The cholinergic blocking action of adrenergic blocking agents in the pharmacological analysis of autonomic innervation.

The adrenergic blocking agents tolazoline, phentolamine, piperoxan, yohimbine, phenoxybenzamine, bretylium and guanethidine block the excitatory actions both of cholinergic nerves and of added acetylcholine on a variety of vertebrate smooth muscle preparations. These cholinergic blocking actions often occurred with concentrations lower than those required to block the response of the guinea-pig vas deferens to stimulation of the adrenergic hypogastric nerve. The anti-acetylcholine activities of these drugs have been studied in detail, using the guinea-pig rectum and the toad bladder as test organs. In preparations sensitive to eserine, the anticholinesterase actions of the drugs competed with their anti-acetylcholine actions, so that either potentiation or block of responses to acetylcholine and to cholinergic nerve stimulation occurred with different concentrations. The responses of the toad bladder to acetylcholine were not potentiated by eserine. This enabled the antagonism of acetylcholine by the anti-adrenergic drugs to be estimated without interference from their anticholinesterase activity. When blocking activity was assessed on guinea-pig rectum previously treated with dyflos, the results were qualitatively similar to those on the toad bladder. Phenoxybenzamine often completely blocks responses both to added acetylcholine and to cholinergic nerve stimulation in concentrations less than those required to block adrenergic nerves. Guanethidine and piperoxan also show strong cholinergic blocking activity. Bretylium, yohimbine, tolazoline and phentolamine were less potent. However, in concentrations required to block the effect on the vas deferens of hypogastric nerve stimulation, these drugs at least halved the effects of acetylcholine and often of cholinergic nerve stimulation. It is concluded that these adrenergic blocking agents cannot be used to distinguish conclusively between adrenergic and cholinergic nerves. For reliable analysis of autonomic innervation, the substances released upon nerve stimulation must be identified by specific biochemical techniques or bioassay.