Effect of stimulation of cholinergic muscarinic receptors on norepinephrine accumulation in esophageal and gastric mucosa in rats

An hour and half after injection of norepinephrine its concentration in the mucosa of the lesser curvature of the stomach increases and in the greater curvature decreases. Stimulation of muscarinic receptors with pilocarpine leads to a marked rise of norepinephrine concentration in the esophageal mucosa and in the mucosa of the lesser curvature. It is supposed that stimulation of muscarinic receptors of the gastrointestinal tract after injection of exogenous norepinephrine induces accumulation of this transmitter in structures with abundant cholinergic innervation. Selective norepinephrine accumulation in the mucosa of the esophagus and lesser gastric curvature is apparently due to its high permeability for norepinephrine contained in saliva. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 125, No. 4, pp. 378–379, April, 1998