Comparative analysis of the vagal stimulation of gastric acid secretion in rodent isolated stomach preparations

Altered physiology of acid secretion in depression-prone Flinders rats results in exacerbated NSAID and stress-induced gastric damage

BACKGROUND

Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats are characterized by hypersensitivity to cholinergic stimuli and have been extensively used for studying depressive disorders. A link between depression and peptic ulcers has long been established; however, there is a lack of data from animal models.

METHODS

We studied the physiology of acid secretion in FSL and Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats in vivo and in vitro. We also examined the susceptibility of Flinders rats to water immersion restraint stress (WIRS) or NSAID-induced gastric damage and explored the effect of an anticholinergic agent, atropine, in reversing this effect.

KEY RESULTS

Basal acid output was more than twofold greater in FSL compared with FRL rats in vivo, 213.5 and 92.8 μEq/3 h/100 g (P = 0.02), respectively. Carbachol was a more potent secretagog in vitro, and somatostatin was a less potent inhibitory agent, while paradoxically stimulating acid secretion over and above the carbachol response in gastric glands from FSL rats. The FSL rats were more susceptible to indomethacin and WIRS-induced gastric mucosal damage compared with FRL rats. Atropine reduced acid output, which resulted in a reduction in indomethacin and stress-induced gastric damage in FSL rats.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Our study, for the first time, demonstrates that the altered vagally mediated physiology of acid secretion in depression-prone FSL rats contributes to gastric hypersecretion and, consequently, results in exacerbated stress and NSAID-induced gastric damage. Flinders rats may be a useful animal model for studying acid-related and also gastrointestinal functional disorders in depression.

Rationalizing the activities of diverse cholecystokinin 2 receptor antagonists using molecular field points

Cholecystokinin 2 receptor antagonists encompass a wide range of structures. This makes them unsuitable candidates for existing 3D-QSAR methods and has led us to develop an alternative approach to account for their observed biological activities. A diverse set of 21 antagonists was subjected to a novel molecular field-based similarity analysis. The hypothesis is that compounds with similar field patterns will bind at the same target site regardless of their underlying structure. This initial report demonstrates a linear correlation between ligand similarity and biological activity for this challenging data set. A model generated with three molecules was used to predict the activity of 18 test compounds, with different chemotypes, with a root-mean-square error of 0.68 pKB units. The ability to automatically derive a molecular alignment without knowledge of the protein structure represents an improvement over existing pharmacophore methods and makes the method particularly suitable for scaffold-hopping.

Effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists on rat gastric acid secretion: discrepancy between in vitro and in vivo data

The effects of the cannabinoid (CB)-receptor agonists WIN55,212-2 and HU-210 and the selective CB(1)-receptor antagonist SR141716A were tested on in vitro and in vivo acid secretion assays from the rat. In the isolated gastric fundus from immature rats, WIN55,212-2 (0.001-30 microM), HU-210 (0.001-10 microM), or SR141716A (0.1-10 microM) did not change the basal acid output or acid responses to histamine, pentagastrin, or electrical field stimulation. HU-210 (0.3 micromol/kg, intravenously) inhibited the acid response to pentagastrin in anesthetized adult, young, or immature rats with lumen-perfused stomachs; moreover, HU-210 reduced vagally induced acid secretion in adult animals, its antisecretory effect being reversed by SR141716A (0.65 micromol/kg, intravenously). In vitro and in vivo data indicate that CB(1) receptors are not located on parietal cells but, rather, on vagal pathways (possibly at preganglionic sites) supplying the gastric mucosa. The lack of effect of CB-receptor ligands in vitro cannot be ascribed to the use of immature rats, since HU-210 inhibited stimulated acid secretion in vivo, irrespective of the animal age.

