title: Physiological effects of FMRFamide-related peptides and classical transmitters on dispersed muscle fibres of the turbellarian, Procerodes littoralis.
abstract: The physiological effects of selected classical transmitters and FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) on dispersed muscle fibres from the marine turbellarian, Procerodes littoralis have been examined. Confocal scanning laser microscopy coupled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) or tetramethylrhodamine (TRITC)-labelled phalloidin revealed a highly developed body wall muscle system with circular, longitudinal and diagonal layers of muscle fibres. Dispersed muscle fibres contracted when depolarized by exposure to extracellular media with elevated K+ (15-100 mM) in a concentration-dependent manner, with a maximal response of 87% achieved at > or = 75 mM. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) induced concentration-dependent muscle contraction between 0.01 and 1000 microM, with 10 microM producing a near maximal contraction response of 75%. Acetylcholine (ACh) had less pronounced excitatory effects (0.01-1000 microM), inducing contraction of only 32% of the fibres at 100 microM. The flatworm FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs), GYIRFamide, YIRFamide and GNFFRFamide each had concentration-dependent myocontractile effects, indicating the occurrence of at least 1 FaRP receptor on P. littoralis muscle fibres. At 10 microM peptide, GNFFRFamide induced contractions in < 40% of the muscle fibres examined, whereas YIRFamide and GYIRFamide induced contraction in 70 and 75% of muscle fibres, respectively. The order of potency of the peptides was: GYIRFamide > YIRFamide > GNFFRFamide. Pre-incubation of the muscle fibres in 5 microM 5-HT significantly reduced the responses to GYIRFamide, YIRFamide and 5-HT, while the responses to high K+ remained unaltered. Muscle fibres pre-incubated in GYIRFamide (0.1 microM) were also less responsive to 5-HT but not to ACh and high-K+. The GYIRFamide analogue, GYIRDFamide, did not induce muscle contraction (0.01-100 microM) per se, but when co-applied with the myoactive peptides GYIRFamide, YIRFamide or GNFFRFamide, it significantly blocked their ability to elicit contractions. This suggests that the peptides tested may act via a common muscle-based neuropeptide receptor. GYIRDFamide did not alter the contractile effects of high K+, 5-HT or ACh. Collectively, these results indicate that FaRPs, 5-HT and ACh all have the potential to cause muscle contraction in flatworms and that 5-HT and FaRPs alter muscle sensitivity to each other, but do not influence the ability of flatworm muscle fibres to contract.
authors: Parasitology Research Group, School of Biology and Biochemistry, Queen's University Belfast, Northlern Ireland, UK.
authors: C G
authors: CG
authors: Moneypenny
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Kreshchenko
authors: C L
authors: CL
authors: Moffett
authors: D W
authors: DW
authors: Halton
authors: T A
authors: TA
authors: Day
authors: A G
authors: AG
authors: Maule
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014419:Turbellaria / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D009479:Neuropeptides; D012701:Serotonin; D000109:Acetylcholine; D011188:Potassium