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. 1983 Aug;79(4):1003–1009. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1983.tb10548.x

Propranolol-induced airway hyperreactivity in guinea-pigs.

U M Ney
PMCID: PMC2044944  PMID: 6140046

Abstract

In anaesthetized, spontaneously breathing guinea-pigs, enhanced bronchoconstrictor responses (increases RL) to histamine were measured following intravenous injection of practolol, (+/-)-propranolol, (+)- and (-)-propranolol. Propranolol enhanced not only histamine- but 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-induced bronchoconstrictions and its effects lasted up to 2 h. This increased airway sensitivity was not due to beta-adrenoceptor blockade because: (a) similar effects were produced by racemic propranolol and its two isomers (+)- and (-)-propranolol and (b) whilst equal doses of (+/-)- and (+)-propranolol produced the same potentiation of histamine bronchoconstriction, only (+/-)-propranolol also caused a measurable beta-adrenoceptor blockade in the airways. The enhanced histamine- and 5-HT-induced bronchoconstrictions were antagonized by the leukotriene antagonist FPL 55712 and by the lipoxygenase/cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor BW755c. The results demonstrate that endogenously released leukotrienes can produce not only a direct bronchospasm but may enhance the effects of other bronchoconstrictor agents. The relevance of this leukotriene-mediated hyperreactivity to the non-specific airway hyperreactivity seen in asthmatics is discussed.

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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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