ADRENERGIC BETA-RECEPTORS MEDIATING SUB-MANDIBULAR SALIVARY-GLAND HYPERTROPHY IN THE RAT

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 218  (3) , 608-612
Abstract
Multiple injections of dobutamine, a selective adrenergic .beta.-1 receptor agonist, or isoproterenol, a nonselective .beta.-receptor agonist, produced significant dose-dependent enlargement of the submandibular glands of male rats. The glandular enlargement induced by dobutamine or isoproterenol was characterized by significant increases in glandular protein and nucleic acid content and a marked increase in the RNA/DNA ratio. Metoprolol, a selective .beta.-1 receptor antagonist, significantly inhibited the glandular enlargement induced by dobutamine or isoproterenol and produced a parallel shift in the isoproterenol dose-response curve. Metoprolol inhibited the increased protein and nucleic acid content induced by dobutamine or isoproterenol. Multiple injections of selective adrenergic .beta.-2 receptor agonists, terbutaline, fenoterol or salmefamole, failed to produce submandibular gland enlargement. Adrenergic .beta.-1 receptors mediate submandibular gland hypertrophy in the rat.