• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2023

α₁-adrenoceptors link via the G-protein Gq/G₁₁ to both Ca²⁺ entry and release from stores, but may also activate Rho kinase, which causes calcium sensitization. This study aimed to identify the subtype(s) of α₁-adrenoceptor involved in Rho kinase-mediated responses in both rat aorta and mouse spleen, tissues in which contractions involve multiple subtypes of α₁-adrenoceptor. Tissues were contracted with cumulative concentrations of noradrenaline (NA) in 0.5 log unit increments, before and in the presence of an antagonist or vehicle. Contractions produced by NA in rat aorta are entirely α₁-adrenoceptor mediated as they are competitively blocked by prazosin. The α_1A-adrenoceptor antagonist RS100329 had low potency in rat aorta. The α_1D-adrenoceptor antagonist BMY7378 antagonized contractions in rat aorta in a biphasic manner: low concentrations blocking α_1D-adrenoceptors and high concentrations blocking α_1B-adrenoceptors. The Rho kinase inhibitor fasudil (10 µM) significantly reduced aortic contractions in terms of maximum response, suggesting inhibition of α_1B-adrenoceptor mediated responses. In the mouse spleen, a tissue in which all 3 subtypes of α₁-adrenoceptor are involved in contractions to NA, fasudil (3 µM) significantly reduced both early and late components to the NA contraction, the early component involving α_1B- and α_1D-adrenoceptors, and the late component involving α_1B- and α_1A-adrenoceptors. This suggests that fasudil inhibits α_1B-adrenoceptor mediated responses. It is concluded that α_1D- and α_1B-adrenoceptors interact in rat aorta and α_1D-, α_1A- and α_1B-adrenoceptors interact in the mouse spleen to produce contractions and these interactions suggest that one of the receptors preferentially activates Rho kinase, most likely the α_1B-adrenoceptor.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.243-248
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• 1989

Effects of B-HT 920 on the vagally stimulated gastric acid secretion were studied in anesthetized and gastric fistula rats. When the gastric acid secretion was increased by stimulation of the vagus nerve, B-HT 920 was partially attenuated by prazosin, $\alpha_1-$adrenoceptor antagonist and virtually abolished by yohimbine, $\alpha_2-$adrenoceptor antagonist. On the other hand, when the gastric acid secretion was increased by the infusion of bethanechol, a muscarinic parasympathetic stimulant, B-HT 920 had no effect on the bethanechol-induced gastric acid secretion. These results suggest that B-HT 920 inhibits vagally induced gastric acid secretion by activation of presynaptic $\alpha-$adrenoceptors located on the vagally stimulated pathways in the gastric wall and this effect of B-HT 920 is more related to $\alpha_2-$adrenoceptors than $\alpha_1-$adrenoceptors.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.353-359
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• 2000

${\alpha}_2$-Adrenoceptor antagonists, which can enhance synaptic norepinephrine levels by blocking feedback inhibition processes, are potentially useful in the treatment of disease states such. as depression, memory impairment, impotence and sexual dysfunction. (10bS)-1,2,3,5,6,10b-Hexahydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline oxalate (YSL-3S) was evaluated in several in vitro biological tests to establish its pharmacological profile of activities as an ${\alpha}_2$-adrenoceptor antagonist. Saturation binding assay revealed that$^{3}[H]$rauwolscine bound to the $\alpha$$_2$-adrenoceptors with a Kd value of 6.3$\pm$0.5 nM and a Bmax value of 25l$\pm$39 fmol/mg protein in rat cortical synaptic membranes. Competitive binding assay showed that YSL-3S inhibited the binding of$^3[H]$rauwolscine (1 nM) in a concentration-dependent manner with a Ki value of 98.2$\pm$12.1 nM while it did not inhibit the binding of [$^3$H]cytisine (1.25 nM) to neuronal nicotinic cholinergic receptors. The Ki values of yohimbine, clonidine and norepinephrine for $^3[H]$rauwolscine binding were 15.8$\pm$1.0, 40.1$\pm$5.9 and 40.0$\pm$11.5 nM, respectively. In addition, the binding affinity of YSL-3S for ${\alpha}_2$-adrenoceptors was higher than that of its antipode and the racemic mixture. The functional activity of YSL-3S at the presynaptic ${\alpha}_2$-adrenoceptors was assessed using the prostatic portion of the rat vas deferens. Clonidine inhibited field-stimulated contractions of the vas deference in a dose-dependent manner. The presence of YSL-3S or yohimbine caused a parallel, rightward the dose-response curve of clonidine in a dose-dependent manner, indicating an antagonistic action at the presynaptic ${\alpha}_2$-adrenoceptors. The $pA_2$values of yohimbine and YSL-3S were 7.66$\pm$0.13 and 6.64$\pm$0.18, respectively. The results indicate that YSL-3S acts as a competitive antagonist at presynaptic ${\alpha}_2$ -adrenoceptors with a potency approximately ten times lower than yohimbine, but is devoid of binding affinity for neuronal nicotinic cholinergic receptors.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.189-199
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• 1996

