title: Role of NK1 and NK2 receptors in mouse gastric mechanical activity.
abstract: 1. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of NK1 and NK2 receptors in the control of mechanical activity of mouse stomach. In this view, the motor effects induced by NK1 and NK2 receptor agonists and antagonists were analyzed, measuring motility as intraluminal pressure changes in mouse-isolated stomach preparations. In parallel, immunohistochemical studies were performed to identify the location of NK1 and NK2 receptors on myenteric neurons and smooth muscle cells. 2. Substance P (SP) induced biphasic effects: a contraction followed by relaxation; neurokinin A (NKA) and [beta-Ala8]-NKA(4-10), selective agonist of NK2 receptors, evoked concentration-dependent contractions, whereas [Sar9, Met(O2)11]-SP, selective agonist of NK1 receptors, induced concentration-dependent relaxation. 3. SR48968, NK2 receptor antagonist, did not modify the spontaneous activity and reduced the contractile effects induced by tachykinins without affecting the relaxation. SR140333, NK1 receptor antagonist, did not modify the spontaneous activity and antagonized the relaxant response to tachykinins, failing to affect the contractile effects. 4. The relaxation to SP or to [Sar9, Met(O2)11]-SP was abolished by tetrodotoxin (TTX) and significantly reduced by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). 5. NK2-immunoreactivity (NK2-IR) was seen at the level of the smooth muscle cells of both circular and longitudinal muscle layers. NK1-immunoreactive (NK1-IR) neurons were seen in the myenteric ganglia and NK1/nNOS double labeling revealed that some neurons were both NK1-IR and nNOS-IR. 6. These results suggest that, in mouse stomach, NK1 receptors, causing relaxant responses, are present on nitrergic inhibitory myenteric neurons, whereas NK2 receptors, mediating contractile responses, are present at muscular level.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia cellulare e dello Sviluppo, Laboratorio di Fisiologia generale, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy. fmule@unipa.it
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mulè
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.forename: Maria Giuliana
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Vannucchi
authors.forename: Maria Simonetta
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Faussone-Pellegrini
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Serio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D015288:Neurokinin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D064729:Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology; D018040:Receptors, Neurokinin-1 / Q000819:agonists / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D018041:Receptors, Neurokinin-2 / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D013373:Substance P / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D064729:Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D018040:Receptors, Neurokinin-1; D018041:Receptors, Neurokinin-2; D013373:Substance P; D015288:Neurokinin A