CALCITONIN-GENE-RELATED PEPTIDE IN-VITRO STIMULATION OF CILIARY BEAT IN HUMAN UPPER RESPIRATORY CILIA

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is one of the neuropeptides tha t is released in the human nasal mucosa after trigeminal nerve stimula tion. We investigated the in vitro effect of CGRP on the ciliary beat frequency (CBF) of human upper respiratory cilia. Ciliated epithelium of freshly removed adenoidal tissues was used in all experiments. CBF was measured using a computerized photo-electric method. The results s howed that CGRP exerted a significant dose-dependent stimulation on CB F in concentrations of 10(-9)-10(-6) M (n = 10), with a maximum of 23% . Our findings indicate that CORP in vivo may help to protect the airw ay epithelium by directly stimulating ciliary beat.