Human isolated small intestine: motor responses of the longitudinal muscle to field stimulation and exogenous neuropeptides

Summary (1) Longitudinal muscle strips from the human small intestine (jejunum/ileum) responded to electrical field stimulation (1–50 Hz) with frequency-related primary contractions which were largely atropine- (3 M) sensitive. When the tone was raised by addition of galanin (0.3 – 1 M), prostaglandin (PG) E₂ (1–10 M) or neurokinin A (NKA, 0.1 M), a frequency-related relaxation was evident which was potentiated by atropine. All the responses to field stimulation were abolished by tetrodotoxin (1 M), thus indicating their neural origin. (2) The atropine-sensitive primary contraction to field stimulation was virtually abolished by omega conotoxin fraction GVIA (CTX, 0.1–0.3 M) while the relaxations were CTX-resistant. The field stimulation-induced relaxations, which were observed in the presence of atropine and guanethidine (3 M), were also unaffected by apamin (0.1 M). (3) NKA and substance P (SP) produced a concentration- (1 nM–1 M for both peptides) related contraction, NKA being about 53 times more potent than SP. [Pro⁹]SP sulphone and [MePhe⁷]-NKB, selective agonists of the NK-1 and NK-3 receptor, respectively, were barely effective. On the other hand, [\Ala⁸]NKA(4–10), a selective NK-2 receptor agonist, had a potent contractile activity, similar to that of NKA. (4) Galanin (1 nM–1M) produced an atropine- and tetrodotoxin-resistant concentration-related contraction of longitudinal muscle of human isolated small intestine. The response to galanin did not show any sign of fading and was particularly suitable to study the evoked relaxations. (5) Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) (10–100 nM) consistently inhibited the nerve-mediated contractions of strips from the ileum while the effect on the jejunum was less pronounced. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP, 0.1–1 M) inhibited nerve-mediated contractions both in the ileum and the jejunum. (6) These experiments indicate that both cholinergic excitatory and non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves affect motility of the longitudinal muscle of the human small intestine. Furthermore, several neuropeptides produce potent motor effects, the contractile response to tachykinins being apparently mediated by activation of NK-2 receptors.     

Effect of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide on the release of serotonin from the in vitro vascularly perfused small intestine of guinea pig

Summary Isolated segments of the guinea pig small intestine were vascularly perfused and the release of endogenous serotonin (5-HT) and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) into the portal vein was measured. All test substances were intraarterially perfused. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP, 1 pmol/l — 100 nmol/1) inhibited the spontaneous release of 5-HT and 5-HIAA. The maximal inhibitory effect (about 60%) was seen at 100 pmol/1. The effect of VIP on the spontaneous release of 5-HT and 5-HIAA was not changed in the presence of 1 ol/l tetrodotoxin (TTX).Raising intraluminal pressure by 500 Pa for 5 min increased the release of 5-HT and 5-HIAA by about 25%. Raising the intraluminal pressure in the presence of VIP reduced the release of 5-HT and 5-HIAA by about 75%. In the presence of TTX (1 gmol/l), raising intraluminal pressure also caused a decrease of the release of 5-HT and 5-HIAA which was unaffected by the additional presence of VIP. The fluid volume expelled during peristaltic activity was not affected by VIP, but reduced by about 90% in the presence of TTX.In conclusion the results demonstrate a direct inhibitory effect of VIP on the release of 5-HT from the enterochromaffin cells. In addition, VIP appears to interfere with the neuronally mediated stimulation of 5-HT release during peristaltic activity. Send offprint request to H. Schwörer at the above address     

Effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide on canine cerebral artery strips and the in-vivo vertebral blood flow in dogs

