Two pharmacologically distinct alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in the contraction of rabbit aorta: each subtype couples with a different Ca2+ signalling mechanism and plays a different physiological role.

Using the alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtype-selective antagonists chlorethylclonidine (CEC), WB4101, and 5-methyl-urapidil, we have examined the possible heterogeneity in the alpha 1-adrenoceptor populations in rabbit aorta. The alpha 1-adrenoceptor alkylating agent CEC selectively inhibited the phasic component of the norepinephrine-induced contractile response, with little effect on the tonic component. The alpha 1-adrenoceptor occupancy-response relationship defined by the phenoxybenzamine inactivation method was rectangular hyperbolic for the tonic response, whereas that for the phasic response was linear, indicating the different degree of receptor reserve for the two responses. Radioligand binding studies with the nonselective alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist radioligand 125I-BE2254 showed that 73-87% of the binding sites in rabbit aorta are CEC sensitive and they are predominantly low affinity sites both for WB4101 (pKd = 8.1) and for 5-methylurapidil (pKd = 7.1). Moreover, alpha 1-adrenoceptor-mediated phosphatidylinositol (PI) hydrolysis was CEC sensitive, and fractional inactivation of alpha 1 receptors with CEC showed equivalent increments in the reduction of PI hydrolysis and phasic contractile response, suggesting that both responses are linearly related to the CEC-sensitive receptor sites. The Schild plots for the competitive antagonists WB4101 and 5-methyl-urapidil against alpha 1a-adrenoceptor-selective agonist methoxamine-induced contraction were linear and had slopes not significantly different from unity, with a pA2 of 9.07 +/- 0.07 (n = 5) for WB4101 and 9.09 +/- 0.05 (n = 3) for 5-methyl-urapidil. However, the Schilod plots for these antagonists against norepinephrine were curvilinear. Computer-assisted analysis of these curvilinear Schild plots in a two-receptor system indicated that alpha 1-adrenoceptor populations responsible for the constrictive response are predominantly (approximately 80-90%) low affinity sites for the two antagonists (pKd approximately 8.1 for WB4101 and pKd approximately 7.1 for 5-methyl-urapidil) and a small population (approximately 10-20%) are high affinity sites (pKd approximately 9.1 for both WB4101 and 5-methyl-urapidil), which was in good agreement with radioligand binding studies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)