Effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation on uterine contraction in response to arginine vasotocin and prostaglandin F2 alpha in the gecko Hoplodactylus maculatus.

The effects of beta-adrenergic stimulation on uterine contractions occurring in response to arginine vasotocin (AVT) and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) were compared during late pregnancy in the viviparous gecko Hoplodactylus maculatus. High doses of AVT (150 or 1,500 ng/g body weight) induced birth in vivo, but PGF2 alpha at doses of up to 2,000 ng/g did not induce birth. The effect of AVT (150 ng/g) on birth rate in vivo was not enhanced by pretreatment 20 min beforehand with the beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist dichloroisoproterenol (2 micrograms/g), whereas the effect of PGF2 alpha (200 ng/g) was markedly enhanced: geckos treated with dichloroisoproterenol and then with PGF2 alpha showed rapid birth-related behavior and gave birth. Isolated uteri showed a tonic contraction in response to AVT (100 ng/ml) and to PGF2 alpha (1,000 ng/ml). Pre-exposure of isolated uteri to the beta-adrenoreceptor agonist isoproterenol (1 microgram/ml) caused relaxation; this pre-exposure did not block the tonic contraction occurring in response to AVT, whereas it completely blocked the tonic contraction induced by PGF2 alpha. We conclude that in H. maculatus, beta-adrenergic stimulation inhibits uterine contractions induced by PGF2 alpha but not those induced by AVT. These data are the first to show that beta-adrenergic stimulation inhibits uterotonic responses to PGF2 alpha in a reptile, and they suggest that the cellular mechanisms by which AVT and PGF2 alpha induce contraction may differ in this species. They also provide further evidence for similarities between mammals and reptiles in the effects of beta-adrenergic stimulation on uterine relaxation.