Imidazoline derivatives are known to elicit responses through both alpha(2)-adrenoceptor and non-adrenoceptor, imidazoline sites, though as yet there are no examples of the latter on vascular smooth muscle. In the presence of 0.3 microM prazosin, neither UK-14304 (0.01 - 3 microM) nor oxymetazoline (0.01 - 30 microM) caused a significant contraction of the porcine isolated rectal artery, a preparation with a low density of alpha(2)-adrenoceptors. In the presence of a combination of U46619 and forskolin, however, both agonists produced concentration-dependent contractions. Pretreatment with phenoxybenzamine (3 microM) abolished responses to UK-14304, but left those elicited by oxymetazoline largely unaffected. The putative I(3) imidazoline antagonist 2-(2,3 dihydro-2-benzofuranyl)-2-imidazole (KU-14R, 10 microM) caused a 6 fold rightward displacement of the phenoxybenzamine-insensitive concentration - response curve to oxymetazoline. Our data indicates that non-adrenoceptor, imidazoline sites, pharmacologically similar to the I(3) imidazoline site on islet cells, mediate vasoconstriction in the porcine isolated rectal artery.