Adrenergic pharmacology in rats harboring pheochromocytoma.

Abstract

Hypertension and cardiomyopathy are prominent findings in both humans and rats harboring pheochromocytomas, tumors that secrete enormous quantities of catecholamines in an unregulated fashion. We used New England Deaconess Hospital rats harboring pheochromocytomas to investigate the effects of chronic exposure to high concentrations of catecholamines on desensitization of alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptor-mediated responses activated by catecholamines. In addition, rats harboring pheochromocytomas provide a useful model to investigate catecholamine-induced hypertension and cardiomyopathy.