S. Lindberg et al., THE EFFECTS OF FORMOTEROL, A LONG-ACTING BETA(2)-ADRENOCEPTOR AGONIST, ON MUCOCILIARY ACTIVITY, European journal of pharmacology, 285(3), 1995, pp. 275-280
The effect on mucociliary function of formoterol, a beta(2)-adrenocept
or agonist bronchodilator with a prolonged duration of action (as comp
ared with salbutamol or terbutaline), was investigated both in vitro a
nd in vivo with a photoelectric technique. Formoterol, and its (R,R)-e
nantiomer, increased ciliary beat frequency in vitro in guinea pig tra
chea preparations (peak increase 17.2 +/- 2.0% at a concentration of 1
0(-7) M) and in vivo in the rabbit maxillary sinus (peak increase 23.0
+/- 4.0% at a dosage of 1 nmol/kg). Formoterol was approximately 100
times more potent than terbutaline in vitro, as judged from the dose-r
esponse curve. The main difference between their effect in vivo was th
e 2-fold longer duration of the mucociliary acceleration after formote
rol at 1 nmol/kg than after terbutaline at the equi-effective dosage o
f 10 nmol/kg terbutaline (20 vs. 10 min, respectively). The findings i
ndicate formoterol to be a powerful, long-acting ciliostimulant, a pro
perty which may be of clinical advantage in the treatment of airway di
sease.