Muscarinic receptors in isolated gastric fundic mucosal cells. Binding-activity relationships

Pepsinogens: physiology, pharmacology pathophysiology and exercise

Human gastric mucosa contains aspartic proteinases that can be separated electrophoretically on the basis of their physical properties into two major groups: Pepsinogen I (PGA, PGI); and Pepsinogen II (PGC, PGII). Pepsinogens consist of a single polypeptide chain with molecular weight of approximately 42,000 Da. Pepsinogens are mainly synthesized and secreted by the gastric chief cells of the human stomach before being converted into the proteolytic enzyme pepsin, which is crucial for the digestive processes in the stomach. Pepsinogen synthesis and secretion are regulated by positive and negative feed-back mechanisms. In the resting state pepsinogens are stored in granules, which inhibit further synthesis. After appropriate physiological or external chemical stimuli, pepsinogens are secreted in the stomach lumen where hydrochloric acid, secreted by the parietal cells, converts them into the corresponding active enzyme pepsins. The stimulus-secreting coupling mechanisms of pepsinogens appear to include at least two major pathways: one involving cAMP as a mediator, the other involving modification of intracellular Ca(2+)concentration. Physiological or external chemical stimuli acting through the intracellular metabolic adenyl cyclase are more effective in inducing ' de novo ' pepsinogen synthesis than those acting through intracellular Ca(2+). The activation of protein kinase C (PK-C) would appear to be involved in regulatory processes. The measurement of pepsinogens A and C in the serum is considered to be one of the non-invasive biochemical markers for monitoring peptic secretion and obtaining information on the gastric mucosa status of healthy subjects. Recently, pepsinogen measurements have been used as an effective biochemical method for evaluating and monitoring patients with gastrointestinal diseases and for checking the effects of drug treatment. The level of PGA in the serum is always high in normal gastritis, while in atrophic gastritis it is always low. In both cases the PGC level in the serum is high. In most gastrointestinal pathologies the ratio between the PGA/PGC decreases. Various reports concerning hormone and/or enzyme modification as well as gastrointestinal distress in the case of long distance exercise have been reported. It has been suggested that the origin of the gastrointestinal distress experienced by long distance runners is a transient ischaemia of the gastric mucosa; it is also suggested that a hypobaric-hypoxic environment could contribute to induce gastric mucosa necrosis. Interrelation between gastrointestinal distress, hypobaric-hypoxic environment and modifications of PGA and PGC, gastrin and cortisol was evaluated in 13 athletes after a marathon performed at 4300 m. Gastrointestinal symptoms occurred in approximately 40% of the athletes. After the race the athletes showed a significant increase of gastrin and cortisol, while the ratio between PGA/PGC decreased. No relationship was observed between gastrointestinal symptoms and hormonal changes after the race. A control group of five subjects, who had been exposed to the same environmental conditions, showed no gastrointestinal or hormonal alteration. Conversely, control subjects presented a significant decrease of cortisol related to the circadian rhythm. The same incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms at high altitude and at sea level and the absence of pathological alteration of PGA and PGC in the serum of the athletes indicates that running a marathon and living for 6 days at 4300 m does not induce gastric mucosa necrosis. Cortisol and gastrin alteration observed in the athletes at this altitude would seem to be related to an activation of the mesopontine and forebrain structures involved in the behavioural and metabolic integration of the autonomic control and arousal and psychophysical-exercise stress. 2000 Academic Press@p$hr

Is field (vagal) stimulation of gastric acid secretion mediated by M1 or non-M1 muscarinic receptors? A methodical problem exemplified in the mouse stomach in vitro

1. Highly controversial claims have been put forward in the literature as to the involvement of either M1 or non-M1 muscarinic receptors in the field (vagal) stimulation of gastric acid secretion. This mini-review considers three available sets of data obtained in the mouse isolated, lumen-perfused stomach. 2. While pA2 values seemed to favour non-M1 receptors, a comparison between M1 selective versus non-selective antagonists on the one hand and field stimulation versus bethanechol stimulation on the other clearly pointed to M1 receptors being involved. 3. In the present review we discuss a novel experimental approach supporting the latter concept of M1 receptors. This novel approach provides a simple though provocative way to deal with the particular difficulties in determining pA2 values in the acid-secreting gastric mucosa. It is based on the rank order in the effects of different antagonists relative to their receptor type-dependent affinities, when employed at a fixed concentration, rather than on their pA2 values.

