Up- and Down-regulation of Noradrenergic Receptor Systems in Brain: Molecular Mechanisms and Physiological Significance

The data reviewed in this paper demonstrate that the norepinephrine (NE) receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system in brain displays all the characteristics of a functional receptor system including recognition function and action function, with β-adrenergic receptors representing a subpopulation of NE receptors. Though up- and down-regulation of the system appear to be inversely related to the availability of the agonist NE at the receptor …