Alpha and beta adrenergic receptor involvement in catecholamine-induced growth of gram-negative bacteria.

The effect of a number of adrenergic receptor agonists and antagonists on the growth of Escherichia coli and Yersinia enterocolitica was examined in order to delineate possible receptor mechanism(s) by which the catecholamines influence the growth of gram-negative bacteria. Neither alpha or beta adrenergic receptor agonists or antagonists affected growth in a dose-dependent manner similar to that observed for norepinephrine. The physiological less active enantiomer of norepinephrine, (+)-norepinephrine, did not affect catecholamine-induced growth to a similar degree as that observed with the active enantiomer. These results suggest that a non-alpha, non-beta adrenergic receptor mediated process may play a role in catecholamine-induced growth of gram-negative bacteria.