Study of the mechanism of the relaxant action of (+)-glaucine in rat vas deferens.

1. Effects of the aporphinoid alkaloid, (+)-glaucine, on rat vas deferens were investigated. 2. (+)-Glaucine (2-18 microM) competitively inhibited contractions induced by noradrenaline and methoxamine with a pA2 value of about 6. 3. (+)-Glaucine (2 and 18 microM) did not change the accumulation of tritium during incubation of the vas deferens with [3H]-noradrenaline. 4. (+)-Glaucine (0.3 nM-0.1 mM) inhibited specific [3H]-prazosin binding to membranes from rat vas deferens with a pKi value of 6.63, which is close to the pA2 value obtained against noradrenaline and methoxamine in functional studies. 5. In electrically-stimulated rat vas deferens, (+)-glaucine (0.3-10 microM) enhanced twitch contractions and competitively antagonized the inhibitory effect of clonidine with a pA2 value of 5.91. 6. In tissues incubated in depolarizing calcium-free high-potassium medium, (+)-glaucine (30-80 microM) inhibited Ca(2+)-induced contractions with depression of the maximal response at higher doses and with a pD'2 value of 3.65. Furthermore, (+)-glaucine (50 microM) did not modify basal 45Ca uptake but strongly inhibited the influx of 45Ca induced by K+. 7. These results suggest that (+)-glaucine has non-selective alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptor blocking properties. At higher doses, (+)-glaucine shows calcium antagonist activity which may be responsible, at least in part, for the inhibition of the contractions induced by Ca2+ in calcium-free high-potassium medium.