M3-subtype muscarinic receptor that controls intracellular calcium release and inositol phosphate accumulation in gastric parietal cells

The muscarinic receptor subtype which triggers acid secretion was investigated in isolated rabbit gastric parietal cells. Cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), measured with the fluorescent indicator FURA-2, increased rapidly after full agonist (carbachol) stimulation (6-8 sec), then returned to an intermediate sustained value. Other M2-agonists, oxotremorine and arecoline, produced a partial [Ca2+]i increase, whereas M1-agonists, pilocarpine and [4-m-chlorophenylcarbamoyloxyl]-2-butynyl-trimethylammonium, were without any significant effect. [Ca2+]i rise was inhibited by selective muscarinic antagonists: atropine greater than 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methyl-piperidine methbromide greater than quinuclidinylbenzilate (QNB) greater than pirenzepine greater than 11-[[2-[(diethylamino)methyl]-1-piperidinyl]acetyl]-5,11-dihydro-6H- pyrido[2,3-b][1,4]benzodiazepine-6-one, this sequence being characteristic of the involvement of an M3-subtype. This inhibition was shown to be stereoselective; dexetimide and (-)QNB were more potent than levetimide and (+)QNB. The IC50 values for inhibition of [Ca2+]i increase by muscarinic antagonists were in good agreement with those obtained for inhibition of phospholipase C activation. In conclusion, the muscarinic receptor that controls acid secretion appears to be of the M3-subtype and the biochemical events coupled to the activation of this receptor system are also controlled through the same subtype.

Effect of steroid hormones on muscarinic receptors of bronchial smooth muscle

1. Glucocorticosteroid may relieve bronchospasm by mediating changes in the muscarinic receptor concentration and/or its affinity. 2. Cholinergic muscarinic receptors were determined by using Scatchard's plots from radioligand binding assays of 0.13-3.2 nM [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate binding to the membrane fraction of bronchial smooth muscle (BSM). 3. The concentration of muscarinic receptor in BSM of normal rat was 57 +/- 3 fmol mg protein and the dissociation constant was 0.07 +/- 0.02 nM. Dexamethasone and corticosterone reduced muscarinic receptor concentration to 50-60% of basal with no changes in receptor affinity. No changes were found in rat treated with deoxycorticosterone. 4. These findings suggest that glucocorticoids but not mineralocorticoid relieve bronchospasm at least partly by reducing the cholinergic hypersensitivity.

Carbachol-induced potentiation and inhibition of acid secretion by guinea pig gastric gland

The effects of muscarinic ligands on acid secretion were examined by estimating the accumulation of [14C]aminopyrine in gastric glands isolated from guinea pigs. The accumulation of [14C]aminopyrine in the presence of 0.1 mM histamine was potentiated by 1 microM carbachol but suppressed by 1 mM. These two effects of carbachol were abolished by atropine, pirenzepine and AF-DX 116. Assuming that the binding of carbachol to one site (Site 1) increases [14C]aminopyrine accumulation but its binding to the other site (Site 2) reduces [14C]aminopyrine accumulation, we analysed the dose-response curves for the carbachol effects in the absence and presence of different concentrations of atropine, pirenzepine and AF-DX 116. The dissociation constants determined for these ligands at Sites 1 and 2 were as follows: carbachol, 0.28 and 7.1 microM; atropine, 0.28 and 0.54 nM; pirenzepine, 45 and 560 nM; and AF-DX 116, 380 and 4400 nM, respectively. The binding of [3H]N-methylscopolamine to the gastric glands indicated the presence of two populations of binding sites with different affinities for the above ligands, other than atropine. The apparent dissociation constants, which were estimated by analysing the displacement curves for [3H]N-methylscopolamine binding, were as follows: carbachol, 0.18 microM (10%) and 31 microM (90%); atropine, 1.24 nM; pirenzepine, 15 nM (16%) and 220 nM (84%); and AF-DX 116, 370 nM (10%) and 2970 nM (90%). These results suggest that there are two kinds of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the guinea pig gastric gland, one potentiating and the other inhibiting the acid secretion induced by histamine.

Muscarinic receptors in isolated smooth muscle cells from gastric antrum

Smooth muscle cells from the gastric antrum of the rabbit were isolated using collagenase and pronase. We examined the characteristics of muscarinic receptors that control contraction of the muscle cell: kinetics, stoichiometry and specificity of both contractile response to muscarinic agents and binding of labeled N-methyl-scopolamine. Cells contracted in the presence of muscarinic agents after a short time (30 sec) while binding of (3H)-NMS reached a plateau after 10 min exposure. Specific binding was saturable and Scatchard analysis revealed a single class of high-affinity binding sites (Kd: 0.5 nM). Oxotremorine was the most potent agonist with an ED50 of 0.6 pM; acetylcholine and carbachol were 10 times less potent. Muscarinic antagonists competed with (3H)-NMS for binding with IC50 values in the same range (nanomolar or less) than those obtained for inhibition of acetylcholine-induced contractions. Pirenzepine antagonized contractile effect of muscarinic agonists with EC50 in a micromolar range. Intracellular levels of cyclic AMP were lowered by muscarinic agonists. Monoclonal anti-muscarinic receptor antibodies M-35 displayed agonist-like activities triggering contraction and lowering cyclic AMP levels of the cells. However, although the antagonist inhibits M-35-induced contractions and cAMP decrease, M-35 had no effect on binding of the antagonist to the muscarinic receptor. These data revealed the presence of an M2-muscarinic receptor subtype involved in the contractile response of the isolated smooth muscle cell.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the rat stomach: I. (-)-[3H]nicotine binding