Scaffold hopping with molecular field points: identification of a cholecystokinin-2 (CCK2) receptor pharmacophore and its use in the design of a prototypical series of pyrrole- and imidazole-based CCK2 antagonists

A new molecular modeling approach has been used to derive a pharmacophore of the potent and selective cholecystokinin-2 (CCK(2)) receptor antagonist 5 (JB93182), based on features shared with two related series. The technique uses "field points" as simple and effective descriptions of the electrostatic and van der Waals maxima and minima surrounding a molecule equipped with XED (extended electron distribution) charges. Problems associated with the high levels of biliary elimination of 5 in vivo required us to design a compound with significantly lower molecular weight without sacrificing its nanomolar levels of in vitro activity. Two new series of compounds were designed to mimic the arrangement of field points present in the pharmacophore rather than its structural elements. In a formal sense, two of the three amides in 5 were replaced with either a simple pyrrole or imidazole, while some features thought to be essential for the high levels of in vitro activity of the parent compounds were retained and others deleted. These compounds maintained activity and selectivity for this receptor over CCK(1). In addition, the reduction in molecular weight coupled with lower polarities greatly reduced levels of biliary elimination associated with 5. This makes them good lead compounds for development of drug candidates whose structures are not obviously related to those of the parents and represents the first example of scaffold hopping using molecular field points.

Necessity of intracellular cyclic AMP in inducing gastric acid secretion via muscarinic M3 and cholecystokinin2 receptors on parietal cells in isolated mouse stomach

The existence of a direct action of acetylcholine and gastrin on muscarinic M3 and cholecystokinin2 (CCK2) receptors on gastric parietal cells has not yet been convincingly established because these stimulated acid secretions are remarkably inhibited by histamine H2 receptor antagonists. In the present study, we investigated the necessity of intracellular cyclic AMP in inducing gastric acid secretion via muscarinic M3 and CCK2 receptors on parietal cells using an isolated mouse stomach preparation. Bethanechol (10-300 microM) produced a marked increase in acid output and this increase was completely blocked by famotidine (10 microM). In the presence of famotidine, bethanechol (1-30 microM) augmented the acid secretory response to dibutyryl AMP (200 microM) in a concentration-dependent manner. The augmentation was blocked by atropine (1 microM), 4-DAMP (0.1 microM), a muscarinic M3-selective antagonist, and by Ca2+ exclusion from the serosal nutrient solution. Pentagastrin (0.3-3 microM) also concentration-dependently stimulated gastric acid secretion, but the effect was completely inhibited by famotidine. In the presence of famotidine, pentagastrin (0.1-0.3 microM) elicited a definite potentiation of the acid secretory response to dibutyryl cyclic AMP (200 microM). This potentiation was inhibited by YM022 (1 microM), a CCK2 receptor antagonist, and by exclusion of Ca2+ from the serosal nutrient solution. The present results suggest that gastric acid secretion via the activation of muscarinic M3 and CCK2 receptors on the parietal cells is induced by activation of the cyclic AMP-dependent secretory pathway.

Quantitative changes in gastric mucosal glycoproteins: effect of cholinergic agonist and vagal nerve stimulation in the rat

The role of the vagus nerve and cholinergic mechanisms in the control of the rat gastric mucin and protein (PROT) release in vivo was investigated. Under urethane anaesthesia (1.25 g kg(-1)), the rats had their gastric lumen perfused with saline. Mucus secretion was measured as a function of adherent mucus on the mucosa surface and the luminal content of sialic acids (SIA), galactose (GAL), pyruvate and PROT. Electrical stimulation of the vagi significantly increased the levels of mucus (3.23 +/- 025 microg g(-1) tissue, P < 0.05), free sialic acid (FS) (0.18 +/- 0.04 mg mL(-1), P < 0.05) and PROT (0.25 +/- 0.003 mg mL(-1), P < 0.05) when compared with control animals. Bilateral cervical vagotomy had no significant effect on adherent mucus or basal levels of PROT, SIA and GAL (P > 0.05) with respect to the control. In both vagotomized and vagal intact animals, the cholinergic agonist (carbachol, 200 mg kg(-1)) significantly increased PROT, adherent mucus and FS (P < 0.05) and decreased bound sialic acid (P > 0.05). There were no visible haemorrhagic streaks on the gastric mucosa of vagotomized, vagal intact and carbachol-treated animals. The results suggest that vagus nerve does not exert a tonic control on gastric glycoprotein secretion in vivo and that cholinergic effect on the mucus secreting cells may be implemented via the intrinsic nerves of the enteric nervous system.

