Evidence that neuroepithelial endocrine cells control the spontaneous tone in guinea pig tracheal preparations.
(1/803)
The hypothesis that neuroepithelial endocrine (NEE) cells control spontaneous tone in isolated guinea pig tracheal preparations was examined. Epithelium-denuded preparations were unable to develop a normal oscillating tone in 12% oxygen (corresponding to systemic arterial oxygen levels) and, instead, developed a strong, smooth tone, similar to the "classic" tone in 94% oxygen. Inhibition of the hydrogen peroxide-producing NADPH oxidase in the NEE cells by 20 microM diphenyleneiodonium chloride transformed, in intact preparations in 94% oxygen, the tone from a strong, smooth type to an oscillating tone of considerably less force. Similar experiments in denuded preparations showed no change of tone and no oscillations. After pretreatment with the catalase inhibitor 3-amino-1,2, 4-triazole (1 mM), addition of 2 mM hydrogen peroxide to intact preparations displaying the oscillating tone caused a transformation to a strong, smooth type. These findings support the hypothesis that the spontaneous tone in this preparation is largely controlled by the oxygen-sensing NEE cells. For the first time, previous findings on isolated cells can be linked to effects in intact tissue preparations. The results also suggest that the regulation by the NEE cells involves the release of powerful relaxing and contracting factors from the epithelium. (+info)
Compliance and stability of the bronchial wall in a model of allergen-induced lung inflammation.
(2/803)
Airway wall remodeling in response to inflammation might alter load on airway smooth muscle and/or change airway wall stability. We therefore determined airway wall compliance and closing pressures in an animal model. Weanling pigs were sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA; ip and sc, n = 6) and were subsequently challenged three times with OVA aerosol. Control pigs received 0.9% NaCl (n = 4) in place of OVA aerosol. Bronchoconstriction in vivo was assessed from lung resistance and dynamic compliance. Semistatic airway compliance was recorded ex vivo in isolated segments of bronchus, after the final OVA aerosol or 0.9% NaCl challenge. Internally or externally applied pressure needed to close bronchial segments was determined in the absence or presence of carbachol (1 microM). Sensitized pig lungs exhibited immediate bronchoconstriction to OVA aerosol and also peribronchial accumulations of monocytes and granulocytes. Compliance was reduced in sensitized bronchi in vitro (P < 0.01), and closing pressures were increased (P < 0.05). In the presence of carbachol, closing pressures of control and sensitized bronchi were not different. We conclude that sensitization and/or inflammation increases airway load and airway stability. (+info)
Modulation of temperature-induced tone by vasoconstrictor agents.
(3/803)
One of the primary cardiovascular adjustments to hyperthermia is a sympathetically mediated increase in vascular resistance in the viscera. Nonneural factors such as a change in vascular tone or reactivity may also contribute to this response. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether vascular smooth muscle tone is altered during heating to physiologically relevant temperatures >37 degrees C. Gradually increasing bath temperature from 37 degrees C (normothermia) to 43 degrees C (severe hyperthermia) produced graded contractions in vascular ring segments from rat mesenteric arteries and thoracic aortae. In untreated rings these contractions were relatively small, whereas hyperthermia elicited near-maximal increases in tension when rings were constricted with phenylephrine or KCl before heating. In phenylephrine-treated mesenteric arterial rings, the contractile responses to heating were markedly attenuated by the Ca2+ channel antagonists nifedipine and diltiazem. Diltiazem also blocked the contractile responses to heating in thoracic aortic rings. These results demonstrate that hyperthermia has a limited effect on tension generation in rat vascular smooth muscle in the absence of vascular tone. However, in the presence of agonist-induced tone, tension generation during heating is markedly enhanced and dependent on extracellular Ca2+. In conclusion, these data suggest that local regulation of vascular tone can contribute to the hemodynamic adjustments to hyperthermia. (+info)
Regional and functional differences of 5-hydroxytryptamine-receptor subtypes in guinea pig stomach.
