Pharmacological characterization of a 7-benzylidenenaltrexone-preferring opioid receptor in porcine ileal submucosa

Mediation of neurogenic ion transport by acetylcholine, prostanoids and 5-hydroxytryptamine in porcine ileum

Enteric neural activity modulates active transepithelial ion transport in the intestine. We investigated the neural circuits mediating neurogenic secretion in mucosal explants from porcine ileum. Transmural electrical stimulation increased short-circuit current, a measure of active ion transport, by 35+/-2 microA/cm2. The neuronal Na+ channel blocker saxitoxin, the muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist atropine, the 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor antagonist tropisetron, and the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin inhibited this response. In addition, tropisetron inhibited the atropine-resistant portion of the response, and both atropine and indomethacin attenuated the saxitoxin-resistant component. Neurogenic secretion in porcine ileum appears to be mediated by tryptaminergic and prostanoid-sensitive cholinergic pathways.

Characterization of specific delta-opioid binding sites in the distal small intestine of swine

Delta-opioid receptors modulate neurogenic smooth muscle contractions and mucosal ion transport in the porcine distal small intestine. We compared specific delta-opioid binding sites in neuronal membranes isolated from the inner submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus of this gut region. In both preparations, the delta-opioid receptor antagonist naltrindole displaced [3H]diprenorphine from two binding sites. [3H]Naltrindole bound specifically to a single high-affinity site that was displaced by delta-opioid receptor ligands with the rank order of affinity: naltriben >7-benzylidenenaltrexone>deltorphin II>[D-Pen(2), D-Pen(5)] enkephalin. Relative decreases in delta-opioid receptor agonist affinity in the presence of Na(+) and other ions differed in submucosal and myenteric membranes. The kappa-opioid receptor antagonist norbinaltorphimine displaced [3H]naltrindole binding in myenteric membranes (K(i)=7.2 nM). Delta-opioid receptors in submucosal and myenteric plexuses of porcine ileum appear to differ in some respects.