title: Actions of phenylephrine on beta-adrenoceptors in guinea-pig trachea.
abstract: 1. Phenylephrine produced relaxation of the isolated guinea-pig tracheal chain preparation, its potency being 1/5 that of noradrenaline on normal tissues.2. The potentiation of phenylephrine by cocaine (10(-5)M) was only slight. Thus on cocaine-treated tissues phenylephrine was 1/45 as potent as noradrenaline.3. The dose-response lines to phenylephrine were shifted in a parallel manner by propranolol 10(-8)M and 10(-7)M, suggesting that the relaxations were mediated through beta-adrenoceptors.4. Phenylephrine had a lower intrinsic activity than the catecholamines and produced multiphasic dose-response lines at the higher doses used in the presence of propranolol (10(-6)M). These observations have been explained by the evidence obtained that phenylephrine is a partial agonist with beta-adrenoceptor blocking activity.5. From experiments using alpha-adrenoceptor blocking drugs, it has been concluded that stimulation of alpha-adrenoceptors has little influence on the beta-adrenoceptor relaxation to phenylephrine on the guinea-pig tracheal chain preparation.
mesh_terms: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010656:Phenylephrine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011433:Propranolol / Q000494:pharmacology; D011955:Receptors, Drug; D014132:Trachea / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D011955:Receptors, Drug; D010656:Phenylephrine; D011433:Propranolol; D003042:Cocaine; D009638:Norepinephrine