Characteristics of adrenoceptors in the human radial artery: Clinical implications

Objectives: The radial artery has been suggested to be spastic. Endogenous and exogenous catecholamines and the use of β-blockers may be related to radial artery spasm, but the characteristics of adrenoceptors in this artery are unknown. This study was designed to characterize the α- and β-adrenoceptor in the human radial artery. Methods: Ring segments of the radial artery ( n = 59) taken from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were studied in organ chambers. α-Adrenoceptor agonists (norepinephrine, methoxamine, and UK14304) and antagonists (phentolamine hydrochloride [INN: phentolamine], prazosin, and yohimbine) were used to characterize the α-adrenoceptor. β-Adrenoceptor function was studied in U46619-precontracted rings in response to isoproterenol (INN: isoprenaline). Results: Norepinephrine induced 6.9 ± 0.6 gm (80.6% ± 6.8% of the contraction by 100 mmol/L KCl), and this was almost fully inhibited by phentolamine hydrochloride (10 μmol/L, p < 0.0001). The contraction force induced by methoxamine (2.9 ± 0.8 gm) was abolished by 0.5 μmol/L prazosin ( p = 0.017). The contraction force induced by UK14304 (1.7 ± 0.4 gm) was abolished by 1 μmol/L yohimbine. In contrast to the porcine coronary artery used as the control (fully relaxed to isoproterenol), radial artery rings did not have significant relaxation (1.1% ± 0.8%). Conclusions: The human radial artery is an α-adrenoceptor–dominant artery with little β-adrenoceptor function. The use of β-blockers will not likely evoke the spasm of the radial artery. Furthermore, the radial artery has a dominant α 1-adrenoceptor function, but the postjunctional α 2-adrenoceptor is also functional. Circulating catecholamines will mainly contract the human radial artery by activation of the α 1-adrenoceptors and to a lesser extent also by α 2-adrenoceptors. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1998;115:88054-41)