Structure-activity study of kinins in vascular smooth muscles

To explore further relations between the chemical structure and the biological activities of kinins, a series of bradykinin fragments and analogues was prepared by the solid-phase method. Bradykinin and kallidin were also extended at the C- or the N-terminal end by the addition of one or more residues in order to evaluate the importance of peptide chain length and of additional positive charges at the N-terminal end for the biological activity. After purification by cation-exchange chromatography and gel filtration, the compounds were characterized by thin-layer chromatography, paper electrophoresis, elemental analyses, and amino acid analyses. All compounds were tested on three vascular preparations (the dog common carotid artery, the rabbit jugular vein, and the guinea pig anterior mesenteric vein) in order to measure their relative potencies as relaxant (on the dog common carotid artery) or as stimulant (the two veins) of vascular smooth muscles. The compounds were also tested on the cat terminal ileum and the rabbit aorta for comparison. The results reported in this paper indicate that all new analogues of bradykinin as well as some fragments and analogues described before by us and by other workers are full agonists in the three vascular preparations. No partial agonists or antagonists have been identified. The order of potency of the various kinin analogues is similar in the three vascular preparations and follows the same pattern as that found in the cat terminal ileum. It is therefore concluded that (a) the three vascular preparations utilized in the present experiment possess a B2 receptor type that appears to be similar to that of the cat terminal ileum and of the rat uterus described before and (b) receptors of the B2 type are able to mediate both the inhibitory and the excitatory actions of kinins in vascular smooth muscles.