggest that inhibition of adrenergic transmission under hypoxic conditions is mainly the result of a decrease in the stimulus-evoked release of noradrenaline and of a decrease in the affinity of α-adrenoceptor for noradrenaline and/ or inhibition of signal transduction mechanisms, although hypoxia also causes a slight decrease in the contractility of vascular smooth muscle.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00173400
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