Summary The effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on canine cerebral arteries and on vertebral blood flow were investigated in-vivo and in-vitro and the findings compared with the effects of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and substance P. Administration of CGRP into the vertebral artery caused a dose-dependent and long-lasting increase in blood flow. The in-vivo vasodilatory effects of substance P and VIP were short-lasting. CGRP (0.1 to 100 nmol/l) elicited a concentration-dependent relaxation of the isolated middle cerebral and basilar arteries when the tissues were precontracted by exposure to prostaglandin F₂ (PGF₂). This effect was not antagonized by propranolol, atropine, tetrodotoxin, (N-Ac-Tyr¹, D-Phe²)-growth hormone-releasing factor(1–29)-NH₂ or (D-Pro², D-Trp^7,9) substance P. CGRP also reduced concentration-dependently the contraction of cerebral arteries induced by KCl or 9,11-epithio-11,12-metano-thromboxane A₂ (STXA₂). Mechanical removal of the endothelium did not abolish the vasodilatory response to CGRP. In PGF₂-contracted canine cerebral arteries, VIP (0.1 to 100 nmol/l) was less potent a vasodilator than CGRP. At low concentrations (0.01 to 1 nmol/l) substance P elicited a rapid and short-lasting relaxation, and in the absence of endothelium this relaxation disappeared. These findings are clear evidence that CGRP modulates vascular tone.     

Differential increases in brain levels of neuropeptide Y and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide after kainic acid-induced seizures in the rat

Summary Changes in immunoreactivities of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) were investigated in the brain of rats after severe kainic acid (KA, 10 mg/kg, i.p.) induced limbic seizures. Decreased levels of both neuropeptides were observed in the frontal cortex, striatum, dorsal hippocampus and amygdala/pyriform cortex subsequently to the period of acute seizures (3 h after injection of the toxin). Then NPY increased consistently in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala/pyriform cortex. Highest levels (290% of controls) were found in the frontal cortex after two months. Anticonvulsant therapy with phenobarbital (20 mg/kg, i.p., twice daily for three weeks) partially suppressed the rise in NPY levels. Immunoreactivity of VIP increased (to 150%) in the frontal cortex only transiently 3 days after injection of kainic acid. At the subsequently examined time intervals (10–60 days after kainic acid) it declined to control values. Levels decreasing subsequently to acute seizures reflect increased release and degradation of the respective peptide. Increased NPY levels suggest upregulation of NPY/ somatostatin/GABA neurons due to the decreased seizure threshold of the animals. The early, reversible rise of VIP in the cortex points to a short-lasting activation of this peptide system contained in local cholinergic neurons. This may be a consequence either of the acute seizures or subsequent neuropathological changes. Send offprint requests to G. Sperk at the above address     

Transcriptome analysis of hagfish leukocytes: a framework for understanding the immune system of jawless fishes

Jawless fishes occupy a critical phylogenetic position in understanding the origin of the adaptive immune system. Here, we performed large-scale expressed sequence tag analysis of leukocytes isolated from the inshore hagfish Eptatretus burgeri. Although we found many immunity-related genes such as those involved in lymphocyte or hematopoietic cell signaling and development as well as cytokine and cytokine receptor genes, MHC molecules or antigen receptors were not identified. We characterized two hagfish cDNAs that closely resembled mammalian proteins with essential roles in adaptive immunity, one encoding a GATA3-like molecule and another encoding a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk)-like molecule. The GATA3-like gene of hagfish was equidistant from GATA3 and GATA2 in jawed vertebrates. Similarly, the hagfish Btk-like molecule was not Btk itself, but qualified as a pre-duplicated form of Btk and Bmx in jawed vertebrates. In total, our work provides circumstantial evidence that adaptive immunity is unique to jawed vertebrates.     

MECP2 duplication syndrome in a patient from Cameroon

MECP2 duplication syndrome (MDS; OMIM 300260) is an X‐linked neurodevelopmental disorder caused by nonrecurrent duplications of the Xq28 region involving the gene methyl‐CpG‐binding protein 2 (MECP2; OMIM 300005). The core phenotype of affected individuals includes infantile hypotonia, severe intellectual disability, very poor‐to‐absent speech, progressive spasticity, seizures, and recurrent infections. The condition is 100% penetrant in males, with observed variability in phenotypic expression within and between families. Features of MDS in individuals of African descent are not well known. Here, we describe a male patient from Cameroon, with MDS caused by an inherited 610 kb microduplication of Xq28 encompassing the genes MECP2, IRAK1, L1CAM, and SLC6A8. This report supplements the public data on MDS and contributes by highlighting the phenotype of this condition in affected individuals of African descent.     

