Pharmacological isolation of a single beta-adrenoceptor subtype makes Schild plots which have slopes of 1 possible for selective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists in carbachol-contracted guinea-pig trachea

Pharmacological characterization of the β-adrenoceptor that mediates the relaxant response to noradrenaline in guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle

Pharmacological characteristics of beta-adrenoceptors (beta-ARs) mediating noradrenaline-induced relaxation were investigated in guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle. The inhibitory effects of several types of beta-AR antagonists on noradrenaline-induced relaxation against histamine contraction were scrutinized with Schild plot analysis. The concentration-response curve for noradrenaline obtained in the absence of phentolamine and uptake inhibitors was competitively antagonized by all of the beta-AR antagonists used in this study (propranolol, bupranolol, atenolol, butoxamine and ICI-118,551). However, their pA2 values were markedly less than the expected values for beta1-AR and beta2-AR. On the other hand, pA2 values of ICI-118,551 (6.85) determined in the presence of phentolamine suggested a contribution of a beta1 -AR rather than beta2 -AR. In the presence of phentolamine and uptake inhibitors (desipramine and deoxycorticosterone), the Schild plot for atenolol was a better fit, with two distinct straight lines. The pA2 values of atenolol provided by the regression were: approximately 7.0, which corresponds to the expected beta1-AR value, and approximately 6.5, which was 3 times less than the expected value for beta1 -AR, and thus the possible presence of two classes of beta1 -AR (beta1(Low) and beta1(High)) was suggested. This view was also supported by Schild plot analysis for propranolol, which fit two straight lines each with a slope of 1.0. The present findings indicate that beta1 -ARs contributing to noradrenaline-elicited relaxation in guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle exhibit diverse pharmacological characteristics and may be subdivided into at least two classes with distinct affinities for atenolol. Under physiological conditions, beta1(Low) rather than beta1(High) seems to play a more significant role in noradrenaline-regulated airway smooth muscle tone.

The effect of varying carbachol concentration on the slope of Schild plots of selective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists in the carbachol-contracted guinea-pig trachea

The effect of varying the level of smooth muscle tone induced by carbachol on the Schild analysis of atenolol (beta 1-selective) and ICI 118,551 (beta 2-selective) with salbutamol as agonist, on the guinea-pig tracheal preparation has been examined. When 10(-6) M carbachol was used to induce near-maximal smooth muscle tone, Schild plot slopes for atenolol and ICI 118,551 were less than 1. Slopes of Schild plots for both drugs were equivalent to 1 when 10(-7) M carbachol was used to produce approximately half-maximal smooth muscle tone. Depletion of neuronal noradrenaline by prior treatment with reserpine had no effect on the Schild analysis. Salbutamol produced maximal relaxation and was more potent when tone was induced with 10(-7) M carbachol, but was less effective at 10(-6) M carbachol. Pretreatment with reserpine increased the potency of salbutamol at each concentration of carbachol. The results suggest that either the level of smooth muscle tone or an unknown effect associated with a high level of smooth muscle tone induced by carbachol may contribute to low slope values of Schild plots of selective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists in the carbachol-contracted guinea-pig trachea. The carbachol-contracted guinea-pig trachea can be used to determine theoretically valid pA2 values for selective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists as long as substantially less than a maximal level of smooth muscle tone is induced by carbachol.

Additional evidence against universal modulation of beta-adrenoceptor responses by excessive thyroxine

1 The effect of prolonged, excessive thyroxine on beta-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of guinea-pig trachea was studied. 2 Thyroxine did not significantly affect the potency of the beta 1-adrenoceptor agonist, noradrenaline, or the beta 2-adrenoceptor agonist, terbutaline. 3 Thyroxine did not significantly affect the apparent KB values of the selective beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, practolol, or the selective beta 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, butoxamine. 4 Thyroxine did not significantly affect the maximum response to noradrenaline. The maximum response to terbutaline in tissues from the thyroxine-treated animals was only slightly lower than the maximum response in tissues from paired control animals. 5 These results suggest that excessive thyroxine does not significantly affect the beta-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of guinea-pig trachea and that the reported modulation of beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses in other tissues is specific for the given tissue rather than common to all beta-adrenoceptor systems.