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Alpha-adrenergic reactivity of the microcirculation in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats

  • Part IV: Cardiovascular Therapeutics
  • Published:
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Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the functional distribution of α1- and α2-adrenoceptors in the striated muscle microcirculation. Experiments were performed in intact conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) that were provided with a dorsal microcirculatory chamber to allow microvascular diameter measurements. Administration of selective α1- and α2-agonists, phenylephrine and azepexole, respectively, induced different patterns of microvascular constriction. α1-Adrenoceptor stimulation showed a preferential constriction of large arteries and venules. The entire arteriolar microvasculature was sensitive to α2-adrenoceptor stimulation, whereas the venular vessels did not respond to azepexole. The selective α1- and α2-antagonists prazosin and yohimbine showed patterns of vasodilator activity comparable to those of the corresponding agonists. The specificity of the drug-induced effects was verified by comparing their effects with those of graded hemorrhage, a non-pharmacological method for blood pressure lowering. In the range of blood pressure decreases comparable to that obtained by α-adrenoceptor antagonists, graded hemorrhage did not influence microvascular diameters. These results show a differential functional distribution of α1- and α2-adrenoceptors along the microvascular tree in striated muscle of conscious SHR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    H. A. J. Struijker-Boudier, M. W. J. Messing & H. van Essen

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  1. H. A. J. Struijker-Boudier
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  2. M. W. J. Messing
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  3. H. van Essen
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Struijker-Boudier, H.A.J., Messing, M.W.J. & van Essen, H. Alpha-adrenergic reactivity of the microcirculation in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats. Mol Cell Biochem 157, 239–244 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227905

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