AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 240, Issue 1 44-R51, Copyright © 1981 by American Physiological Society
Pharmacologic responsiveness of isolated single eccrine sweat glands
K. Sato and F. Sato
Pharmacologic responsiveness of the eccrine sweat gland has never been
studied under well-defined in vitro experimental conditions. Using isolated
cannulated single monkey palm eccrine sweat glands, the dose response to
both cholinergic and alpha- and beta-adrenergic agents and the effects of
various antagonists on agonists were studied. The maximal sweat rate was
highest after stimulation with cholinergic agonists, was lower with the
beta-adrenergic agonist, and was least with the alpha-adrenergic agonist.
Each secretory response was inhibited by its specific antagonist. Attempts
to demonstrate the spare receptor, if any, by means of preincubation of the
glands with N-(2-chlorethyl)dibenzylamine (Dibenamine) were unsuccessful.
From the hyperbolic dose-response curves the values for KA and KB,
dissociation constants for agonists and antagonists, respectively, were
thus tentatively estimated according to Clark's classical receptor theory.
Schild plots for each agonist-antagonist interaction produced straight
lines with slopes of near unity, indicating the adequacy of the
methodology. It was concluded that the isolated eccrine sweat glands retain
their pharmacologic viability in vitro and show responsiveness to
cholinergic as well as both alpha- and beta-adrenergic stimulations.
