Abstract
Characteristics of β-adrenoceptor in the tracheal smooth muscle of Suncus murinus (suncus) were studied in comparison with those of rats and guinea pigs. lsoproterenol induced concentration-dependent relaxation of suncus trachea. However, the maximal relaxation was very small, and about 1000 times higher concentration was necessary compared to the case of the guinea pig. The order of the sensitivity to isoproterenol and the maximal relaxation was guinea pig>>rat> suncus. Tracheae from younger suncus were more sensitive to isoproterenol, but the maximal relaxation was not significantly different from the results using adult animals. Forskolin, a direct activator of adenylate cyclase, relaxed tracheae to similar extents in the three species. Though the affinity of specific [3H]dihydroalprenolol binding was not significantly different, the maximal number of binding sites was in the order of rat>guinea pig>suncus. However, the differences in density of the binding among the three species were not as great as differences in isoproterenol-induced relaxation. These results suggest that 1) β-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of tracheal smooth muscle is not well-developed in the suncus and 2) the deficient relaxation is probably caused by insufficient coupling between adrenoceptors and adenylate cyclase.
