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GASTROINTESTINAL, HEPATIC, PULMONARY, AND RENAL

NK2 Receptor-Mediated Spontaneous Phasic Contractions in Normal and Ulcerative Colitis Human Sigmoid Colon

Departments of Medicine (W.C., K.M.H.) and Surgery (V.E.P.), Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island

Human colonic circular muscle produces spontaneous phasic contractions that are reduced in ulcerative colitis. How the spontaneous phasic contractions develop and why they decrease in ulcerative colitis are not known. We found that spontaneous phasic contractions of normal sigmoid circular muscle strips were significantly reduced by 90-min incubation with tetrodotoxin (10^–5 M), which blocked neurokinin A release in basal conditions and in response to electrical stimulation. In addition, spontaneous contraction of human sigmoid colon was significantly decreased by the NK2 receptor antagonists MEN10376 (Asp-Tyr-D-Trp-Val-D-Trp-D-Trp-Lys-NH2) and NK2ra (Bz-Ala-Ala-D-Trp-Phe-D-Pro-Pro-Nle-NH2) but not by atropine or by the NK1 antagonist FK888 (N²-[(4R)-4-hydroxyl-1-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)carbonyl-L-prolyl]-N-methyl-N-phenylmethyl-3-(2-naphthyl)-L-alaninamide), suggesting that NK2 receptors are involved in their development. The spontaneous phasic contractions were abolished by thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid and significantly decreased by the protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine and by the calmodulin inhibitor CGS9343B (1,3-dihydro-1-[1-[(4-methyl-4H,6H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]-[4,1]-benzoxazepin-4-yl)methyl]-4-piperidinyl]-2H-benzimidazol-2-one (1:1) maleate), suggesting that spontaneous phasic contractions may be mediated by Ca²⁺ release from intracellular stores and by a protein kinase C- and calmodulin-dependent pathway. In strips from patients with ulcerative colitis, spontaneous contractions were significantly reduced, and this reduction was partially restored by the hydrogen peroxide scavenger catalase. Neurokinin A release, however, was not affected. We conclude that spontaneous phasic contractions of human sigmoid circular smooth muscle may be mediated by activation of NK2 receptors, calcium release from intracellular stores, and activation of calmodulin and protein kinase C. In ulcerative colitis patients, spontaneous phasic contractions are decreased, and this decrease may be in part due to overproduction of hydrogen peroxide affecting sigmoid circular muscle.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Weibiao Cao, Department of Medicine, Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital, 55 Claverick Street, Room 337, Providence, RI 02903. E-mail: weibiao_cao{at}brown.edu

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