Myocardial ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptors$ have been shown to mediate a biphaslc inotropic response that was characterized by a transient decline followed by a sustained increasing phase in guinea pig ventricular muscle. Recently one group reported that an ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptors-induced$ intracellular $Na^+$ decrease is linked to fast $Na^+$ channel inhibition and another group reported that it is linked to $Na^+$-$K^+$ pump activation by ${\alpha}_{1b}-adrenoceptors$. But until now, its mechanism is not clear. Therefore, to see whether the $Na^+$channel or $Na^+-K^+$ pump is related to a decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity and/or the negative inotropic response, and which ${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ subtype was involved in the decrease in intracellular $Na^+$activity by phenylephrine, we used conventional and sodium selective microelectrodes, and tension transducer to determine the effects of ${\alpha}_1-adrenergic$ stimulation on membrane potential, intracellular $Na^+$ activity, and twitch force in guinea pig ventricular muscles. $10^{-5}$ M Phenylephrine produced a slight hyperpolarization of the diastolic membrane potential, a decrease or increase in $a_N^i_a$, and a biphasic inotropic response. The negative inotropic response accompanied by a decrease in intracellular $Na^+$activity, whereas in muscles showing a remarkable positive inotropic response without initial negative inotropic effect was accompanied by an increase in intracellular $Na^+$ activity. The decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity was apparently inhibited by WB4101, an antagonist of the ${\alpha}_{1a}-adrenoceptors$. The decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity caused by phenylephrine was not abolished or reduced by a block of the fast $Na^+$ channels. $V_{max}$ also was not affected by phenylephrine. Phenylephrine produced an increase in intracellular $Na^+$ activity in the presence of a high concentration of extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ (in quiescent muscle) or phorbol dibutyrate, a protein kinase C activator(in beating muscle). These suggest that the ${\alpha}_{1a}-adrenoceptors-mediated$ decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity may be related to the protein kinase C.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.508-517
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• 1998

There is evidence that the sympathetic nervous system exerts a control on thyroid function via an adrenergic innervation of thyroid cells. Although it is clear that the inhibitory effects of catecholamines result from an activation of ${\alpha}_1$-adrenoceptors, the mechanisms involved in ${\alpha}_1$-stimulation are not fully understood. The effects of methoxamine and protein kinase C (PKC) activator on the release of thyroxine ($T_4$) from mouse thyroid were studied to clarify the role of PKC in the regulation of $T_4$ release in vitro. The glands were incubated in the medium, samples of the medium were assayed for $T_4$ by EIA kits. Methoxamine inhibited the TSH-stimulated $T_4$ release. This inhibition was reversed by prazosin, an ${\alpha}_1$-adrenergic antagonist. Futhermore, the inhibitory effect of methoxamine on the $T_4$ release stimulated by TSH was prevented by chloroethylclonidine, an ${\alpha}_{1b}$-adrenoceptor antagonist, but not by WB4101, an ${\alpha}_{1a}$-adrenoceptor antagonist. Also methoxamine inhibited the forskolin-, cAMP- or IBMX-stimulated $T_4$ release. These inhibition were reversed by PKC inhibitors, such as staurosporine and $H_7$. PMA, a PKC activator, completely inhibited the TSH-stimulated $T_4$ release, and its inhibition was reversed by staurosporine and $H_7$, but not by chelerythrine. R59022 (a diacylglycerol kinase inhibitor), like methoxamine, also inhibited the TSH-stimulated $T_4$ release, and its inhibition was also reversed by staurosporine. The present study suggests that methoxamine inhibition of $T_4$ release from mouse thyroid can be induced by activation of the ${\alpha}_{1b}$-adrenoceptors and that it is mediated through the ${\alpha}_1$-adrenoceptor-stimulated PKC formation.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.1 s.38
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• pp.45-50
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• 1986

The involvement of central $_{{\alpha}2}$-adrenoceptors in the development of muricide (mouse-killing behavior) in the olfactoly bulbectomized (OB) rats was strudied. The fractional turnover rate of noradrenaline (NA) in forebrain from OB muricidal rats was significantly lowered than that from sham rats. However, after yohimbine or idazoxan treatment, NA turnover was significantly increased in concert with inhibition of the development of muricide in OB rats. By radioligand binding studies with $[^3H]$ yohimbine, the maximum binding $(B_{max})$ of $[^3H]$ yohimbine to cerebral cortical membrane from OB rats was significantly higher than that from sham rats without change of affinity for agonists and antagonists$(K_i)$. With these results it was suggested that muricidal behavior of OB rats has a close relevance to the hyperactivity of central $_{{\alpha}2}$-adrenoceptor system.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.207-215
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• 2004

