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. 1986;21(Suppl 1):33S–39S. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1986.tb02851.x

α-Adrenergic receptors in human blood vessels

P van Brummelen, K Jie, P A van Zwieten
PMCID: PMC1400759  PMID: 2871855

Abstract

1 The evidence for the presence of postjunctional α1- and α2-adrenoceptor subtypes in human blood vessels is reviewed.

2 Experiments in healthy subjects are described that show that α1- as well as α2-adrenoceptor mediated vasoconstriction contribute to vascular smooth muscle tone and that adrenaline and noradrenaline have similar affinities for each subtype. In addition, evidence is presented for a preferential intrajunctional location of α1-adrenoceptors and a preferential extrajunctional location of α2-adrenoceptors in human blood vessels.

3 It is concluded that at present postjunctional α-adrenoceptors in human blood vessels can be classified as α1 and α2. Despite the fact that both subtypes mediate vasoconstriction, these receptors are likely to subserve different physiological functions.

Keywords: α-adrenoceptors, catecholamines, forearm blood flow, human blood vessels

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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