Alpha-adrenergic blocking action of fentanyl on the isolated aorta of the rabbit

The contractile response of helically-cut strips of rabbit ascending aorta to transmural electrical stimulation was attenuated in a dose-dependent manner by treatment for 20 min with fentanyl, 10(-6) to 10(-5) M. Fentanyl also shifted the dose-response curve of the contractile response of aorta to norepinephrine to the right. The response to transmural stimulation was more resistant to fentanyl than was the response to an equipotent dose of norepinephrine. The inhibitory effect of fentanyl was neither prevented nor reversed by naloxone, but was partially reversed by repeated washing of the preparations. The contractile responses to histamine and serotonin were not significantly altered by fentanyl. Treatment with fentanyl as well as phentolamine protected alpha-adrenergic receptors from persistent blockade by phenoxybenzamine. Morphine to 10(-3) M failed to influence the dose-response curve of norepinephrine significantly. It may be concluded that fentanyl reversibly blocks alpha-adrenergic receptors in a competitive manner in vascular smooth muscle, and the potency of fentanyl is approximately 1/30 that of phentolamine.