title: Cardiovascular effects of oxymetazoline and UK14,304 in conscious and pithed rats.
abstract: Relatively selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists have proven useful in a variety of therapeutic situations including hypertension, glaucoma and withdrawal from opiate addiction. In particular, oxymetazoline (OXY) and UK14,304 (UK) have been used in subclassifying alpha 2-adrenoceptors and imidazoline receptors. We evaluated the cardiovascular effects of OXY and UK in conscious and pithed rats in the presence and absence of efaroxan (EFA), idazoxan (IDA) and rauwolscine (RAU). Both OXY or UK (1, 5 and 10 micrograms/kg, i.v.) increased blood pressure (BP) and reduced heart rate (HR) in conscious rats. In pithed rats, OXY and UK each increased BP to a greater extent than that observed in conscious rats, but HR was not affected. BP increases following sympathetic nerve stimulation in the pithed rats were not affected by OXY but were reduced by UK at 0.1 Hz and 0.3 Hz. HR responses to nerve stimulation in pithed rats were reduced after OXY at all frequencies, but only at 0.1 Hz following UK. EFA, IDA and RAU inhibited the pressor responses of UK, with EFA being most potent. OXY-induced pressor responses were inhibited by all three antagonists, RAU being the least potent. HR responses to either OXY or UK were not affected by the antagonists. Taken together, the data suggest that: 1) alpha 2-adrenoceptors contribute less to the vascular response to OXY than to UK based upon the antagonistic effect of RAU; 2) prejunctional I1 receptors maybe more prevalent in the heart than in vascular tissue based upon the response to OXY in pithed rats. Thus, the heterogeneity among receptors mediating cardiac and vascular responses are complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30310, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bayorh
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ogbolu
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Socci
mesh_terms: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D000068438:Brimonidine Tartrate; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000187:drug effects*; D003655:Decerebrate State; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010109:Oxymetazoline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011810:Quinoxalines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D011810:Quinoxalines; D000068438:Brimonidine Tartrate; D010109:Oxymetazoline