The effects of a-receptor-blocking agents on the contractile responses of isolated rabbit arteries to sympathetic nerve stimulation and exogenous lnorepinephrine (Z-NE) were compared. In the pulmonary artery and aorta, yohimbine, phentolamine, and phenoxybenzamine blocked the response to nerve stimulation less than that to an equipotent dose of Z-NE. This resistance of neurogenic response was independent of the frequency and number of stimuli and persisted after inhibition of the nerve Z-NE uptake by cocaine. The neurogenically released transmitter Z-NE probably forms a high concentration near the adventitia-media junction, whereas the exogenous NE is distributed evenly throughout the thickness of media. Thus higher concentrations of a-receptor-blocking agents would be needed to block the effect of neurogenic Z-NE than to block that of exogenous Z-NE. This explanation of the resistance was thought to be more appropriate to the large vessels tested than that based on neuroeffector proximity.
KEY WORDSdistribution of NE phentolamine tunica media neuroeffector distance yohimbine smooth muscle phenoxybenzamine cocaine • In 1906, Dale (1) observed that ergot was less effective in blocking the effector response to sympathetic nervous activity than that to circulating epinephrine. Subsequently, parallel observations have been made with various areceptor blocking agents at many adrenergically innervated sites. In his review, Nickerson (2) concluded that all a-receptor-blocking agents appear to be more effective against responses to circulating sympathomimetic agents than against responses to sympathetic nervous activity. All degrees of relative effectiveness of a-receptor-blocking agents against these two types of responses may be found at different sites in the body. With the exception of Levin and Beck (3) and Urquilla et al. (4),