Effects of urogastrone on mechanical activities of the stomach and intestine of guinea-pig

Time-dependent changes in the luminal surface and mass of the rat colon during prolonged systemic treatment with epidermal growth factor

BACKGROUND

Systemic treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF) for 4 weeks increases the colonic mucosal weight and surface area. The present study was initiated to describe the time-dependent colonic changes during prolonged treatment with EGF.

METHODS

Forty-eight female Wistar rats were allocated into five groups receiving subcutaneous EGF treatment (150 microg/kg/day) for 0 (controls), 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks. EGF was administered in the weeks before they were killed. By means of modern stereologic techniques (point counting and vertical sections), the weights of the colonic wall layers and the luminal surface area were measured on histologic sections. The colon was subdivided into proximal and distal parts.

RESULTS

The weight of the total colon increased relatively more than the total body weight. After 1 week of treatment with EGF the surface area and wet weight of the total colon increased by 47% and 10%, and after 4 weeks by 62% and 37%, respectively. After 4 weeks the weight increase was mainly due to increased mucosal weight (by 65%, P < 0.01) and less prominently the submucosa (by 45%, P < 0.01) and the muscularis propria (by 32%, P < 0.01). On the basis of the wet weight increase, the proximal colon was more responsive to EGF treatment than the distal colon.

CONCLUSIONS

Systemic treatment with EGF for 1 week increased the luminal surface area relatively more than the mass of the colon. Treatment with EGF for more than 1 week caused only a minor further surface area increase, whereas the colonic mass continued to increase in a time-dependent manner.

Acute contractile effects of epidermal growth factor on bladder smooth muscles. An in vivo and in vitro study in rats

Chronic treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates growth of all wall layers of the urinary tract in pigs and rats. Herein, we investigated the acute effects of EGF on detrusor smooth muscle activity. For in vivo examination, awake rats received EGF (75 micrograms/kg) intravenously and detrusor smooth muscle activity was monitored cystometrically. The EGF bolus caused no alteration in diuresis but a doubling of the micturition frequency, a 25% increase in micturition pressures, and increased irregular baseline contractile activity. For in vitro examination detrusor smooth muscle strips were exposed to EGF (1 microgram/ml). EGF caused contraction and increase in the spontaneous activity. In conclusion, EGF increases rat detrusor smooth muscle contractile activity in vivo and in vitro. The finding suggests that a direct effect of EGF on bladder smooth muscles is part of the genesis to the growth of the detrusor smooth muscle observed after chronic EGF treatment.

Contractile and cytoskeletal proteins in urinary bladder smooth muscle from rats treated with epidermal growth factor

Systemic treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF) induces growth of all wall layers in the urinary tract of pigs and rats. The present study was initiated to describe morphological and biochemical changes in the bladder smooth muscle from rats treated with EGF for 4 weeks. Eight-week-old female Wistar rats were treated with subcutaneous injections of vehicle (n = 16) or EGF (n = 8, 150 micrograms/kg per day) for 4 weeks. After EGF treatment the bladders were increased in weight [74.4 +/- 0.4 vs 122.1 +/- 0.5 mg, P < 0.001 (mean +/- SEM)]. Sodium dedecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analyses of six bladders from each group revealed that the total amounts of actin, myosin and desmin were statistically significantly increased by 62%, 61% and 154%, respectively. The relative amounts of actin and myosin were unchanged whereas the desmin to actin ratio was significantly increased - as previously described in rat bladder smooth muscle hypertrophy. Light and electron microscopy of two bladders from each group revealed increased wall thickness involving all wall layers. The smooth muscle fibres at a midventral bladder location seemed only slightly hypertrophic-some degree of hyperplasia was therefore suspected. In conclusion, EGF treatment for 4 weeks induced a net synthesis of contractile and cytoskeletal proteins in the urinary bladder smooth muscle.