CCK(2) receptor antagonists containing the conformationally constrained phenylalanine derivatives, including the new amino acid Xic

The conformationally constrained analogues of phenylalanine, tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (Tic), Sic, Hic and Nic, and the new amino acid Xic have been incorporated into a potent and highly selective cholecystokinin-2 (CCK(2)) receptor antagonist (2) in place of the phenylalanine residue, producing compounds 15a-e. High selectivities for CCK(2) over CCK(1) were observed for compounds 15a-e. The in vitro profile of the analogue containing the Nic residue (15d) was identical to that of compound 2, whereas the alternative conformational constraints resulted in a significant loss of affinity. The apparent advantage of Nic in the context of these CCK(2) ligands was subsequently demonstrated to be statistically significant.

Nonpeptide cholecystokinin-2 receptor agonists

In the course of structural explorations around a series of potent CCK2 receptor antagonists, it was noted that simple N-methylation of the indolic N-H in the parent molecule gave rise to behavior in vivo that was consistent with the compound acting as an agonist. Exploration in vitro confirmed this property, and it was shown that the agonist action could be blocked by the reference CCK2 receptor antagonist, L-365,260. Further examples of this type of modification were explored, and a common theme with regard to agonist behavior was uncovered. Some molecular modeling is also presented in an attempt to throw light on the nature of the ligand receptor interactions that may be giving rise to the differing properties of these, apparently, structurally similar molecules.

Stimulatory effect of dibutyryl cyclic GMP on acid secretion in mouse isolated stomach and on histamine release in gastric mucosal cells

We previously reported that endogenous nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the peripheral control of gastric acid secretion induced by some secretagogues, and that endogenous NO is involved in the acid secretion process via histamine release from histamine-containing cells. However, the stimulus-secretion coupling in the cells remains to be clarified. In the present study, we investigated the effect of dibutyryl cyclic GMP on gastric acid secretion in mouse isolated stomach and on histamine release in gastric mucosal cells, in comparison with those of dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Dibutyryl cyclic GMP (300 microM) produced a slight but significant increase of gastric acid secretion, which was completely inhibited by the histamine-H2 receptor antagonist famotidine. In contrast, dibutyryl cyclic GMP (1 mM) markedly inhibited histamine-induced acid secretion. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP (100 microM) produced a sustained increase of gastric acid secretion. The pretreatment with famotidine partially inhibited dibutyryl cyclic AMP-induced gastric acid secretion. Dibutyryl cyclic GMP and dibutyryl cyclic AMP significantly increased the histamine release from gastric mucosal cells. These results suggest that both intracellular cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP act as second messengers for histamine release in the histamine-containing cells, probably ECL cells. On the other hand, in gastric parietal cells, cyclic AMP has a stimulatory effect on gastric acid secretion, whereas cyclic GMP has an inhibitory effect.

Mucosa of the guinea pig gastric corpus is innervated by myenteric neurones with specific neurochemical coding and projection preferences

The present study identified and characterised myenteric neurones involved in the innervation of the gastric mucosa. We applied retrograde neuronal tracing methods by using the dye DiI (1,1'-didodecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorat) in combination with the immunohistochemical demonstration of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), enkephalin (ENK), neuropeptide Y (NPY), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), substance P (SP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). This method showed distinct neurochemical coding of DiI-labelled neurones with projections to the mucosa (mucosa neurones): ChAT/- (indicating the presence of ChAT only, 32%), ChAT/NPY/ +/- VIP (22%), NOS/NPY/ +/- VIP (19%), ChAT/SP/ +/- ENK (12%), NOS/- (indicating the presence of NOS only, 8%), or ChAT/ENK (4.6%). DiI-labelled mucosa neurones did not contain calretinin, serotonin, or somatostatin. All ChAT population had primarily ascending projections, whereas the NOS populations had mainly descending projections. Both were further classified as longitudinally and circumferentially projecting neurones, the latter having projection preferences towards the lesser or greater curvature. All subpopulations exhibited projection preferences. Nitrergic projections primarily arose from cell bodies located at the lesser curvature. ChAT/- projections, which dominated the cholinergic pathway, mainly arose from cell bodies located at the greater curvature. The other major cholinergic pathway with the code ChAT/NPY/ +/- VIP consisted of neurones located mainly at the lesser curvature. The results suggest specific coding of gastric myenteric neurones with projections to the mucosa. Polarised projections consisted of ascending cholinergic and descending nitrergic neurones; the additional presence of NPY/VIP was a prominent feature in both pathways. Chemical coding, polarity, and projection preferences of enteric pathways to the gastric mucosa are remarkably different from those of other regions in the gut.

