Jm. Goldhill et al., TACHYKINERGIC NEUROTRANSMISSION IS ENHANCED IN SMALL-INTESTINAL CIRCULAR MUSCLE IN A RABBIT MODEL OF INFLAMMATION, The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 282(3), 1997, pp. 1373-1378
Previous electrophysiological studies have shown that tachykinin-media
ted excitatory junction potentials are enhanced in a ricin model of in
flammatory bowel disease. The present study extends these findings by
investigating the contractile response to stimulation of noncholinergi
c nerves and tachykinin agonists. According to rank order potencies, t
he rabbit ileal circular muscle was neurokinin (NK)(1) preferring, and
the response to these agonists was down-regulated by acetylcholine an
d up-regulated by nitric oxide, In ricin-treated tissue, cholinergic a
nd nitridergic modulation was lost; in the presence of atropine and N-
nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, or tetrodotoxin, the response to NK1 an
d NK2 agonists was enhanced. The noncholinergic response to nerve stim
ulation was predominantly mediated by NK1 receptors, and the enhanced
response of ricin-treated tissue to NK1 agonists probably contributes
to the increased response to electrical field stimulation observed und
er these conditions. Increased tachykinin response and loss of control
of this response by acetylcholine and nitric oxide are likely to have
profound effects on intestinal motility and could contribute to some
of the symptomology of inflammatory bowel disease.