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. 1983 Feb;78(2):277–285. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1983.tb09392.x

Modification of potassium-evoked release of noradrenaline by various ions and agents

SM Kirpekar, JC Prat, MT Schiavone
PMCID: PMC2044697  PMID: 6831114

Abstract

1 Release of noradrenaline (NA) from isolated spleen slices of the cat by high K+ and tetraethylammonium (TEA) was investigated. Studies were conducted with spleen slices whose tissue stores were prelabelled with [3H]-noradrenaline ([3H]-NA).

2 Release by high K+ was related to the K+ concentration of the incubation medium. Release of [3H]-NA by 28.5 mM K+ was only barely detectable over the background, while 70 mM K+ enhanced release to more than 600% of the background output. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) did not block responses to 28.5 or 35 mM K+.

3 Background release was not modified by 1 or 3 mM TEA, but 10 and 30 mM TEA enhanced the release of [3H]-NA by about 50% and 150%, respectively, over the background level. Neither TTX nor hexamethonium (C6) blocked the TEA response. Release by TEA was also not blocked in Ca2+-free medium or in Ca2+-free medium containing up to 3 mM EGTA. Release by TEA was blocked in Ca2+—free medium containing 5 mM EGTA, and by La3+ or Mn2+.

4 The response to 35 mM K+ was not modified by 1 or 3 mM TEA; 10 mM TEA had an additive effect; and 30 mM TEA with 35 mM K+ produced a response which was greater than the simple sum of responses to 35 mM K+ and 30 mM TEA. At 45 mM K+, 3 and 10 mM TEA potentiated the response, and at 30 mM K+ only 1 mM TEA showed potentiation. TTX did not alter the response to high K+ plus TEA.

5 When TEA (30 mM) was added during prolonged incubation with 140 mM K+, the response was only slightly enhanced. This suggests that a large part of the secretory response to TEA is mediated through mobilization of Ca2+ activated by depolarization.

6 Phenoxybenzamine (3.3 μM) potentiated responses to 35 and 140 mM K+ by about 50%, and TTX did not influence this potentiation. Acetylcholine (ACh) blocked responses to 28.5 and 35 mM K+, and 1 mM TEA antagonized this ACh blockade.

7 In the perfused adrenal gland of the cat, the secretory response to TEA was related to its concentration. The response was not diminished by low Na+, TTX, or C6, but was markedly attenuated when TEA was applied 10 min after the start of perfusion with high K+.

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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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