Pharmacological characterization of recombinant human 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors using a novel antagonist radioligand, [3H]WAY-100635

The ligand binding characteristics of the recombinant human 5-HT1A receptor stably expressed in a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line are described using a selective agonist, [3H]8-OH-DPAT, and a novel antagonist radioligand, [3H]WAY-100635. The association of [3H]WAY-100635 was a time- and temperature-dependent process. Mn2+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ reduced the specific [3H]WAY-100635 binding in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas Na+ and K+ were ineffective. Scatchard analyses revealed a homogeneous population of [3H]WAY-100635 recognition sites (Kd = 0.32 nM; Bmax = 162 fmol/mg of protein). Addition of divalent cations to the incubation medium produced a two-fold decrease in the binding affinity of [3H]WAY-100635 with no significant change in Bmax; GTP gamma S had no effect on Kd or Bmax parameters. [3H]WAY-100635 displayed a higher affinity (2-3 fold) for the 5-HT1A site when compared with [3H] 8-OH-DPAT binding under similar incubation conditions. Furthermore, [3H] 8-OH-DPAT labelled approximately 53-61% of total 5-HT1A sites recognised by [3H]WAY-100635. The competition binding profiles of [3H]WAY-100635 and [3H]8-OH-DPAT were highly correlated and consistent with the recognition of 5-HT1A receptors. Agonist competition curves with [3H]WAY-100635 were best-resolved into high- and low-affinity binding states, whereas partial agonist and antagonist curves were best-fit to one-site binding models. A significant correlation between the respective affinities of a range of agonists and antagonists at recombinant human and rodent hippocampal 5-HT1A binding sites (previously published) was also observed using [3H]WAY-100635 (r = 0.92; P < 0.0005) and [3H]8-OH-DPAT (r = 0.96; P < 0.0005). The availability of a novel, high-affinity antagonist radioligand, [3H]WAY-100635, will provide a useful tool for the further characterisation of 5-HT1A receptor pharmacology.

Effects of 8-OHDPAT and 5-HT1A antagonists WAY100135 and WAY100635, on guinea-pig behaviour and dorsal raphe 5-HT neurone firing

1. The effects of 5-HT1A antagonists on guinea-pig behaviour and dorsal raphe neuronal activity were investigated. 2. WAY100135 (10 mg kg-1, s.c.) and WAY100635 (1 mg kg-1, s.c.) significantly reduced the behaviours induced by 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OHDPAT) (1 mg kg-1, s.c.) indicative of post-synaptic 5-HT1A receptor antagonism. WAY100635 (10 mg kg-1, s.c.) alone induced ear twitches, which were antagonized by ketanserin (1 mg kg-1, s.c.), but no other overt behaviours. 3. WAY100635 (0.125 mg kg-1, i.v.) produced a right-ward shift in the dose-related inhibition of neuronal firing by 8-OHDPAT (5-100 micrograms kg-1, i.v.) but did not affect the maximum inhibition induced by 8-OHDPAT indicating competitive antagonism between 8-OHDPAT and WAY100635 at the 5-HT1A somato-dendritic autoreceptor in the dorsal raphe nucleus of the guinea-pig. WAY100635 also produced a dose-related increase in the basal firing of 5-HT neurones in the dorsal raphe nucleus and restored the firing of dorsal raphe neurones previously inhibited by 8-OHDPAT (10 micrograms kg-1, i.v.). 4. The results indicate that WAY100635 is a competitive 5-HT1A antagonist in the guinea-pig. Furthermore WAY100635 can increase 5-HT neuronal firing, suggesting that it blocks a 5-HT1A receptor-mediated inhibitory tone acting on guinea-pig 5-HT neurones resulting in increased 5-HT release and 5-HT2 receptor-mediated behaviours.

