No abstract

This study sought to characterize the action of neurokinin B (NKB) and senktide, a selective synthetic agonist for NK3 receptors, on the myenteric plexus of the guinea pig small intestine. Both peptides stimulated a dose-dependent release of [3H]-acetylcholine (ACh). The mean effective dose values were 1 x 10(-9) for NKB and 3 x 10(-11) M for senktide. The action of these two neurokinins was blocked by the removal of Ca2+ and was sensitive to tetrodotoxin. The release of [3H]ACh was antagonized by omega-conotoxin GVIA, implying the involvement of N-type voltage-sensitive calcium channels. Senktide-evoked ACh release was also insensitive to nifedipine or flunarizine but was blocked by diltiazem. Treatment with protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors (H-7 and polymyxin B) or activators (12-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate and SC-9) failed to alter the NK3 receptor-mediated ACh output. Our data did not support an action mediated via PKC upon the activation of NK3 receptors on myenteric cholinergic neurons.

Longitudinal muscle strips adhered with myenteric plexus were subjected to enzyme digestion under controlled conditions in a Krebs-bicarbonate buffer solution containing a mixture of collagenase, deoxyribonuclease, protease, choline chloride, and bovine serum albumin for 30 min at 37 degrees C. Myenteric ganglia, singly or in multiple aggregates, were harvested with micropipette and labeled with [3H]choline for [3H]acetylcholine (ACh) release studies. When examined by light or electron (transmission or scanning) microscopy, the ganglia exhibited their normal structural characteristics with axon bundles, dendrites, cell bodies, and vesiculated processes. Depolarization with elevated potassium or veratrine hydrochloride significantly elevated the efflux of [3H] ACh. Perfusion with tachykinins (substance P and substance K), vasoactive intestinal peptide, forskolin, or serotonin also significantly increased the release of [3H]ACh. This study demonstrated that enzyme-dissociated myenteric ganglia, notably free of muscle or connective tissue components, were structurally well preserved and were amenable to functional studies targeted specifically for the enteric plexus neurons.

No abstract