Influence of peripheral and central administration of apomorphine and morphine on intragastric pressure in the dog

The Inhibitory Effect of Dopamine on Cat Gastric Smooth Muscle

The inhibitory effect of dopamine has been studied in longitudinal and circular muscle strips of the cat gastric fundus. When tone was raised by transmural electrical stimulation and by administration of methacholine, dopamine concentration-dependently relaxed the strips but the inhibitory effect of dopamine was clearly more pronounced on electrically-induced tone. The effect of dopamine was not influenced by the presence of cocaine or hydrocortisone. The relaxant effect of dopamine, when tone was raised by methacholine, was not influenced by α- and dopamine receptor antagonists but it was significantly reduced by propranolol and ICI 118551 (erythro-dl-1-(7-methylindan-4-yloxy)-3-isopropylaminobutan-2-ol). The inhibitory effect of dopamine on the electrically-induced tone was significantly reduced by phentolamine; domperidone tended to reduce the effect of the lower concentrations of dopamine. In the presence of propranolol, phentolamine and rauwolscine concentration-dependently antagonized the inhibitory effect of dopamine on electrically-induced tone, while prazosin was without influence. These results indicate that the inhibitory effect of dopamine in the cat gastric fundus is mainly due to interaction with postjunctional β-adrenoceptors on the smooth muscle cells and with prejunctional α-adrenoceptors on the intramural cholinergic neurons

Effects of Z-338, a novel gastroprokinetic agent, on the actions of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters on neurons in area postrema

We investigated the effects of the novel gastroprokinetic agent Z-338 on the actions of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters on neurons in area postrema (AP). Iontophoretic applications of acetylcholine (ACh), AMPA and NMDA increased, while GABA suppressed the firing rates of AP neurons recorded by extracellular electrodes. Z-338 (10 microM) suppressed the ACh-induced acceleratory and GABA-induced inhibitory actions without affecting the excitatory actions of AMPA and NMDA. Under voltage-clamp conditions, nicotine, NMDA, kainic acid (KA) and ATP evoked inward currents in dissociated single AP neurons recorded by whole-cell patch clamp technique, and GABA produced outward currents, at holding potentials (V(H)) of -60 or 0 mV. Z-338 (>3 microM) specifically suppressed the nicotine- and GABA-induced currents without affecting the currents induced by NMDA, KA and ATP. In addition, we found that Z-338 (30 microM) suppressed the spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) recorded from AP neurons in slice preparations. Experiments with microelectrode and histochemical methods revealed the presence of direct excitatory and di-synaptic inhibitory neural connections from AP to dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). In some AP neurons, Z-338 (10 microM) enhanced the spontaneous firing rates recorded by extracellular electrode. The excitatory or inhibitory effects of Z-338 on the firing rates or actions of nicotine and GABA on AP neurons observed in the present study may explain the postmeal relaxation induced by Z-338 in patients with functional dyspepsia.

Area postrema mediates gastric motor response induced by apomorphine in rats

The effects of apomorphine administration on the autonomic responses were investigated in rats. Distinctive gastric motor responses were observed after the intravenous administration of apomorphine (0.1 mg/kg body weight). Gastric motor responses in the distal stomach induced by apomorphine administration were classified into two types. One type involved inhibition of phasic contractions which appeared just after the administration of apomorphine. The other involved an increase in the frequency of small phasic contractions accompanied by increased gastric tone appearing with a relatively longer delay. No relaxation was observed in either the proximal or distal stomach. These gastric motor responses showed a dose-response effect to the amount of apomorphine administered (0.002-0.1 mg/kg body weight). In addition, submandibular salivary secretion was observed in response to the intravenous administration of apomorphine at a dose of 3 or 10 mg/kg body weight. Pretreatment with domperidone (1 or 2 mg/kg body weight) or the ablation of the area postrema (AP) abolished the gastric motor response and salivary secretion induced by the administration of apomorphine. In conclusion, rats showed definitive autonomic phenomena in response to the administration of apomorphine. Dopamine 2-like receptors situated in the AP mediate apomorphine-induced autonomic phenomena in rats.

Central mechanisms for apomorphine-induced emesis in the dog

In order to investigate whether different receptor populations mediate emesis induced by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) and intravenous (i.v.) apomorphine, adult beagle dogs were tested with various doses of the drug with and without central and peripheral pretreatment with the dopamine antagonist sulpiride. The threshold dose of apomorphine to induce emesis by i.c.v. injections was 30-50 times lower than via the i.v. route, while the response latencies after i.c.v. administration were typically longer and the number of bouts of vomiting greater. I.v. pretreatment with sulpiride was more effective than i.c.v. pretreatment in blocking emesis induced by i.v. apomorphine, whereas both i.v. and i.c.v. sulpiride effectively blocked vomiting after i.c.v. apomorphine. Finally, in separate experiments, surgical interruption of blood flow in the region of the area postrema permanently abolished the emetic response to i.c.v. apomorphine, but only transiently disrupted emesis induced by i.v. apomorphine. These data suggest the possibility that i.v. and i.c.v. apomorphine-induced emesis may be mediated by separate dopamine receptors on the cerebrospinal fluid-side and blood-side of the area postrema.