Characterization of Imidazoline Receptors in Blood Vessels for the Development of Antihypertensive Agents

It has been indicated that activation of peripheral imidazoline I(2)-receptor (I-2R) may reduce the blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Also, guanidinium derivatives show the ability to activate imidazoline receptors. Thus, it is of special interest to characterize the I-2R using guanidinium derivatives in blood vessels for development of antihypertensive agent(s). Six guanidinium derivatives including agmatine, amiloride, aminoguanidine, allantoin, canavanine, and metformin were applied in this study. Western blot analysis was used for detecting the expression of imidazoline receptor in tissues of Wistar rats. The isometric tension of aortic rings isolated from male rats was also estimated. The expression of imidazoline receptor on rat aorta was identified. However, guanidinium derivatives for detection of aortic relaxation were not observed except agmatine and amiloride which induced a marked relaxation in isolated aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine or KCl. Both relaxations induced by agmatine and amiloride were attenuated by glibenclamide at concentration enough to block ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels. Meanwhile, only agmatine-induced relaxation was abolished by BU224, a selective antagonist of imidazoline I(2)-receptors. Taken together, we suggest that agmatine can induce vascular relaxation through activation of peripheral imidazoline I(2)-receptor to open K(ATP) channels. Thus, agmatine-like compound has the potential to develop as a new therapeutic agent for hypertension in the future.