Adrenergic stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation in tracheal epithelium

To determine whether inositol phosphates are important second messengers in the regulation of Cl- secretion by airway epithelia, we examined the relationship between inositol phosphate accumulation and Cl- secretion in response to adrenergic agonists. We found that epinephrine stimulated Cl- secretion and inositol phosphate accumulation with similar concentration dependence. Although isoproterenol stimulated Cl- secretion, there was no effect of beta-adrenergic receptor activation on inositol phosphate accumulation. In contrast, alpha 1-adrenergic receptor activation stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation but failed to induce Cl- secretion. Another Cl- secretagogue, prostaglandin E1, also failed to stimulate inositol phosphate accumulation. These data suggest that inositol phosphate accumulation is neither sufficient nor required for stimulation of Cl- secretion in cultured canine tracheal epithelial cells.