title: Adenosine enhances the bronchocontractile response to histamine in anaesthetized and curarized guinea pigs through a mechanism partly blocked by hexamethonium.
abstract: The ability of adenosine to potentiate the airway narrowing induced by histamine in anaesthetized and curarized guinea pigs has been investigated in order to establish whether it could be ascribed to a modulatory activity by the nucleoside at the neuronal level. Bilateral vagotomy, atropine (2 mg/kg i.v.), and pretreatment with capsaicin (52 mg/kg s.c. 6 days before the experiment) did not result in any significant protection against the enhancement provoked by the nucleoside of the bronchocontractile effect of histamine. On the contrary, the latter was significantly reduced by the ganglionic blocking agent, hexamethonium (10 mg/kg i.v.). Moreover, the effect of adenosine on airway responsiveness to histamine was not modified in animals treated with propranolol (1 mg/kg i.v.) or guanethidine (20 mg/kg s.c. over a period of 2 days). In conclusion, current data suggest that the purine is able, in our experimental model, to potentiate the bronchospasm induced by histamine by means of a mechanism mediated, at least partly, by non-adrenergic-non-cholinergic nerves not related to capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Breschi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nieri
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lazzeri
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martinotti
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001285:Atropine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001980:Bronchi / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D001986:Bronchial Spasm / Q000503:physiopathology; D016084:Bronchoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006584:Hexamethonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006632:Histamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006633:Histamine Antagonists; D008297:Male; D010197:Pancuronium / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014628:Vagotomy; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006584:Hexamethonium Compounds; D006633:Histamine Antagonists; D001285:Atropine; D006632:Histamine; D010197:Pancuronium; D000241:Adenosine