Alpha 1A-adrenoceptors in rabbit bronchus.

In the presence of propranolol, bronchial preparations from rabbits were markedly contracted by norepinephrine and phenylephrine but only slightly by clonidine. The contractile responses to norepinephrine were inhibited by prazosin and by high concentrations of yohimbine. The concentration-response curve of norepinephrine was shifted in parallel by WB4101 and 5-methylurapidil but not by 60-min treatment with chloroethylclonidine. These results suggest strongly that norepinephrine-induced contraction of rabbit bronchus is mediated through alpha 1A-adrenoceptors. Furthermore, cyclooxygenase inhibitors did not influence the response to norepinephrine, so norepinephrine-induced contraction is considered not to be mediated through the release of prostaglandins.