Thermoregulatory effects of beta adrenoceptors: effects of selective agonists and the interaction of antagonists with isoproterenol and BRL-35135 in the cold.

Dose-dependent effects of the selective beta 1 adrenergic antagonist atenolol and the beta 2 antagonist erythro-dl-1-(7-methylinden-4-yloxy)-3-isopropylamino-2-ol were tested on the thermoregulatory responses elicited by half-maximal thermogenic doses of the nonselective beta agonist isoproterenol (ISO) in a cold environment. ISO alone increased operant responding for exogenous heat but decreased body temperature and increased net heat loss. These effects of ISO were blocked by erythro-dl-1-(7-methylinden-4-yloxy)3-isopropylamino-2-ol in a dose-dependent manner, whereas atenolol at the highest dose tested (2 mg/kg) exacerbated the effects of ISO. The beta 3 agonist, (R*,R*-(+/-)-methyl 4-[2-[2-hydroxy-2-(3-chlorophenyl)ethylamino]propylphenoxyacetate hydrobromide, reduced operant responding for heat and net heat loss in the cold; these effects were sustained in the presence of both beta 1 and beta 2 antagonists. The beta 2 adrenoceptor agonist, fenoterol, produced a dose-dependent increase in operant behavior but colonic temperature fell and thermal balance reflected the characteristic effects of a thermolytic agent. The beta 1 agonist, prenalterol, had no apparent effect on thermoregulatory behavior, colonic temperature or thermal balance but it blocked the thermolytic effects of fenoterol when both agonists were coadministered. Fenoterol had no significant effect on metabolic rate or colonic temperature when tested in a warm ambient temperature of 23 degrees C but it decreased colonic temperature without a significant effect on metabolic rate at an ambient temperature of 5 degrees C, suggesting an effect on heat loss mechanisms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)