Identification of alpha 1 adrenergic receptors in rabbit aorta with [125I] BE2254

Alpha-adrenergic receptors may play an important role in regulating vascular tone and reactivity. To study alpha-adrenergic receptors in blood vessels, we have developed a method to characterize and quantitate alpha-adrenergic receptors in a particulate fraction of individual rabbit aortas using the high specific activity alpha antagonist 125I] BE2254. 125I] BE2254 specifically labels a single class of binding sites with a dissociation constant of 286 pM and a maximal binding capacity of 16.7 fmoles/mg protein. Catecholamines compete for 125I] BE2254 binding stereospecifically and with the characteristic alpha-adrenergic potency series of (-)epinephrine greater than or equal to (-)norepinephrine much greater than (-)isoproterenol. The alpha 1-selective antagonist prazosin (KD = 0.7 nM) is much more potent in competing for 125I] BE2254 binding than is the alpha 2-selective antagonist yohimbine (KD = 1000 nM), which suggests that the alpha adrenergic receptor identified is predominantly of the alpha 1 subtype. Also, the dissociation constants from these binding studies were in good agreement with those reported in rabbit aorta from classical pharmacological experiments where contraction was found to be mediated via alpha 1 receptors. This extension of radioligand binding techniques to individual rabbit aortas should simplify the study of vascular alpha adrenergic receptor regulation, and provide a basis for broadening the understanding of vascular alpha adrenergic receptors.