A Correlation Between the Permeability Characteristics of a Series of Peptides Using an in Vitro Cell Culture Model (Caco-2) and Those Using an in Situ Perfused Rat Ileum Model of the Intestinal Mucosa

In an attempt to establish an in vitro/in situ correlation of intestinal permeability data, the permeability coefficients (P _app) for a series of model peptides, which were determined using an in situ perfused rat ileum model, were compared to the permeability coefficients (P _mono) determined using an in vitro cell culture model (Caco-2). The model peptides, which were all blocked on the N-terminal (acetyl, Ac) and the C-terminal (amide, NH2) ends, consisted of D-phenylalanine (F) residues (e.g., AcFNH₂, AcFFNH₂, AcFFFNH₂). To alter the degree of hydrogen bonding potential, the nitrogens of the amide bonds were sequentially methylated [e.g., AcFF(Me)FNH₂, AcF(Me)F(Me)FNH₂, Ac(Me)F(Me)F(Me)FNH₂, Ac-(Me)F(Me)F(Me)FNH(Me)]. These peptides were shown not to be metabolized in the in situ perfused rat ileum system. The results of the transport experiments showed that there were poor correlations between the apparent permeability coefficients (P _app) determined in an in situ perfused rat ileum model and the octanol–water partition coefficients (r = 0.60) or the hydrogen bonding numbers (r = 0.63) of these peptides. However, good correlations were observed between the in situ P _app values for these peptides and their partition coefficients in heptane–ethylene glycol (r = 0.96) and the differences in their partition coefficients between octanol–water and isooctane–water (r = 0.86). These results suggest that lipophilicity may not be the major factor in determining the intestinal permeability of these peptides and that hydrogen bonding potential may be a major contributing factor. A good correlation (r = 0.94) was also observed between the P _app values determined for these peptides in the in situ perfused ileum model and those P _mono values determined in the in vitro cell culture model (Caco-2) (Conradi et al., Pharm. Res. 8:1453–1460, 1991). These results suggest that the permeability values determined in the Caco-2 cell culture model may be a good predictor of the intestinal permeability of peptides.     

Could Chronic Mesenteric Originated Hypoxia Insult Produce Opposite Pathologic Features： Hypoplasia and Hyperplasia of the Intestine

Chronic ischemia produces corresponding tissue hypoplasia. However, here we report a distinctive hypertrophy of the intestine due to chronic mesenteric insufficiency, which was confirmed by angiography in two patients with opposite characteristic pathologic presentation of intestine. During surgery of the first patient, an approximately 60cm long ileum with sausage consistency and cyanosis color was identified proximal to the caecum; wall-attached thromboembolism material and the hypertrophied segment of ileum were removed. In the other patient, the intestine wall was paper thin; after aorto-mesenteric bypass the intestine wall grew thicker. Post operative recovery of both patients was uneventful. The commonly observed situation after a long-standing hypoxic insult in a setting of chronic mesenteric ischemia is that the target tissue will at least develop a slight hypoplasia. However, the cases we present here had either pronounced hyperplasia or severe hypoplasia. We thus report it, expecting to identify a special mechanism to explain this paradox.     

Analysis of Intestinal Perfusion Data for Highly Permeable Drugs Using a Numerical Aqueous Resistance—Nonlinear Regression Method

Purpose. To develop, validate and apply a method for analyzing the intestinal perfusion data of highly permeable compounds using the Numerical Aqueous Resistance (NAR) theory and nonlinear regression (NAR-NLR) and to compare the results with the well-established Modified Boundary Layer (MBL) Analysis. Methods. The NAR-NLR method was validated and the results were compared to the MBL analysis results using previously reported cephradine jejunal perfusion data. Using the Single Pass Intestinal Perfusion (SPIP) method, the concentration dependence of intestinal permeability was investigated for formycin B, proline, and thymidine, three compounds reported to be absorbed by carrier-mediated transport processes. The MBL and NAR-NLR analyses were then applied to the three sets of SPIP data. Results. The results demonstrate that the intrinsic MBL transport parameters were highly variable and, in one case, the analyses failed to give a statistically significant Michaelis constant. The MBL mean dimensionless wall permeabilities (P*_w) were greater than the NAR-NLR P*_w and were also highly variable. In all cases, the NAR-NLR variability was significantly lower than the MBL variability. The extreme variability in the MBL-calculated P*_w is due to the sensitivity of P*_w when the fraction of unabsorbed drug (C_m/C_o) is low or, alternatively, when P*_w approached the aqueous permeability, P*_aq. Conclusions. The NAR-NLR method facilitates the analysis of intestinal perfusion data for highly permeable compounds such as those absorbed by carrier-mediated processes at concentrations below their K_m. The method also allows for the use of a wider range of flow conditions than the MBL analysis resulting in more reliable and less variable estimates of intestinal transport parameters as well as intestinal wall permeabilities.     

