Roles of alpha 1-adrenoceptor activity in the release of nitric oxide during ischemia of the canine heart.

The difference in end-products of the nitric oxide, i.e., nitrate-plus-nitrite, in the coronary arterial and venous blood was increased during coronary hypoperfusion of the canine heart (12.8 +/- 0.6 vs. 2.2 +/- 0.2 microM at the baseline). Norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve endings in the heart is released due to ischemic stress, however the relation of norepinephrine with nitric oxide is unknown during ischemia. Neither beta- or alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonists attenuated the release of nitric oxide during coronary hypoperfusion. An intracoronary infusion of an alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist attenuated the release of nitric oxide during coronary hypoperfusion (5.3 +/- 0.4 microM), and the attenuation of alpha 1-adrenoceptor activity further decreased coronary blood flow during hypoperfusion. These findings suggest that alpha 1-adrenoceptor activity contributes to the mechanisms whereby nitric oxide is released from the ischemic myocardium.