Effects of Noradrenaline on the Isolated Human Bronchus. Comparison With the Isolated Guinea Pig Trachea

Abstract

The pharmacodynamic activity of noradrenaline was evaluated comparatively in vitro on isolated human bronchi and on guinea pig tracheal spirals. Noradrenaline exerted a contractile effect on both preparations under resting tone and in the presence of propranolol 10(-6) M; maximal noradrenaline-induced contraction was 15-20% of maximal acetylcholine (ACh)-induced contraction. Without propranolol, the contractile effect of noradrenaline was negligible when the preparations were under resting tone and absent when they were precontracted with ACh. In contrast, noradrenaline exerted a strongly relaxant effect on both human bronchi (-log ED50 5.24 +/- 0.17; N = 5) and guinea pig tracheae (-log ED50 6.15 +/- 0.29; N = 8). With maximal contraction induced by ACh 3.10(-3) M the -log ED50 of both preparations were shifted to the right by functional antagonism and became 4.72 +/- 0.17 and 5.31 +/- 0.11, respectively. The pKD values of noradrenaline, calculated according to Furchgott and Bursztyn (1967), were 4.79 +/- 0.04 in human bronchi (N = 5) and 4.77 +/- 0.16 in guinea-pig tracheae (N = 8). In the presence of cocaine plus phenoxybenzamine these values were not significantly modified in human bronchi and only slightly modified in guinea pig tracheae. It is concluded that noradrenaline induces a strong beta-adrenergic response and a negligible alpha-adrenergic response from both human bronchi and guinea pig tracheae in vitro.

Age and region‐dependent contraction to α‐adrenoceptor agonists in rat and guinea‐pig isolated trachea

“…In contrast, (−)‐adrenaline and (−)‐noradrenaline caused contraction in rat isolated tracheal preparations in the presence or absence of (±)‐propranolol. These results are in agreement with previous findings indicating that in the absence of β‐adrenoceptor blocking agents, noradrenaline exerts a strong relaxant effect with negligible contractile activity in guinea‐pig trachea (Naline et al ., 1988). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that rat trachea and bronchi have little or no intrinsic tone (Burns & Doe, 1978).…”