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β 2 ‐Adrenergic Receptors on Peripheral Nerves
Author(s) -
Schreurs Jolanda,
Seelig Tina,
Schulman Howard
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1986.tb12961.x
Subject(s) - peripheral , receptor , adrenergic , adrenergic receptor , neuroscience , peripheral nervous system , chemistry , biology , medicine , central nervous system
We report that peripheral nerves have a functional adenylate cyclase‐coupled β‐adrenergic receptor. The pharmacological specificity of this receptor is shown to be of the β 2 subtype. Two peripheral nerves, the sciatic from the frog and rat and the vagus from the rat, responded to β 2 ‐agonists with 10–50‐fold increases in intracellular cyclic AMP level. This increase was inhibited by the β‐adrenergic antagonist propranolol. In contrast, a central nerve tract, the corpus callosum, responded to isoproterenol with only a minimal one‐ to twofold increase in cyclic AMP level. These studies demonstrate that peripheral nerves have β 2 ‐adrenergic receptors that are responsive to exogenously applied catecholamines and suggest a role for these ligands in the previously described modulation of axonal conduction.