Meta-analysis of gross insertions causing human genetic disease: novel mutational mechanisms and the role of replication slippage

Although gross insertions (>20 bp) comprise <1% of disease-causing mutations, they nevertheless represent an important category of pathological lesion. In an attempt to study these insertions in a systematic way, 158 gross insertions ranging in size between 21 bp and approximately 10 kb were identified using the Human Gene Mutation Database (www.hgmd.org). A careful meta-analytical study revealed extensive diversity in terms of the nature of the inserted DNA sequence and has provided new insights into the underlying mutational mechanisms. Some 70% of gross insertions were found to represent sequence duplications of different types (tandem, partial tandem, or complex). Although most of the tandem duplications were explicable by simple replication slippage, the three complex duplications appear to result from multiple slippage events. Some 11% of gross insertions were attributable to nonpolyglutamine repeat expansions (including octapeptide repeat expansions in the prion protein gene [PRNP] and polyalanine tract expansions) and evidence is presented to support the contention that these mutations are also caused by replication slippage rather than by unequal crossing over. Some 17% of gross insertions, all >or=276 bp in length, were found to be due to LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposition involving different types of element (L1 trans-driven Alu, L1 direct, and L1 trans-driven SVA). A second example of pathological mitochondrial-nuclear sequence transfer was identified in the USH1C gene but appears to arise via a novel mechanism, trans-replication slippage. Finally, evidence for another novel mechanism of human genetic disease, involving the possible capture of DNA oligonucleotides, is presented in the context of a 26-bp insertion into the ERCC6 gene.     

日本猴椎旁交感神经节中含肽神经元的研究

本实验系应用荧光免疫组织化学的方法观察猴下位腰段椎旁交感神经节(L_(6-7))中神经肽Y,血管活性肠肽,降钙素基因相关肽,和P物质的存在、分布情况以及它们与酪氨酸羟化酶的共存关系。结果表明,大量细胞呈神经肽Y免疫反应阳性,它们在神经节周边分布更为密集。中等数量的血管活性肠肽阳性细胞和小量降钙素基因相关肽细胞散在于神经节内。在经含有Colchiciue的培养液离体孵育12h的标本上,可见中等数量的P物质免疫反应阳性细胞。根据抗酪氨酸羟化酶(TH)抗体的免疫染色结果,神经节内的神经元可分为TH~+和TH~-两群,前者占大多数。相邻切片免疫染色结果表明,几乎所有神经肽Y免疫阳性细胞同时含有TH,而所有血管活性肠肽免疫反应阳性细胞均呈酪氨酸羟化酶免疫反应阴性。神经肽Y与血管活性肠肽无共存关系。降钙素基因相关肽存在于部分血管活性肠肽免疫反应阳性细胞中,即属于VIP~+/TH~-组。从以上结果得出结论,在猴下位腰段椎旁交感神经节中,神经肽Y与血管活性肠肽分别存在于TH~+和TH~-两个细胞群。即神经肽Y存在于TH阳性神经元中,血管活性肠肽和降钙素基因相关肽则存在于TH阴性神经元中。     

Calcitonin gene-related peptide in cardiovascular tissues of the rat

The distribution of calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in the cardiovascular system of the rat was investigated by radioimmunoassay and immunocytochemistry. The nature of the immunoreactivity was studied by gel permeation and high performance liquid chromatography. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated the existence of calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing nerve fibres throughout the cardiovascular system. These were present in all regions of the heart, particularly in association with the coronary arteries, within the papillary muscles and within the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes. Calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing fibres were found mainly in the adventitia of the arteries and veins. Calcitonin gene-related peptide concentrations were high in major arteries and veins but comparatively low in the heart, aortic arch and thoracic aorta. Chromatography showed that approximately 70% of the total immunoreactivity was identical to synthetic calcitonin gene-related peptide. Calcitonin gene-related peptide concentrations in the blood vessels of rats treated neonatally with capsaicin were not found to be significantly different from those in control animals although capsaicin caused significant reductions of calcitonin gene-related peptide levels in certain other tissues. The results of this study suggest that calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing fibres are likely to be of importance in the innervation of vascular tissues and raise the possibility that these fibres are different in character from calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing fibres found in other tissues.