Functional identification of alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in human prostate: comparison with those in rat vas deferens and spleen.

The effects of some alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonists (prazosin, nonselective for the alpha 1A- and alpha 1B-adrenoceptor subtypes; 5-methyl-urapidil, selective for the alpha 1A-adrenoceptor subtype; chloroethylclonidine, selective for the alpha 1B-adrenoceptor subtype) and nifedipine were compared on contractile responses to noradrenaline or phenylephrine in human prostatic tissues, rat vas deferens and spleen. In rat vas deferens, nifedipine (1 microM), but not chloroethylclonidine (100 microM), almost completely abolished noradrenaline-induced contraction, the pA2 values for prazosin and 5-methyl-urapidil against noradrenaline being 9.29 and 8.55, respectively. In rat spleen, chloroethylclonidine reduced (by 57%) the maximum contraction induced by phenylephrine; nifedipine was ineffective. The log concentration-response curve was shifted significantly to the right; the pA2 values of prazosin and 5-methyl-urapidil against phenylephrine were 9.45 and 7.21, respectively. In human prostatic tissues, both nifedipine and chloroethylclonidine produced significant inhibition of noradrenaline-induced contractions. Chloroethylclonidine produced a 44% reduction of the maximum contraction to noradrenaline and shifted the log concentration-response curve to the right. In contrast, nifedipine, while reducing the maximum response to a similar extent, produced a small rightward shift in the log concentration-response curve. The pA2 values for prazosin and 5-methyl-urapidil against noradrenaline were 9.21 and 7.74, respectively. The pA2 values for prazosin in these three tissues did not vary significantly, whereas that for 5-methyl-urapidil in human prostatic tissue was intermediate between that in rat vas deferens and that in rat spleen: these tissues contain primarily alpha 1A- and alpha 1B-adrenoceptor subtypes, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)