McCormick C, Alexandre L, Thompson J, Mutungi G. Clenbuterol and formoterol decrease force production in isolated intact mouse skeletal muscle fiber bundles through a 2-adrenoceptorindependent mechanism. J Appl Physiol 109: 1716–1727, 2010; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00592.2010.—Although the acute actions of short-acting 2-adrenoceptor agonists on force production in isolated mammalian skeletal m...

Recently, the biased β2-adrenoceptor/β-arrestin pathway was shown to play a pivotal role in crossing of the blood brain barrier by Neisseria meningitidis. We hypothesized that genetic variation in the β2-adrenoceptor gene (ADRB2) may influence susceptibility to bacterial meningitis. In a prospective genetic association study we genotyped 542 patients with CSF culture proven community acquired b...

Anaphylactic shock is sometimes life-threatening, and it is accompanied by hepatic venoconstriction in animals, which, in part, accounts for anaphylactic hypotension. Roles of norepinephrine and α-adrenoceptor in anaphylaxis-induced hypotension and portal hypertension were investigated in anesthetized ovalbumin-sensitized Sprague-Dawley rats. The sensitized rats were randomly allocated to the f...

The effects of different alpha-1 adrenoceptor blockers on the urethra and the cardiovascular system were evaluated using an in vivo isovolumetric intra-urethral pressure model in New Zealand white rabbits. The urethra of anesthetized male rabbits was cannulated through the bladder and secured at the vesico-urethral junction. The distal side of urethra under the pubic bone was also closed to all...

This study was carried out to determine whether epinephrine alters the sensitivity of rat vagal sensory neurons. In anesthetized rats, inhalation of epinephrine aerosol (1 and 5 mg/ml, 3 min) induced an elevated baseline activity of pulmonary C fibers and enhanced their responses to lung inflation (20 cm H(2)O, 10 s) and right atrial injection of capsaicin (0.5 microg/kg). In isolated rat nodos...

AIMS Obesity can modify the pharmacokinetics of lipophilic drugs. As beta-adrenoceptor blockers (BB) are often prescribed for obese patients suffering from hypertension or coronary heart disease, this study compares the pharmacokinetics of lipophilic beta-adrenoceptor blockers in obese and control subjects. METHODS Nine obese (157 +/- 24% of ideal body weight (IBW) mean +/- s.d.) and nine non...

Noradrenaline (NA) modulates synaptic transmission in various sites of the CNS. In the cerebellar cortex, several studies have revealed that NA enhances inhibitory synaptic transmission by beta-adrenoceptor-and cyclic AMP-dependent pathways. However, the effects of alpha-adrenoceptor activation on cerebellar inhibitory neurotransmission have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore we investiga...

Although the acute actions of short-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists on force production in isolated mammalian skeletal muscle fibers have been the subject of a number of previous studies, those of long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists have never been investigated. Also, little is known about the cellular signal transduction events mediating their actions. Therefore, the primary aim of this s...

Background—Coronary vessel tone is modulated in part by -adrenergic relaxation. However, the implication of specific -adrenoceptor subtypes and their downstream vasorelaxing mechanism(s) in human coronary resistance arteries is poorly defined. 3-Adrenoceptors were recently shown to vasodilate animal vessels and are expressed in human hearts. Methods and Results—We examined the expression and fu...

OBJECTIVES Endothelial dysfunction precedes atherogenesis and clinical complications in type 2 diabetes. The vascular dysfunction in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats was evaluated at different ages along with the effect of treatment with rosiglitazone (Rosi) on endothelial function and mechanical remodeling. METHODS The Rosi treatment was given to ZDF rats for 3 weeks. The endothelium-depende...