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the rat stomach were characterized by means of a radioligand binding assay with (-)-[3H]nicotine as ligand. Saturation binding studies on the gastric fundus membranes revealed the presence of two binding sites with dissociation constant (KD) values of 3.1 and 289 nM, and maximum binding capacity (Bmax) values of 3.6 and 76 fmol/mg protein, respectively. The Bmax of the high affinity binding site was greatest in the cardia, followed by fundal mucosa, fundal muscle, and, finally antrum. The IC50 values of cholinergic drugs to inhibit (-)-[3H]nicotine binding in fundus membranes were as follows: (-)nicotine, 0.12 nM; cytosine, 9.3 nM; acetylcholine, 17.7 nM; carbachol, 700 nM; hexamethonium, 2270 nM. The IC50 values of alpha-bungarotoxin, d-tubocurarine and atropine were greater than 100 microM. The muscarinic acetylcholine receptors were also characterized with [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate and the choline acetyltransferase activity was measured. These results suggest that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as well as muscarinic acetylcholine receptors are present in the rat stomach and that the regional distribution of these receptors is uneven.

Characterization of the muscarinic receptor subtype in isolated gastric fundic cells of the rabbit

The characteristics of the muscarinic receptor in isolated gastric fundic cells from rabbit were determined by radioligand binding techniques and functional tests. The dissociation constants (KDS) of selective (hexahydrosiladifenidol and pirenzepine) and non-selective (N-methylscopolamine and atropine) muscarinic receptor antagonists obtained in competition experiments vs [3H]-N-methylscopolamine were compared with the pA2 values of the drugs as inhibitors of carbachol-stimulated [14C]-aminopyrine accumulation (an index of acid secretion) in the gastric fundic cells. Good correlations were found between the ability of the drugs to inhibit acid secretion and their affinity for muscarinic receptors in the gastric fundic cells. The rank order of potency in both tests was N-methylscopolamine greater than atropine greater than hexahydrosiladifenidol greater than pirenzepine. The character of the muscarinic receptor subtype present on gastric fundic cells was established by comparing the affinity values of the compounds for this receptor with those for the receptors in other rabbit tissues. It was found that only pirenzepine and hexahydrosiladifenidol displayed tissue selectivity in their binding profiles. The KDS for pirenzepine were 13nM for the M1 receptor of the cerebral cortex and about 500 nM for the M2 receptors of the submandibular and gastric glands and heart. Differently from pirenzepine, hexahydrosiladifenidol showed about 10-fold discrimination between the M2 subtype of the gland (KD = 31 nM) and the M2 subtype of the heart (KD = 330 nM).

Differentiation-associated decrease in muscarinic receptor sensitivity in human neuroblastoma cells

Muscarinic receptor-linked increases in intracellular free Ca2+ as measured with quin-2 and Ca2+ release from monolayers of cells have been measured in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. Induction of differentiation with the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) leads to a decrease in the sensitivity of the cells to low concentrations of agonists with respect to the induced increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ and stimulation of Ca2+ efflux. No decrease in agonist binding affinity was observed when the displacement of a labelled antagonist, 3H-NMS, by a non-labelled agonist was studied.

Muscarinic stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation and acid secretion in gastric fundic mucosal cells

The muscarinic agonist, carbachol (CCh), was shown to stimulate the production of inositol phosphates (IP) in isolated cells from rabbit fundic mucosa. This stimulatory effect was time- and dose-dependent: EC50 values for IP1, IP2 and IP3 accumulation were not statistically different. The mean value was 30 +/- 8 microM (n = 6). The corresponding maximal stimulation (% of basal value) observed after 20 min incubation in the presence of 100 microM CCh was 160 +/- 15%. CCh-induced IP accumulation was abolished by atropine (Ki = 0.32 +/- 0.18 nM (n = 3)). The CCh concentrations leading to half-maximal inhibition of N-[3H]methylscopolamine binding and half-maximal IP accumulation were similar. The half-maximal value for CCh-induced aminopyrine accumulation was 8-times lower. These results indicate that IP3-mediated mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ might be involved in CCh-induced acid secretion by parietal cells.