Equal potency of nifedipine to inhibit alpha 1-(dobutamine and BDF 6143) and alpha 2-adrenoceptor (B-HT 920) induced pressor responses in pithed rats; lack of effect of phenoxybenzamine.
Intravenous (i.v.) dobutamine and BDF 6143 were partial agonists in increasing diastolic pressure in beta-adrenoceptor-blocked pithed rats. The log dose-pressor effect curves were not influenced by yohimbine (1 mg/kg i.v., -15 min) but were markedly shifted to the right by prazosin (0.1 mg/kg i.v., -15 min) indicating the exclusive involvement of alpha 1-adrenoceptors. Nifedipine (0.1-1 mg/kg i.a., -15 min) non-competitively inhibited the pressor effects of dobutamine and BDF 6143 as well as of the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agent B-HT 920 with equal potency. The -log ED50 values calculated for nifedipine amounted to 6.25 +/- 0.12, 6.16 +/- 0.14 and 6.20 +/- 0.10, respectively. Phenoxybenzamine (3 or 10 micrograms/kg i.v., -60 min) did not affect the effectiveness of nifedipine (0.1 mg/kg) to inhibit the pressor effects of dobutamine and BDF 6143. Following treatment with Bay k 8644 (1 mg/kg i.a., -15 min), the log dose-pressor effect curves for dobutamine and BDF 6143 were shifted to the left and the maximum responses were elevated. Our findings suggest that the alpha 1-adrenoceptor-induced pressor effects of dobutamine and BDF 6143 rely heavily on the influx of Ca2+, and are indistinguishable in this respect from the effects initiated by alpha 2-adrenoceptor stimulation. The data further support the view that the sensitivity of alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated pressor effects to inhibition by Ca2+ entry blockers depends on the extent to which Ca2+ influx contributes to the overall response and is not determined by the intrinsic activity or by the receptor reserve of the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist.
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001381:Azepines / Q000494:pharmacology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D003655:Decerebrate State; D004280:Dobutamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D054833:Isoindoles; D008297:Male; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010643:Phenoxybenzamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D001381:Azepines; D007093:Imidazoles; D054833:Isoindoles; D010643:Phenoxybenzamine; D004280:Dobutamine; C036966:4-chloro-2-(2-imidazolin-2-ylamino)isoindoline; C024763:talipexole; D009543:Nifedipine