Alpha 1-adrenergic receptors in pulmonary and systemic vascular smooth muscle. Alterations with development and pregnancy.

alpha 1-Adrenergic receptors mediate vasoconstriction in the pulmonary and systemic vasculature. In sheep the in vivo vasoconstrictor response to alpha 1-adrenergic stimulation is less in the pulmonary circulation compared with the systemic circulation of the fetus, the response increases in both vascular beds with fetal and postnatal development, and it decreases in the systemic vasculature with pregnancy. In an effort to determine the mechanisms underlying these differences, alpha 1-adrenergic receptor binding characteristics were determined by using [3H]prazosin in intrapulmonary and systemic (thoracic aorta) vascular smooth muscle (VSM) from late-gestation fetal lambs and from pregnant and nonpregnant ewes. alpha 1-Adrenergic receptor density was less in fetal intrapulmonary VSM that in fetal aortic VSM (12.4 +/- 1.5 versus 29.4 +/- 3.2 fmol/mg protein, p less than 0.05), and it was less (p less than 0.05) in the fetus compared with the pregnant ewe in both intrapulmonary and aortic VSM (51.0 +/- 5.2 and 76.5 +/- 5.9 fmol/mg protein, respectively). alpha 1-Adrenergic receptor density in intrapulmonary VSM was similar in the pregnant and nonpregnant ewe (61.9 +/- 7.2 fmol/mg protein), whereas in aortic VSM it was less (p less than 0.05) in pregnant ewes compared with nonpregnant ewes (101.0 +/- 5.5 fmol/mg protein). alpha 1-Adrenergic receptor affinity was similar in all the VSM sources tested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)