(4/803)
Functions and the presence of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptors in the fundus, corpus and antrum of the guinea pig stomach were examined by measuring contractile force and acetylcholine (ACh) release. Stimulation of the 5-HT1 receptor caused tetrodotoxin (TTX)-insensitive relaxations in the preparations from 3 regions. Stimulation of the 5-HT2 receptor caused TTX-insensitive contractions in the preparations of fundus and antrum. Stimulation of 5-HT3 receptors caused contractions that were sensitive to TTX and atropine and enhanced the outflow of [3H]ACh from preparations of only antrum. Stimulation of 5-HT4 receptors caused contractions of antral strips and decreased relaxations of corporal strips and enhanced the outflow of [3H]ACh from the preparations of both corpus and antrum. In the guinea pig stomach, the fundus possesses relaxant 5-HT1 receptor < contractile 5-HT2 receptors and caused the contractile response to 5-HT. The corpus possesses relaxant 5-HT1 receptors and relaxant receptors other than 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptors > contractile 5-HT4 receptor, and therefore 5-HT caused relaxations. The antrum possesses relaxant 5-HT1 receptor < contractile 5-HT2, 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptors, and thus 5-HT caused contractions. (+info)
Nitric oxide is the predominant mediator for neurogenic vasodilation in porcine pial veins.
(5/803)
The innervation pattern and the vasomotor response of the potential transmitters in the porcine pial veins were investigated morphologically and pharmacologically. The porcine pial veins were more densely innervated by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)- and neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive (I) fibers than were calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-I, choline acetyltransferase-I, Substance P (SP)-I, and NADPH diaphorase fibers. Serotonin (5-HT)-I fibers, which were not detected in normal control pial veins, were observed in isolated pial veins after incubation with 5-HT (1 microM). 5-HT-I fibers, however, were not observed when incubation with 5-HT was performed in the presence of guanethidine (1 microM), suggesting that 5-HT was taken up into the sympathetic nerves. In vitro tissue bath studies demonstrated that porcine pial veins in the presence of active muscle tone relaxed on applications of exogenous 5-HT, CGRP, SP, VIP, and sodium nitroprusside, whereas exogenous norepinephrine and neuropeptide Y induced only constrictions. Transmural nerve stimulation (TNS) did not elicit any response in pial veins in the absence of active muscle tone. However, in the presence of active muscle tone, pial veins relaxed exclusively on TNS. This tetrodotoxin-sensitive relaxation was not affected by receptor antagonists for VIP, CGRP, 5-HT, or SP but was blocked by L-glutamine (1 mM) and abolished by Nomega-nitro-L-arginine (10 microM) and Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (10 microM). The inhibition by L-glutamine, Nomega-nitro-L-arginine, and Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester was reversed by L-arginine and L-citrulline but not by their D-enantiomers. These results demonstrate that the vasomotor effect of all potential transmitters except 5-HT in the pial veins examined resembles that in cerebral arteries. Although porcine pial veins receive vasodilator and constrictor nerves, a lack of constriction on TNS suggests that the dilator nerves that release nitric oxide may play a predominant role in regulating porcine pial venous tone. (+info)
Myogenic and vasoconstrictor responsiveness of skeletal muscle arterioles is diminished by hindlimb unloading.
(6/803)
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether hindlimb unloading of rats alters vasoconstrictor and myogenic responsiveness of skeletal muscle arterioles. After either 2 wk of hindlimb unloading (HU) or cage control (C), second-order arterioles were isolated from the white portion of gastrocnemius (WG; C: n = 9, HU: n = 10) or soleus (Sol; C: n = 9, HU: n = 10) muscles and cannulated with two micropipettes connected to reservoir systems for in vitro study. Intraluminal pressure was set at 60 cmH2O. The arterioles were exposed to step changes in intraluminal pressure ranging from 20 to 140 cmH2O to determine myogenic responsiveness and to KCl (10-100 mM) and norepinephrine (10(-9)-10(-4) M) to determine vasoconstrictor responsiveness. Although maximal diameter of WG arterioles was not different between C (185 +/- 12 microm) and HU (191 +/- 14 microm) rats, WG arterioles from HU rats developed less spontaneous tone (C: 33 +/- 5%, HU 20 +/-3%), were unable to maintain myogenic tone at pressures from 140 to 100 cmH2O, and were less sensitive to the vasoconstrictor effects of KCl and norepinephrine (as indicated by a higher agonist concentration that produced 50% of maximal vasoconstrictor response). In contrast, maximal diameter of Sol arterioles from HU rats (117 +/- 12 microm) was smaller than that in C rats (148 +/- 14 microm). However, the development of spontaneous tone (C: 30 +/- 4%, HU: 36 +/- 5%), myogenic activity, and the responsiveness to vasoconstrictor agonists were not different between Sol arterioles from C and HU rats. These results indicate that hindlimb unloading diminishes the myogenic autoregulatory and contractile responsiveness of arterioles from muscle composed of type IIB fibers and suggest that the compromised ability to elevate vascular resistance after exposure to microgravity may be related to these vascular alterations. In addition, hindlimb unloading appears to induce vascular remodeling of arterioles from muscle composed of type I fibers, as indicated by the decrease in maximal diameter of arterioles from Sol muscle. (+info)
Mechanisms of endothelin-induced venoconstriction in isolated guinea pig mesentery.