[I]Vasoactive intestinal peptide binding in rodent suprachiasmatic nucleus: Developmental and circadian studies

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of rat and hamster have been studied extensively and shown to play critical roles in circadian rhythmicity. [¹²⁵I]Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) binding levels are high in the rat SCN, suggesting that VIP receptors may be an important component of SCN function. In contrast to previously demonstrated diurnal variations in VIP immunoreactivity and VIP mRNA, the present study found [¹²⁵I]VIP binding to be stable across the light-dark cycle in both rat and hamster SCN. High [¹²⁵I]VIP labeling appeared to be coextensive with the rat SCN but extended somewhat beyond the cytoarchitectonic boundaries of the hamster SCN. Binding density in hamster SCN was slightly higher than in rat. In the developing rat SCN, [¹²⁵I]VIP binding levels distinguished the SCN on embryonic day 18, and appeared to increase to postnatal day 10 before declining to adult levels. The early presence of [¹²⁵I]VIP binding suggests possible involvement of VIP receptors in fetal entrainment of circadian rhythms.     

Effects of acetylsalicylic acid on electromechanical activity ofin vivo rabbit ileum

Aspirin has antisecretory and ulcerogenic properties in the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on the electrical and mechanical activity of the ileum in anesthetized New Zealand White rabbits. Ileal electromechanical activity was recorded from serosal electrodes and a miniature intraluminal balloon. Thirty minutes after injection of ASA (30, 60 and 100 mg/kg intravenous) significant and dose-dependent increases in the percentage of slow waves with action potentials were observed when compared with saline-injected animals. The onset of action potentials correlated with phasic increases in intraluminal pressure, indicating the onset of circular muscle contractions. Injection of 15 mg/kg ASA, sodium salicylate (100 mg/kg intravenous) or saline had no effect on baseline action potential activity. Prostaglandin E ₂ (PGE ₂)(5 and 10 g/kg intravenous) significantly increased slow-wave frequency and decreased ASA-induced action potential activity. This study demonstrates that (1) ASA, but not sodium salicylate, stimulates phasic ileal action potential and contractile activity and (2) in ASA-treated animals, PGE ₂ produces differential effects on in vivoslow-wave frequency and action potential activity.     

Similarities between the relaxations induced by vasoactive intestinal peptide and by stimulation of the non-adrenergic non-cholinergic neurons in the rat stomach

Summary The characteristics of the non-adrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory response of the rat stomach fundus to transmural nerve stimulation were compared with the relaxation induced by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). Treatment with -chymotrypsin (5 U/ml) or VIP antiserum (1:200) significantly reduced the relaxation induced by transmural nerve stimulation at 30 Hz, indicating that the possible transmitter in the non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic nerves is a peptide and may be VIP or a closely related peptide. VIP was able to relax, fully and dose-dependently, the stomach fundus that had previously been constricted by treatment with 10^–6 M serotonin, and the IC₅₀ value for VIP was 2.4 × 10^–9 M. VIP elevated levels of cyclic AMP in a dose-dependent manner and the EC₅₀ value was 2.8 × 10^–9 M in the presence of 10^–6 M atropine and 10^–6 M guanethidine. The stomach fundus was relaxed by transmural nerve stimulation (30 Hz, 50 mA) and transmural nerve stimulation also caused production of cyclic AMP in the rat stomach in the presence of atropine and guanethidine. The basal level of cyclic AMP in the stomach was 8.7 ± 0.26 pmole/mg protein. When transmural nerve stimulation was applied for 5 min, the contraction of the stomach, induced by 10^–6 M serotonin, was inhibited by 54% in the presence of atropine and guanethidine and the level of cyclic AMP was increased to 13.0 ± 0.73 pmol/mg protein. Apamin inhibited the transmural nerve stimulation-induced relaxation and shifted the dose-response curve for VIP to the right. These results suggest that one of the putative neurotransmitter from non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic nerves in the rat stomach is VIP and that VIP-induced relaxation may be mediated by the production of cyclic AMP and by the opening of apamin-sensitive K⁺-channels.Send offprint requests to K. Kamata at the above address     

