The contractile response to and the release of noradrenaline by transmural nerve stimulation in the guinea-pig vas deferens and a comparison with the response to noradrenaline.

The release of noradrenaline from the guinea-pig vas deferens by transmural stimulation was measured electrochemically after separation by h.p.l.c. Variations in release with different durations of stimulation were then compared with the mechanical response during stimulation. During long periods of 270 s of stimulation at 10 Hz the average release of noradrenaline in the final 250 s remained at about 50% of that released during the first 20 s yet the mechanical response throughout the later time declined to near zero. Superfusion with constant concentrations of noradrenaline produced mechanical responses similar to those from transmural nerve stimulation, an initial rapid contraction declining to a low level of maintained activity. During the later period, when the response to infused noradrenaline was low, the twitch response to transmural stimulation was potentiated. Phentolamine 10(-6)M reduced the potentiation of the twitch response to transmural stimulation by noradrenaline and propranolol 10(-6)M enhanced the potentiation. These results suggest that the decline in the adrenergic component of the response to prolonged transmural nerve stimulation is not the result of a decline in noradrenaline release but mainly due to desensitization to the contractile effect of noradrenaline. Since the similar desensitization produced by infused noradrenaline does not reduce the twitch response to transmural nerve stimulation it is unlikely that the transmitter responsible for that component is noradrenaline.