Adrenergic receptors on cultured rat epididymal cells: regulation of Cl- conductances

Adrenergic regulation of epididymal Cl- currents was studied by the whole-cell patch-clamp technique using various alpha- and beta-receptor agonists and antagonists in primary cultured rat cauda epididymal cells. Cl- currents could be activated with varying frequency by noradrenaline (primarily alpha- and beta 1-adrenoceptor-selective agonist, 1-5 microM), isoprenaline (nonselective beta-adrenoceptor agonist, 5 microM), salbutamol (beta 2-adrenoceptor-selective agonist, 2 microM), and phenylephrine (alpha 1-adrenoceptor-selective agonist, 1-2 microM). Noradrenaline alone elicited Cl- current activation in 85% of the cells examined. In the presence of phentolamine (nonselective alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist, 15 microM), noradrenaline elicited Cl- current activation in 63% of the cells examined, whereas noradrenaline-induced activation was observed in 33% of the cells examined in the presence of both atenolol and butoxamine (beta 1- and beta 2-adrenoceptor antagonists, respectively, 10 microM). In 27% of single cells examined, a second current activation in response to salbutamol was observed after the first response to phenylephrine. When the order of stimuli was reversed, dual activation was also observed in 22% of the single cells examined, indicating the presence of both alpha- and beta-adrenoceptors in single epididymal cells. Profiles of time- and voltage-dependent Cl- current upon activation by different adrenoceptor agonists exhibited characteristics similar to those previously reported for Ca2+ and cAMP-activated Cl- currents, suggesting that regulation of epididymal Cl- conductances could be mediated by different adrenoceptor subtypes involving Ca2+ and cAMP as intracellular second messengers.