Evidence that a substance P-like peptide mediates the non-cholinergic excitatory response of the carp intestinal bulb (Cyprinus carpio)

Summary The participation of substance P in the noncholinergic contraction induced by transmural stimulation (TMS) of the carp intestinal bulb was examined. In the presence of atropine, substance P caused the contraction of carp intestinal bulb smooth muscle in a concentration dependent manner (1 nmol/1 – 1 mol/l). The EC50 value was 28 ± 7 nmol/l (n = 6). Substance P-induced desensitization (1 mol/l for 15 min), decreased the response to substance P and the atropine-resistant contraction induced by TMS (20 Hz) selectively. In contrast, in the absence of atropine, the contraction induced by TMS (20 Hz) was slightly attenuated with the substance P-induced desensitization. The acid extract obtained from the carp intestinal bulb contained a smooth muscle excitatory material whose pharmacological properties were consistent with those of substance P. The present results indicate that a substance P-like peptide is present in the carp intestinal bulb which is involved in the non-cholinergic contraction induced by TMS.Send offprint requests to T. Kitazawa at the above address     

ω-3鱼油脂肪乳剂对重症胰腺炎患者腹内高压及肠黏膜功能的影响

目的：探讨ω-3鱼油脂肪乳剂对重症胰腺炎患者腹内高压及肠黏膜功能的影响。方法：选择驻马店市中心医院重症医学科收治的136例重症胰腺炎患者作为研究对象,进行前瞻性研究,并按照随机数字表法分为对照组和观察组,各68例。其中对照组给予常规治疗法进行治疗,观察组在上述治疗的基础上外加ω-3鱼油脂肪乳剂进行治疗。观察两组患者治疗后病情缓解时间变化,比较两组患者治疗前后肠黏膜功能指标、趋化因子及腹内压水平变化,分析两组患者治疗效果差异。结果：观察组腹痛缓解时间、腹胀缓解时间、肠鸣音恢复时间以及肛门首次排便时间等病情症状明显改善（均P<0.05）。与治疗前相比,两组治疗后的血清肠型脂肪酸结合蛋白（I-FABP）、二胺氧化酶（DAO）、D-乳酸、中性粒细胞趋化因子（CINC）、FKN、单核细胞趋化因子蛋白-1(MCP-1)及乳果糖/甘露醇（L/M）、腹内压水平明显低于对照组,血清三叶因子（ITF）、乳脂球表皮生长因子8(MFG-E8)明显降低,且观察组改善更显著（均P<0.05）。观察组患者治疗有效率为94.12%,明显高于对照组的76.47%(P<0.05)。结论：ω-3鱼油脂肪乳...     

双歧杆菌三联活菌肠溶胶囊联合阿奇霉素序贯疗法治疗对肺炎支原体肺炎腹泻患儿胃肠炎症的调节作用

目的观察双歧杆菌三联活菌肠溶胶囊联合阿奇霉素序贯疗法治疗对肺炎支原体肺炎腹泻患儿胃肠炎症的调节作用。 方法将肺炎支原体肺炎伴腹泻的患儿106例均分为对照组和观察组。对照组采用阿奇霉素序贯疗法治疗,观察组在对照组基础上给予双歧杆菌三联活菌肠溶胶囊治疗。比较两组疗效和肠道菌群失调发生率。比较两组胃肠激素、降钙素原(PCT)、C反应蛋白(CRP)、中性粒细胞百分比(NEUT%)、嗜酸性粒细胞计数(EOS)水平。 结果观察组总有效率高于对照组(P＜0.05)。治疗后,两组胃肠激素和PCT、CRP、NEUT%、EOS较治疗前下降(P＜0.05),且观察组低于对照组(P＜0.05)。观察组肠道菌群失调发生率低于对照组(P＜0.05)。 结论双歧杆菌三联活菌肠溶胶囊联合阿奇霉素序贯疗法治疗可减轻肺炎支原体并腹泻肺炎患儿炎症反应,调节胃肠激素,降低患儿肠道菌群失调的发生。