α1-Adrenoceptor subtypes mediating contraction of the femoral artery in spontaneously hypertensive rats
α1-Adrenoceptors (ARs) were divided into α1H and α1L subtypes by their different affinities for bunazosin or prazosin. α1H-ARs were further subdivided into α1A, α1B, and α1C subtypes. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine which α1-AR subtypes were involved in the activation of femoral artery preparations by α1-AR agonists in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). For comparison, aortic strips were also incorporated in the present study. In the presence of propranolol, deoxycorticosterone, and desipramine, norepinephrine (NE) contracted the vascular strips in a dose-dependent manner. Negative log EC50 values and maximum responses of NE-induced contraction of the SHR femoral artery were unchanged and increased, respectively, compared with those of Sprague–Dawley and Wistar–Kyoto rats (WKY). Contractile responses of the SHR aortae to NE were similar to those of the normotensive tissues. Schild plot data for α1-AR antagonists indicated that α1-AR subtypes mediating contraction of the aorta were homogeneous and had high affinities for bunazosin (pA2 9.4, α1H subtype) and WB 4101 (pA2 9.3) and a low affinity for 5-methylurapidil (pA2 7.7). In the femoral artery, because Schild plots for bunazosin had slopes of less than 1.0, there were α1H and α1L subtypes. Bunazosin, at 10−9 M, which could mask the α1H subtype, yielded a Schild plot for bunazosin with a slope not different from unity and decreased the pA2 value for bunazosin (pA2 9.4 vs. 8.5). Chlorethylclonidine inhibited the response of the aortic and femoral preparations to NE but did not change Schild plot data for 5-methylurapidil. It was suggested that in the rat femoral artery, α1C and α1L subtypes mediated the contractile response to NE. The α1-AR subtype in the aorta was essentially identical with the α1H subtype in the femoral artery. α1-AR subtypes mediating contraction in the SHR blood vessels were identical with those in the WKY tissues.Key words: α1-adrenoceptor subtype, blood vessels, spontaneously hypertensive rat.