(7/803)
In the present study, endothelin (ET) agonists and receptor selective antagonists were used to characterize ET receptors mediating constriction in guinea pig mesenteric veins (250-300 micrometers diameter) in vitro. The contribution of ET-evoked vasodilator release to venous tone was also explored. Computer-assisted video microscopy was used to monitor vein diameter. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelin-3 (ET-3), and sarafotoxin 6c (S6c) produced sustained concentration-dependent contractions with a rank order agonist potency of ET-1 = S6c > ET-3. Indomethacin (1 microM) and Nomega-nitro-L-arginine (100 microM) enhanced ET-1 and S6c responses. The ETA selective antagonists BQ-610 (100 nM) and PD156707 (10 nM) shifted ET-1 concentration-response curves rightward and decreased maximal ET-1 responses, without changing S6c responses. The ETB selective antagonist BQ-788 (100 nM) shifted S6c responses rightward but produced no change in ET-1 responses. Combined application of BQ-788 and BQ-610 or BQ-788 and PD 156707 produced a rightward shift in ET-1 responses that was greater than shifts produced by BQ-610 or PD 156707 alone. In conclusion, smooth muscle in guinea pig mesenteric veins expresses ETA and ETB receptors coupled to contractile mechanisms. Activation of endothelial ETB receptors results in release of vasodilators, primarily nitric oxide. (+info)
Changes in smooth muscle tone during osmotic challenge in relation to epithelial bioelectric events in guinea pig isolated trachea.
(8/803)
The relationship between epithelial bioelectric events and epithelium-dependent relaxant and contractile responses of airway smooth muscle in response to hyperosmolar and hypo-osmolar solutions was investigated in guinea pig isolated trachea. Tracheae were perfused with normal or nonisosmotic modified Krebs-Henseleit solution while simultaneously monitoring transepithelial potential difference (VT) and contractile and relaxant responses of the muscle. Baseline VT was -10.1 to -13.3 mV (distal and proximal ends, respectively). Intraluminal amiloride (10(-4) M) induced a 3.7-mV depolarization, verifying that the VT was of epithelial origin. Extraluminal methacholine (3 x 10(-7) M; EC50) caused hyperpolarization and smooth muscle contraction; intraluminal methacholine had very little effect. Increasing intraluminal bath osmolarity via addition of 240 mOsM NaCl or KCl caused an immediate and prolonged depolarization and epithelium-dependent relaxation. Increasing intraluminal bath osmolarity with sucrose evoked similar responses, except that an immediate, transient hyperpolarization and contraction preceded the depolarization and relaxation. Increasing extraluminal bath osmolarity with 240 mOsM NaCl induced depolarization and a longer lasting epithelium-dependent relaxation, whereas extraluminally added 240 mOsM KCl induced a complex smooth muscle response (i.e., transient relaxation followed by contraction), which was accompanied by prolonged depolarization. Intraluminal hypo-osmolarity produced a transient hyperpolarization followed by depolarization along with contraction of the smooth muscle. Bioelectric responses always preceded smooth muscle responses. These results suggest that bioelectric events in the epithelium triggered by nonisosmotic solutions are associated with epithelium-dependent responses in tracheal smooth muscle. (+info)