Effect of ß1 /ß2 -adrenoceptor blockade on ß3 -adrenoceptor activity in the rat cremaster muscle artery.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The physiological role of vascular ß3 -adrenoceptors is not fully understood. Recent evidence suggests cardiac ß3 -adrenoceptors are functionally effective after down-regulation of ß1 /ß2 -adrenoceptors. The functional interaction between the ß3 -adrenoceptor and other ß-adrenoceptor subtypes in rat striated muscle arteries was investigated. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Studies were performed in cremaster muscle arteries isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats. ß-adrenoceptor expression was assessed through RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Functional effects of ß3 -adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists and other ß-adrenoceptor ligands were measured using pressure myography. KEY RESULTS: All three ß-adrenoceptor subtypes were present in the endothelium of the cremaster muscle artery. The ß3 -adrenoceptor agonists mirabegron and CL 316,243 had no effect on the diameter of pressurized (70 mmHg) cremaster muscle arterioles with myogenic tone, while the ß3 -adrenoceptor agonist SR 58611A and the nonselective ß-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline caused concentration-dependent dilation. In the presence of ß1/2 -adrenoceptor antagonists nadolol (10 µM), atenolol (1 µM) and ICI 118,551 (0.1 µM) both mirabegron and CL 316,243 were effective in causing vasodilation and the potency of SR 58611A was enhanced, while responses to isoprenaline were inhibited. The ß3 -adrenoceptor antagonist L 748,337 (1 µM) inhibited vasodilation caused by ß3 -adrenoceptor agonists (in the presence of ß1/2 -adrenoceptor blockade), but L 748,337 had no effect on isoprenaline-induced vasodilation. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: All three ß-adrenoceptor subtypes were present in the endothelium of the rat cremaster muscle artery, but ß3 -adrenoceptor mediated vasodilation was only evident after blockade of ß1/2 -adrenoceptors. This suggests constitutive ß1/2 -adrenoceptor activity inhibits ß3 -adrenoceptor function in the endothelium of skeletal muscle resistance arteries.