title: Inflammation impairs neurally mediated responses to electrical field stimulation in isolated strips of human gallbladder muscle.
abstract: Strips from human gallbladder removed at surgery were exposed to cholecystokinin octopeptide CCK-OP 15 nM and were subjected to electrical field stimulation (EFS) in vitro using parameters for selective stimulation of nerves (5- to 10-sec trains of 0.3-msec pulses at 10 Hz). An adjacent strip from the same specimen was processed for histological examination. These preparations were given a numerical score for inflammatory change. The strength of contraction in response to CCK-OP was inversely related to the severity of inflammation. Gallbladders with no response to EFS had a higher inflammation score (median 11, range 5-16) than those with a response (median 7, range 3-12). We conclude that inflammatory changes in human gallbladder impair responses to neural and hormonal stimulation, but we are unable to determine unequivocally in this study whether this is a result of damage to nerves or muscle cells. However, the observation that some strips were able to contract in response to CCK-OP but not to neural stimulation suggests the possibility of neural damage in gallbladder inflammation.
authors.affiliation: University Surgical Unit Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: McKirdy
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: McKirdy
mesh_terms: D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000187:drug effects / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D016473:Gallbladder Emptying / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000187:drug effects / Q000294:innervation* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012844:Sincalide / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D012844:Sincalide