Classification of phenoxybenzamine/prazosin-resistant contractions of rat spleen to norepinephrine by Schild analysis: similarities and differences to postsynaptic alpha-2 adrenoceptors.

The striking resistance of norepinephrine contractions of rat splenic strips to antagonism by the selective alpha-1 adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin was examined by Schild analysis. Prazosin was a simple competitive antagonist of contractions to phenylephrine indicating that this tissue possesses alpha-1 adrenoceptors. In contrast, the Schild regression for prazosin, with norepinephrine as the agonist, was nonlinear and had an overall slope of 0.24. These data indicated that norepinephrine activated a prazosin-resistant adrenoceptor in this tissue. As a working hypothesis, it was assumed that the prazosin-resistant receptor was an alpha-2 adrenoceptor; the concomitant addition of yohimbine, in concentrations below those required to block alpha-1 adrenoceptors, converted the atypical Schild regression for prazosin (norepinephrine as agonist) to a linear regression identical with that found for antagonism of phenylephrine responses. Selective alkylation of alpha-1 adrenoceptors with phenoxybenzamine (POB) eliminated responses to phenylephrine but not those to norepinephrine. After POB-alkylation and in the presence of a concentration of prazosin that was sufficient to produce a profound blockade of alpha-1 adrenoceptors, a response to norepinephrine remained. It was determined that the POB/prazosin-resistant response most likely was mediated by a homogeneous population of receptors by the finding that the Schild regressions for both yohimbine and idazoxan were identical with respect to slope and elevation when either norepinephrine or cobefrin were utilized as agonists, i.e., a difference in the regressions for these antagonists would be expected if the two agonists activated a heterogeneous receptor population.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)