Evidence for two populations of excitatory receptors for noradrenaline on arteriolar smooth muscle

Abstract

We have recorded the responses of arteriolar smooth muscle cells to iontophoretically applied noradrenaline. Records of both muscle movement and muscle membrane potential were made. We found that two distinct types of response could be detected, depending on the position of the noradrenaline micropipette. One type of response consisted of a localised constriction near the noradrenaline source: this effect could be abolished by the α-antagonist phentolamine and was not associated with a change in arteriolar membrane potential. The other type of response was a depolarisation similar to the excitatory junction potentials (e.j.ps) produced by sympathetic nerve stimulation. These observations suggest that there are two populations of receptors for noradrenaline on arterioles, and could explain the paradoxical failure of α-antagonists to block neuromuscular transmission at some autonomic end organs such as the vas deferens, arteries and arterioles.