[Comparison of the reactivity of pulmonary tissue and pulmonary vessels in ontogenesis]. / Porovnanie reaktivity pl'úcneho tkaniva a pl'úcnych ciev v ontogenéze.

Reactivity of the lung tissue and of a. pulmonalis has been followed by means of isometric contraction of isolated strips. Histamine, acetylcholine and prostaglandin F2 alfa (PGF2 alfa) contracted the lung strips, the amplitude of histamine and acetylcholine induced contraction being significantly higher in grown guinea pigs than in foetuses. Strips of a. pulmonalis reacted with contraction in response to histamine and PGF2 alfa, they were non-reactive against acetylcholine. Magnitude of response of the strips of a. pulmonalis obtained from grown animals was significantly greater only after administration of PGF2 alfa in concentration of 10(-4) mol.l-1. Values of EC50 were significantly changed only by influence of acetylcholine on the lung strips. Isolated preparations of lung and vessel strips allow to characterize pharmacodynamic properties of the lung tissue. They represent a contribution to the evaluation of lung reactivity to xenobiotics.

Effect of stobadine and histamine H1 and H2 blockers on histamine-induced contraction of guinea pig airways in vitro.

Histamine, a nonselective histamine receptor agonist, activates simultaneously both H1 and H2 receptors in the guinea pig trachea and lung strip. The resulting contraction is due to the prevalence of H1 receptors, because they are blocked by the selective H1 antagonist diphenhydramine. The H2 receptor antagonists cimetidine and ranitidine increased the sensitivity of both tissues to histamine by affecting primarily the amplitude of contractions induced by high histamine concentrations. Since the lung strips were more sensitized by ranitidine and low concentrations of the other studied antagonists (diphenhydramine, dithiadene, stobadine) than the tracheal smooth muscle, it is inferred that the density of H2 receptors is higher in peripheral than central airways. From all the studied histamine receptor antagonists only dithiadene was able to unmask the relaxation induced by H2 receptor activation indicative of its highest H1 selectivity. In the light of the concentration-dependent antihistaminic effect of stobadine, i.e. potentiation in low and inhibition in high concentrations, stobadine is suggested to belong to antihistaminics with no histamine receptor subtype selectivity.

Trachealis responses induced by vincamine and vinpocetine; inhibition by indomethacin and Ca2+ dependence.

Vincamine in low concentrations induced a sustained contraction of the isolated guinea pig trachealis with long latency and slow onset and, in high concentrations, it induced relaxation which was potentiated in the precontracted trachealis. Vinpocetine had actions similar to those of vincamine on trachealis, however its relaxant effect was more pronounced. The vincamine-induced trachealis contraction was not changed by substance P desensitization, was reduced by tetrodotoxin, nifedipine and low Ca2+ high Mg2+ solution and increased in nominally Ca2+-free solution. The vincamine-induced relaxation of precontracted trachealis was increased by guanethidine and was not affected by propranolol, high Mg2+-low Ca2+ solution and tetrodotoxin. Vincamine- and vinpocetine-induced trachealis contraction as well as vinpocetine-induced relaxation at basal tension were abolished by indomethacin. Vincamine in a low concentration shifted to the left the concentration-effect curve for CaCl2 in the K+-depolarized trachealis, and shifted it to the right at a high concentration. Our results indicate that the contractile and relaxant actions of vincamine and vinpocetine on the guinea pig trachealis may be due to the generation of prostaglandins and to changes in the membrane Ca2+ fluxes and/or the intracellular Ca2+ distribution.

The effects of methylxanthines, ethymizol, ephedrine and papaverine on guinea pig and dog trachea.

The study was aimed to compare the effects of pentoxyphylline, aminophylline, choline theophyllinate and ethymizol on guinea pig and dog trachea with those of theophylline, papaverine and ephedrine. The effects of these drugs on the basal tension, on dose-response curves for muscle contraction produced by histamine and on cAMP level were investigated in guinea pig trachea, together with their influence on the resting and histamine-evoked mechanical and membrane activities of dog trachea. Like papaverine, pentoxyphylline did not alter the resting membrane potential, although it relaxed both tracheal preparations, and it antagonised the effects histamine and raised the cAMP level of the smooth muscle. The effects of ethymizol were similar to those of theophylline and its water soluble derivatives (aminophylline and choline theophyllinate). Whereas, ephedrine although it decreased the basal tension and inhibited histamine-evoked responses, also elicited substantial hyperpolarization of the smooth muscle membrane with no effect on the cAMP level. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that cAMP has an important role in the action of some bronchodilator drugs; however, it is concluded that the possibility of contributing of their action on membrane potential to their action needs to be considered. The similarity of the potencies of ethymizol and pentoxyphylline to that of classical bronchodilators in inhibiting contraction of guinea pig and dog tracheal smooth muscle suggests that they may have a therapeutic value.

The action of adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists on the guinea pig and dog trachea.

The action of beta- and alpha-adrenoceptor agonists (isoprenaline, orciprenaline, noradrenaline, phenylephrine and ephedrine) and antagonists (propranolol, metipranolol, exaprolol, BL 445 and phentolamine) on the resting tension and cAMP level of the guinea pig and the mechanical and electrical activities of the dog trachea were studied. By activating beta 2-adrenoceptors, isoprenaline and orciprenaline relaxed the smooth muscle, elevated the membrane potential and attenuated the excitatory effect of histamine on membrane potential and muscle tension. Noradrenaline and phenylephrine, acting on alpha 1-receptors, did not affect the membrane potential and increased the basal tension of the dog trachea only insignificantly. Ephedrine, in high concentrations, however, hyperpolarized the smooth muscle membrane and relaxed the dog trachea, while it did not alter the cAMP level in the guinea pig preparations. It is, therefore unlikely that alpha 1-adrenoceptors play a major role in the excitation of the dog trachea under resting conditions whereas the participation of alpha 2-receptors in the mechanisms of adrenergic relaxation could not be ruled out. All the beta-adrenoceptor antagonists studied enhanced the action of low isoprenaline concentrations and competitively antagonized it in high concentrations. The order of their antagonistic potency in the guinea pig trachea was as follows: metipranolol greater than propranolol = exaprolol greater than or equal to BL 445. It was suggested that metipranolol and exaprolol are nonselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists, similarly as propranolol, whereas BL 445 shown some beta 1-selectivity. In contrast to their antagonistic effects on the membrane activities and muscle tension, both histamine and isoprenaline increased the level of cAMP in smooth muscle cells and, when present simultaneously, their effect was additive. The mechanism of histamine-induced cAMP level elevation and the possible involvement of different subcellular compartments in the action of isoprenaline and histamine in relation to the contraction-relaxation cycle is discussed.