alpha 2-Adrenoceptor but not alpha 1-adrenoceptor constriction of arterioles is selectively inhibited by tissue acidosis, ischemia, and increased metabolic rate. To further examine neural-local interactions, we studied the effect of adenosine receptor stimulation on alpha 1- or alpha 2-adrenoceptor constriction. Intravital microscopy was used to study large arterioles (133 +/- 3 microns diam; mean +/- SE), small arterioles (16 +/- 1 microns), and large venules (178 +/- 3 microns) of rat cremaster skeletal muscle. Concentration-response (diameter change) curves were obtained for bath-added norepinephrine in the presence of either rauwolscine or prazosin to provide selective alpha 1- and alpha 2-constriction, respectively. The adenosine receptor agonist 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (2.24 x 10(-8) M) significantly attenuated both alpha 1- and alpha 2-constriction by 5- to 20-fold; alpha 1-constriction was three- to fourfold more sensitive than alpha 2-constriction. Similar inhibitory effects were obtained with adenosine (2.24 x 10(-6) M). The adenosine receptor antagonist 8-[4-[N(2-aminoethyl)carbamoylmethoxy]phenyl]-1,3-dipropylxanthine (0.7 microM) reversed the inhibitory effect of adenosine, which implicates extracellular A2 adenosine receptors. Intrinsic tone in large vessels was unaffected by adenosine receptor stimulation but was completely inhibited in small arterioles. These findings suggest that both alpha 2- and especially alpha 1-adrenoceptor constriction and intrinsic tone (of small but not large arterioles) are inhibited by physiologically relevant concentrations of adenosine.