Comparison of effects of famotidine on vagally and field-electrically stimulated acid secretion in the isolated mouse whole stomach

Effects of famotidine on neuronally evoked acid secretion were investigated by means of vagal (at the lower esophagus level) and field-electrical stimulation (around the stomach) in the isolated mouse whole stomach preparation. Each of the electrical stimulations caused a frequency-dependent (1 to 20 Hz) increase in acid output, and the secretory response was abolished by tetrodotoxin or atropine. In the case of field stimulation, the acid secretion was not completely inhibited by hexamethonium. When 10 Hz frequency was applied with either vagal or field-electrical stimulation, the acid secretion was only partly inhibited by famotidine at doses of up to 30 microM. In contrast, the acid response to 2 Hz stimulation was almost completely inhibited by 1 microM famotidine. In the presence of neostigmine (30 nM), the 2 Hz vagally stimulated acid secretion became partly resistant to the effect of famotidine (10 microM). These results suggest that both vagally and field-electrically stimulated acid secretions have essentially the same characteristics and that the secretory mechanism through histamine release is exclusively dominant with weak stimulation, while the cholinergic mechanism on parietal cells is sufficient for reaching the maximal secretory response with strong stimulation.

Interaction between a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist and an SSRI in vivo: effects on 5-HT cell firing and extracellular 5-HT

1. The acute inhibitory effect of selective 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on 5-HT neuronal activity may offset their ability to increase synaptic 5-HT in the forebrain. 2. Here, we determined the effects of the SSRI, paroxetine, and a novel selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, WAY 100635, on 5-HT cell firing in the dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN), and on extracellular 5-HT in both the DRN and the frontal cortex (FCx). Extracellular electrophysiological recording and brain microdialysis were used in parallel experiments, in anaesthetized rats. 3. Paroxetine dose-dependently inhibited the firing of 5-HT neurones in the DRN, with a maximally effective dose of approximately 0.8 mg kg-1, i.v. WAY 100635 (0.1 mg kg-1, i.v.) both reversed the inhibitory effect of paroxetine and, when used as a pretreatment, caused a pronounced shift to the right of the paroxetine dose-response curve. 4. Paroxetine (0.8 mg kg-1, i.v.), doubled extracellular 5-HT in the DRN, but did not alter extracellular 5-HT in the FCx. A higher dose of paroxetine (2.4 mg kg-1, i.v.) did increase extracellular 5-HT in the FCx, but to a lesser extent than in the DRN. Whereas 0.8 mg kg-1, i.v. paroxetine alone had no effect on extracellular 5-HT in the FCx, in rats pretreated with WAY 100635 (0.1 mg kg-1), paroxetine (0.8 mg kg-1, i.v.) markedly increased extracellular 5-HT in the FCx. 5. In conclusion, pretreatment with the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, WAY 100635, blocked the inhibitory effect of paroxetine on 5-HT neuronal activity in the DRN and, at the same time, markedly enhanced the effect of paroxetine on extracellular 5-HT in the FCx. These results may be relevant to recent clinical observations that 5-HT1A receptor antagonists in combination with SSRIs have a rapid onset of antidepressant effect.

Application of a model to explore interspecies differences in acetylcholine M-receptor-stimulated gastric acid secretion

1. Concentration-effect curves were obtained, in the absence and presence of histamine H2-receptor blockade, to 5-methylfurmethide (5-MeF) and McN-A 343, high efficacy and low efficacy acetylcholine (ACh) M-receptor agonists, respectively, in isolated stomach preparations from the mouse and immature rat and guinea-pig. 2. In the immature guinea-pig assay, the responses to 5-MeF and McN-A 343 were abolished by histamine H2-receptor blockade suggesting that the responses were totally dependent upon gastric mucosal histamine. However, in the mouse and immature rat assays, although the histamine H2-receptor antagonists produced small but significant rightward shifts and, in some cases, depression of the maximum of the agonist concentration-effect curves, a significant secretory response remained, presumed to be due to direct stimulation of oxyntic cells. 3. Previously, by assuming that the histamine H2-receptor blockade alters the mode of agonist-stimulated acid secretion from mainly an indirect action mediated by histamine release to direct stimulation of the oxyntic cell, we applied an operational model of agonism to similar data obtained in the mouse preparation. In that study we were able to account for the behaviour of 5-MeF and McN-A 343 by assuming that the agonists expressed 6 fold higher efficacy, tau in the operational model of agonism, at ACh M-receptors on the histamine-releasing cells than on the oxyntic cells. In this study it was possible to account for the variation in the behaviour of the agonists both between and within assays by simply varying the efficacy expressed by the agonists at each of the cells in the model. The efficacy variation could be due to receptor concentration variation.4. The data and analysis are discussed in terms of contemporary models for the role of histamine in the regulation of gastric acid secretion.