b2-Adrenoceptor agonists evoke rapid bronchodilatation and are the mainstay of the treatment of asthma symptoms worldwide. The mechanism of action of this class of compounds is believed to involve the stimulation of adenylyl cyclase and subsequent activation of the cyclic adenosine monosphosphate (cAMP)/cAMP-dependent protein kinase cascade. This classical model of b2-adrenoceptor-mediated sign...

Little is known about the regulation of catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis in human skeletal muscle. Therefore, β-adrenergic regulation of lipolysis and blood flow was investigated in healthy subjects in vivo by use of microdialysis of the gastrocnemius muscle. First, during a hypoglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp, which induces a lipolytic response in skeletal muscle tissue, the muscle was loca...

Neurokinin A (NKA) induces bronchoconstriction mediated by tachykinin NK(2) receptors in animals and humans, and may be increased in asthma. Because beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonists are the most widely used bronchodilators in asthma, we investigated the effects of the beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonist fenoterol on NK(2) receptor messenger RNA (mRNA) and receptor density as well as the functional respon...

In rat locus coeruleus (LC) neurons, alpha 2 adrenoceptors, mu-opioid and somatostatin receptors all activate the same potassium conductance. Chronic treatment with morphine causes a loss of sensitivity that is specific to the mu-opioid response, with no change in the alpha 2 adrenoceptor-mediated response. Acute desensitization induced by opioid, somatostatin, and alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists...

The effects of several beta-adrenoceptor agonists on the relaxation of precontracted human bronchial rings and the inhibition of IgE-mediated histamine release from human lung mast cells (HLMC) were studied. For the relaxation of bronchial rings, isoprenaline, fenoterol and terbutaline were full agonists whereas salbutamol was a full agonist in some (two out of six) experiments and a partial ag...

Hagström-Toft, Eva, Staffan Enoksson, Erik Moberg, Jan Bolinder, and Peter Arner. b-Adrenergic regulation of lipolysis and blood flow in human skeletal muscle in vivo. Am. J. Physiol. 275 (Endocrinol. Metab. 38): E909–E916, 1998.— Little is known about the regulation of catecholaminestimulated lipolysis in human skeletal muscle. Therefore, b-adrenergic regulation of lipolysis and blood flow was...

Dr. K.W. Rumpf, Abteilung Nephrologie und Rheumatologie, Medizinische Universitätsklinik, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, D3400 Göttingen (FRG) Dear Sir, We read with interest the case report ‘Rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure after terbutaline overdose’ by Blake and Ryan [1] in your September issue. In this context it may be of interest to note that two other cases of ß2-adrenoceptor agonist-indu...