Systemic treatment with epidermal growth factor in the rat. Biomechanical properties of the growing small intestine

Prolonged treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the rat provides an experimental model to growth of the gastrointestinal tract. We treated female Wistar rats for 0 (n = 15), 1 (n = 8), 2 (n = 8), and 4 (n = 8) weeks with subcutaneous EGF (i50 micrograms.kg-1.day-1). Segments were taken from locations at 10, 50 and 90% along the length of the small intestine, weighed, the wall thickness was measured and the luminal cross-sectional area and passive biomechanical properties were assessed using impedance planimetry. In addition, the wall composition was evaluated on histological sections. The weight of the total small intestine and of the three segments (measured in mg.cm-1) increased with the duration of the EGF treatment due to mucosal and muscular growth. After 1 week of treatment the wall thickness increased. After 2 weeks of treatment the cross-sectional area began to increase. The circumferential stress-strain distributions revealed translation of the curves to the right in the graphs implying reduced wall stiffness during EGF treatment. In conclusion EGF treatment for 1 to 4 weeks caused a time-dependent increase in intestinal weight. The growth was characterized by increased wall thickness, increased cross-sectional area and reduced wall stiffness.

Epidermal growth factor delays gastric emptying and small intestinal transit in suckling rats

Suckling (12-d-old) rats that were fasted for 15 h received epidermal growth factor (EGF) s.c. (0.5 and 1.0 microgram per rat, i.e. approximately 2 and 4 micrograms/100 g of body weight), together with motility markers 51Cr-EDTA or Poly R-478, and were killed 45 min later. Counts were measured separately in the stomach and the small intestine, which was divided into 12 segments. Administration of EGF delayed gastric emptying. In controls, the stomach contained 26.1 +/- 1.6% (mean +/- SEM); in EGF-treated rats the stomach contained 75.9 +/- 10.2% and 75.7 +/- 2.5% of the total 51Cr-EDTA counts given. EGF had the maximum effect (1.0 microgram) when given simultaneously with 51Cr-EDTA. Significant, but lower, effects of EGF were seen with the administration of EGF preceded by 10 min or followed by 10 and 20 min with the administration of 51Cr-EDTA (65.8 +/- 5.8%, 60.0 +/- 6.4%, and 54.1 +/- 4.2%, respectively). Small intestinal transit was also delayed. Administration of anti-EGF antiserum did not affect gastric emptying, but accelerated small intestinal transit as determined 30 min after administration of 51Cr-EDTA. These studies are the first to demonstrate the effect of EGF on gastrointestinal motility in vivo in suckling mammals.

Epidermal growth factor and the nervous system

Various growth factors and their receptors are present in the nervous system. This review focuses on the presence of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptors in the central nervous system (CNS). Evidence indicates that EGF in the CNS is the result of local synthesis, by intrinsic and blood-derived macrophages, glial cells and neurons, and uptake from the peripheral blood through the circumventricular organs and probably also through the blood-brain barrier. Evidence is accumulating suggesting that EGF regulates a variety of CNS functions in a specific manner. EGF influences CNS growth, differentiation and maintenance (actions proposed to promote neural regeneration and cell survival following a variety of insults). EGF also induces neuromodulatory actions, affects the neuroendocrine system, and suppresses food intake and gastric acid secretion. Acute and chronic pathological processes, e.g., various cancers, stimulate the production and release of EGF in various cell systems. Monitoring of EGF by the CNS may participate in several neurological manifestations (e.g., appetite suppression, neuroendocrine alterations) frequently accompanying acute and chronic disease. EGF and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha, a factor that binds to the EGF receptor with high affinity and induces the same biological signals as EGF) also may be involved in the promotion of malignancy in the CNS and in the neuropathogenesis of degenerative disorders. Thus evidence is accumulating concerning the neurophysiological or neuropathophysiological significance of EGF in the nervous system.

Growth factors, feeding regulation and the nervous system

A variety of growth factors and their receptors are present in the nervous system. Growth factors can modulate specific nervous system functions others than those related to growth, development, and tissue repair. The presence of growth factors in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid is the result of local synthesis (by neuronal, glial, vascular, and mononuclear phagocyte components), and uptake from the peripheral blood through the blood-brain barrier (in specific cases) and circumventricular organs. This paper focuses on the effects of a heterogeneous group of growth factors (acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors, insulin-like growth factors, epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, interleukin-1 and others) on the central nervous system (CNS), in particular, on feeding regulation. Recent evidence supporting participation of growth factors in the regulation of feeding by a direct action at the level of the CNS is reviewed. Various growth factors have the ability to suppress short- and long-term food intake (FI), whereas others affect only short-term FI, or do not affect FI. Acute and chronic pathological processes stimulate the synthesis and release of growth factors in various cellular systems, and monitoring of growth factors by the CNS could be part of the regulatory signals that induce FI suppression frequently accompanying acute and chronic disease. Thus, it is proposed that a system regulating FI through growth factor-dependent mechanisms may be operative during specific physiological or pathological conditions.

