title: Guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate: a tapeworm-secreted signal molecule communicating with the rat host's small intestine.
abstract: Tapeworms alter the physiological environment of the host's small intestinal lumen by contracting the intestinal smooth muscle, thereby slowing the transit of intestinal contents. We hypothesize that parasite-to-host molecular signaling is responsible for the specific patterns of small intestinal smooth muscle contraction observed both during tapeworm infection and after the infusion of tapeworm-secreted molecules into the intestinal lumen of unanesthetized rats. Of the tapeworm-secreted compounds tested, only lumenal infusion of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) induced contractile patterns that mimic those observed during tapeworm infection. The response to cGMP occurred in a concentration-dependent fashion. Our study clearly demonstrates that cGMP can serve as an extracellular signal molecule regulating small intestinal motility mechanisms in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1102, USA.
authors.forename: K Dubear
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Kroening
authors.forename: Noah P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bass
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Oaks
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography; D020555:GTP-Binding Protein Regulators / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000502:physiology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006925:Hymenolepiasis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006926:Hymenolepis / Q000502:physiology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D020555:GTP-Binding Protein Regulators; D006152:Cyclic GMP