Oxymetazoline HCl

Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride is a selective alpha-1 agonist and partial alpha-2 agonist topical decongestant.Oxymetazoline is a selective alpha-1 agonist and partial alpha-2 agonist topical decongestant, used in the form of Oxymetazoline hydrochloride. It

Cardiovascular effects of oxymetazoline and UK14,304 in conscious and pithed rats.[Pubmed:9140707]

Clin Exp Hypertens. 1997 May;19(4):445-60.

Relatively selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists have proven useful in a variety of therapeutic situations including hypertension, glaucoma and withdrawal from opiate addiction. In particular, oxymetazoline (OXY) and UK14,304 (UK) have been used in subclassifying alpha 2-adrenoceptors and imidazoline receptors. We evaluated the cardiovascular effects of OXY and UK in conscious and pithed rats in the presence and absence of efaroxan (EFA), idazoxan (IDA) and rauwolscine (RAU). Both OXY or UK (1, 5 and 10 micrograms/kg, i.v.) increased blood pressure (BP) and reduced heart rate (HR) in conscious rats. In pithed rats, OXY and UK each increased BP to a greater extent than that observed in conscious rats, but HR was not affected. BP increases following sympathetic nerve stimulation in the pithed rats were not affected by OXY but were reduced by UK at 0.1 Hz and 0.3 Hz. HR responses to nerve stimulation in pithed rats were reduced after OXY at all frequencies, but only at 0.1 Hz following UK. EFA, IDA and RAU inhibited the pressor responses of UK, with EFA being most potent. OXY-induced pressor responses were inhibited by all three antagonists, RAU being the least potent. HR responses to either OXY or UK were not affected by the antagonists. Taken together, the data suggest that: 1) alpha 2-adrenoceptors contribute less to the vascular response to OXY than to UK based upon the antagonistic effect of RAU; 2) prejunctional I1 receptors maybe more prevalent in the heart than in vascular tissue based upon the response to OXY in pithed rats. Thus, the heterogeneity among receptors mediating cardiac and vascular responses are complex.

Selectivity of the imidazoline alpha-adrenoceptor agonists (oxymetazoline and cirazoline) for human cloned alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes.[Pubmed:8564227]

Br J Pharmacol. 1995 Sep;116(1):1611-8.

1. To investigate the structure-activity relationships of alpha-adrenoceptor agonists for the alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes, we have compared the imidazoline class of compounds, oxymetazoline and cirazoline, with the phenethylamine, noradrenaline, in their affinities and also in their intrinsic activities in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably expressing the cloned human alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes (alpha 1a-, alpha 1b-, and alpha 1d-subtypes). 2. Radioligand binding studies with [125I]-HEAT showed that cirazoline and oxymetazoline had higher affinities at alpha 1a-subtype than at alpha 1b- and alpha 1d-subtypes, while noradrenaline had higher affinity at the alpha 1d-subtype than at alpha 1a- and alpha 1b-subtypes. 3. In functional studies, cirazoline caused transients of cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i response) in a concentration-dependent manner and developed a maximal response similar to that to noradrenaline in CHO cells expressing the alpha 1a-subtype, while it acted as a partial agonist at alpha 1b- and alpha 1d-adrenoceptors. Oxymetazoline, on the other hand, was a weak agonist at alpha 1a-adrenoceptors, and has no intrinsic activity at the other subtypes. 4. Using the phenoxybenzamine inactivation method, the relationships between receptor occupancy and noradrenaline-induced [Ca2+]i response for alpha 1a- and alpha 1d-subtypes were found to be linear, whereas it was moderately hyperbolic for the alpha 1b-subtype, indicating the absence of receptor reserves in CHO cells expressing alpha 1a- and alpha 1d-subtypes while there exists a small receptor reserve for CHO cells expressing the alpha 1b-subtype. 5 In summary, our data obtained in cells exclusively expressing a single receptor subtype support the idea that the relative role of agonist affinity and intrinsic activity may vary depending on the subtype of alphal-adrenoceptor.

Interaction of the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist oxymetazoline with serotonin 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT1C and 5-HT1D receptors.[Pubmed:1678720]

Eur J Pharmacol. 1991 Apr 17;196(2):213-6.

Oxymetazoline was recognized with nanomolar affinity by 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D binding sites and mimicked the effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine with about the same potency and intrinsic activity as the endogenous amine in the corresponding functional tests. At 5-HT1C receptors, oxymetazoline behaved as a mixed agonist-antagonist. Clonidine had minimal activity. Methiothepin antagonized the effects of oxymetazoline (7.4 less than pKB less than 8.8). Thus, oxymetazoline is a full and potent agonist at 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D receptors and a partial agonist at 5-HT1C receptors.