Circulatory effects of a depilatory dose of mouse epidermal growth factor in sheep

1. Haemodynamic parameters and tissue blood flow rates were measured in two groups of five sheep infused I.V. for 24 h with either saline or 128.6 micrograms mouse epidermal growth factor (mEGF) kg-1 body weight. Measurements were made preinfusion and at +3, +12, +24, +27 and +48 h. We wished to assess relationships between blood flow rates and known functional changes in various organs during EGF treatment, especially any relationship between skin blood flow rate and the known depilatory effects of the protein in sheep. 2. Cardiac output increased and total peripheral resistance and mean arterial pressure decreased during and after infusion in the mEGF-treated group relative to the control group. 3. The greatest increase in blood flow rates occurred in woolled skin (+500%) during mEGF infusion, a result which in itself may have been disparate with the known depilatory effects of EGF. The mucosas of the alimentary tract (except abomasum) and the submaxillary and sublingual salivary glands also showed vasodilatation. 4. There were short-term increases in pituitary and adrenal gland blood flow that may have been associated with the corticotrophin-releasing factor properties of EGF. Flow in the thyroids showed the greatest increase post-infusion when thyroid hormone metabolism may have been reverting to normal. Blood flow rates decreased in the pancreas and perirenal fat. 5. Our general conclusion was that mEGF had specific vasodilator effects in the skin, the thyroid, submaxillary and sublingual glands and the mucosas of most of the alimentary tract.

Visualization of growth factor receptor sites in rat forebrain

It is now known that various growth factors may also act in the central nervous system. Among them, it has recently been shown that epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) may possess trophic effects in the mammalian brain. We report here on the respective autoradiographic distribution of [125I]EGF and [125I]IGF-I receptor binding sites in the rat brain, both during ontogeny and in adulthood. It appears that [125I]EGF sites are mostly found in the rat forebrain during brain development. On the other hand, [125I]IGF-I sites are more widely distributed both during ontogeny and in adulthood. These results reveal the plasticity of the expression of EGF and IGF-I receptor sites in the mammalian brain. This could be relevant for the respective role of these two growth factors in the development and maintenance of neuronal function.

Epidermal growth factor in synaptosomal fractions of mouse cerebral cortex

Using a specific and sensitive epidermal growth factor radioimmunoassay (EGF-RIA) we measured EGF concentrations in whole brain, cerebral cortex, and cerebral cortical synaptosomal (pinched-off presynaptic nerve terminals) fractions of 26-day-old mouse brain. The relative EGF concentration in synaptosomal fractions was significantly greater than the growth factor concentrations in whole brain or cerebral cortex. Intracerebral injection, in an amount of EGF, several-fold greater than whole brain EGF content, did not appreciably increase synaptosomal EGF concentration, suggesting that no artifact was involved. The high synaptosomal EGF content suggests a neurotransmitter or a neuromodulator role for EGF in the CNS.

Effects of epidermal growth factor on deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis and stomach weight in hypophysectomized adult mice

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) or saline was administered intraperitoneally to hypophysectomized adult male CD2F1 mice or intact controls at 0700 hr. Subgroups of mice were killed at 4, 8, or 12 hr after injection. EGF was shown to stimulate [3H]TdR incorporation into DNA into several organs as previously reported. The response to EGF was found to be enhanced in both hypophysectomized and fasted mice. Differences in [3H]TdR incorporation into DNA, corneal epithelium mitotic index, RNA in pancreas and kidney of hypophysectomized and intact mice are reported. EGF was shown to result in stomach enlargement due to increased luminal contents in both hypophysectomized and intact mice.