It is well known that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis is under the negative feedback control of adrenal corticosteroids. Previous studies have suggested that glucocorticoids can regulate neuroendocrine cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) by modulating catecholaminergic transmission, a major excitatory modulator of the HPA axis at the hypothalamic level. But, the effects of corticosteroids on the expression of adrenoceptor subtypes are not fully understood. In this work, we examined mRNA levels of six adrenoceptor subtypes (${\alpha}_{1A}$, ${\alpha}_{1B}$, ${\alpha}_{2A}$, ${\alpha}_{2B}$, ${\beta}_1$ and ${\beta}_2$) in the PVN of normal and adrenalectomized (ADX) rats. Total RNA ($2.5{\mu}g$) was extracted from PVN micropunches of brain slices ($500{\mu}m$) and analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA were increased in the ADX rats relative to normal rats, indicating that the PVN had been liberated from the negative feedback of corticosteroids. Among the six adrenoceptor subtypes examined, mRNA levels for ${\alpha}_{1B}$- and ${\beta}_1$-adrenoceptors were increased, but the level for ${\beta}_2$-adrenoceptors was decreased in the ADX rats. The mRNA levels for the other three subtypes and for the general and neuronal specific housekeeping genes, glyceroaldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and N-enolase, respectively, were not changed in the ADX rats. In conclusion, the results indicate that adrenal steroids selectively regulate the gene expression of adrenoceptor subtypes in the PVN.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.7-14
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• 1984

In pithed rats, rising in diastolic blood pressure by clonidine, when intravenously injected, is expressed as the postsynaptic action, and inhibitory action on electrical stimulation-induced tachycardia by clonidine is expressed as the presynaptic inhibitory action. In this study it was aimed to observe the inhibitory effect of imipramine caused by a single and chronic administration on both postsynaptic and presynaptic action of clonidine in pithed rats, and discussed in relation with the mechanism of antidepressant action of imipramine. 1) A rise of diastolic blood pressure by clonidine was not antagonized by prazosin, but by both phentolamine and piperoxan. 2) The inhibition by clonidine of tachycardia which was induced by electrical stimulation was also antagonized by phentolamine and piperoxan, but not by prazosin. 3) The increase in diastolic blood pressure in response to clonidine was inhibited by both a single or chronic administration with imipramine (20 mg/kg). It was more pronounced in the latter. 4) The inhibitory action of clonidine on the tachycardia was markedly inhibited by both types of administration with imipramine, between which there showed little difference. It is concluded that the presynaptic ${\alpha}_2-adrenoceptor$ is rather sensitively affected by a single administration with imipramine, and a long-term imipramine treatment may inhibit both pre- and postsynaptic ${\alpha}_2-adrenoceptors$, simultaneously. Furthermore, it was seemed unlikely that these results provide the evidence :to support the fact that the subsensitivity of presynaptic ${\alpha}_2-adrenoceptor$ may be the mechanism of action of tricyclic antidepressant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.170-170
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• 1998

In order to discover new types of 5-hydroxytryptamine antagonists, we have devoted our attention to investigating naturally occurring compounds having anti-5HT activity in vitro. Recently, ${\gamma}$-mangostin [1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxy-2,8-bis(3-methyl-2-bytenyl)-9H-xanthen-9-one] from the fruit hull of Garcinia mangostana Linn has been shown to be a selective antagonist for 5-hydroxytryptamine$_{2A}$ receptors in smooth muscle and platelets. It is of interesting that y-mangostin which does not have a nitrogen atom, possesses marked 5-$HT_{2A}$ receptor blocking activity. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of ${\gamma}$-mangostin on central 5-HT receptors by using animal behavioural models. Intracerebronventricular injection of ${\gamma}$-mangostin (10-40n mol/mouse) inhibited 5-fluoro-${\alpha}$-methyltryptamin (5-FMT) (45 mg kg$^{-1}$, i.p.)-induced head-twitch response in mice in the presence or absence of citalopram (5-HT-uptake inhibitor). Neither the 5-FMT- nor the 8-hydroxy-2-( di-n-propylamino )tetralin (5-HT$_{1A}$-agonist)-induced 5-HT syndrome (head weaving and hindlimb abduction) was affected by ${\gamma}$-mangostin. The locomotor activity stimulated by 5-FMT through the activation of at-adrenoceptors did not alter in the presence of ${\gamma}$-mangostin. 5-HT-induced inositol phosphates accumulation in mouse brain slices was abolished by ketanserin. ${\gamma}$-Mangostin caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of the inositol phosphates accumulation and the binding of [$^3H$]-spiperone, a specific 5-$HT_{2A}$ receptor antagonist, to mouse brain membranes. Kinetic analysis of the [$^H3$]-spiperone binding revealed that ${\gamma}$-mangostin increased the $_{d}$ value without affecting the $B_{max}$ value, indicating the mode of the competitive nature of the inhibition by ${\gamma}$-mangostin. These results suggest that ${\gamma}$-mangostin inhibits 5-FMT-induced head-twitch response in mice by blocking 5-$HT_{2A}$ receptors not by blocking the release of 5-HT from the central neurone. ${\gamma}$-Mangostin is a promising 5-$HT_{2A}$ receptors antagonist in the central nervous system.m.