Further studies on alpha 2-adrenoceptor subtypes involved in the modulation of [3H]noradrenaline and [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine release from rat brain cortex synaptosomes.

Three selective alpha 2A- or alpha 2B-adrenergic antagonists (BRL-44408, BRL-41992 and imiloxan) were used in the present study designed to classify the presynaptic alpha 2-auto- and heteroreceptors in the rat brain cortex. The rank order of potency in antagonizing the inhibitory effect of (-)-noradrenaline or clonidine on the K(+)-induced [3H]noradrenaline and [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) release from superfused synaptosomes was BRL-44408 > or = BRL-41992 >> imiloxan. The same rank order was found for the affinities of these compounds for [3H]yohimbine binding in human platelet membranes, containing only alpha 2A-adrenoceptors, but does not correlate with the known affinities for alpha 2B-adrenoceptors (BRL-41992 > or = imiloxan > BRL-44408). These data support the conclusion that presynaptic alpha 2-auto- and heteroreceptors in rat brain cortex do not belong to the alpha 2B-subtype and suggest that the modulation of noradrenaline and 5-HT release may be mediated by the alpha 2A-subtype.