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Biomedical subjects

F Sundler

Publications and source records attributed to F Sundler.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources

Hypergastrinaemia produces trophic effects in stomach but not in pancreas and intestines.

Hypo- or anacidity, caused by antisecretagogues, stimulates gastrin release and leads to hypergastrinaemia. If drug treatment is maintained over a period of time, the hypergastrinaemia can be expected to give rise to trophic effects. We examined the trophic consequences of the very marked hypergastrinaemia produced by long-term treatment (16-20 weeks) of rats with large doses of the substituted benzimidazole, omeprazole, a potent and long-acting blocker of acid secretion. The weight of the stomach and the oxyntic mucosal thickness were increased, whereas the weight of the pancreas and the intestines and the thickness of the mucosa of the antrum and small and large intestine were unaffected. The number of exocrine cells (parietal, zymogen and mucous cells) were uniformly increased by 25-30%. The density of parietal and zymogen cells, expressed as number of cell nuclei per mm2 epithelium, was unchanged. The volume density of parietal cells, expressed as % of epithelial volume, was also unchanged, implying that the volume of the individual parietal cell had not increased. The density of endocrine ECL cells in the stomach increased 5-fold. Thus, the findings demonstrate a growth-promoting effect of the hypergastrinaemia on the oxyntic mucosa, the ECL cells in particular, and the lack of such an effect on the antrum, pancreas and intestines.

Animals↗

Co-existence of glicentin and peptide YY in colorectal L-cells in cat and man. An electron microscopic study.

Electron microscopic immunocytochemistry using protein A-gold labelling of ultrathin sections revealed immunoreactive glicentin (gut-type glucagon) and peptide YY (PYY) in virtually all secretory granules in a population of L-type endocrine cells in feline colon and human rectum. The granules of the human glicentin/PYY cells were considerably smaller in size than those in the cat. In both species the results indicate co-existence of glicentin and PYY in the same secretory granules, despite the probable derivation of the two peptides from two different precursors.

Animals↗

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP): perivascular distribution and vasodilatory effects.

The distribution of perivascular nerve fibers displaying calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity and the effect of CGRP on vascular smooth muscle were studied in the guinea-pig. Perivascular CGRP fibers were seen in all vascular beds. Generally, they were more numerous around arteries than veins. Small arteries in the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract had numerous CGRP fibers. The gastroepiploic artery in particular received a rich supply of such fibers. Coronary blood vessels had a moderate supply of CGRP fibers. In the heart, a moderate number of CGRP fibers was seen running close to myocardial fibers. The atria had a richer supply than the ventricles. Numerous CGRP immunoreactive nerve cell bodies and nerve fibers were seen in sensory (trigeminal, jugular and spinal dorsal root) ganglia. Sequential or double immunostaining with antibodies against substance P and CGRP suggested co-existence of the two peptides in nerve cell bodies in the ganglia and in perivascular fibers. In agreement with previous findings CGRP turned out to be a strong vasodilator in vitro as tested on several blood vessels (e.g. basilar, gastroepiploic and mesenteric arteries). Conceivably, perivascular CGRP/SP fibers have a dual role as regulator of local blood flow and as carrier of sensory information.

Animals↗

Histochemical demonstration of a concomitant reduction in neural vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, acetylcholinesterase, and noradrenaline of cat uterus during pregnancy.

Noradrenaline, acetylcholinesterase, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) were visualized in uterine nerves of cats by histochemical techniques. Alterations were followed in different regions of the organs at various stages of pregnancy and compared with the situation in non-pregnant controls. Positively stained nerve fibres, the adrenergic type being particularly well developed, were found along the muscle bundles and around blood vessels in the smooth muscle layers, as well as in the mucosa, of both uterine horns and cervix. The nerve supply was especially prominent in the upper part of the cervix. The distribution of VIP-immunoreactive and acetylcholinesterase-positive nerve fibres resembled each other, but they were less numerous than the adrenergic fibres. In the course of pregnancy there was a marked reduction in the number of all positively reacting nerves, so that almost no fibres were visible in the uterine horns near term. A small number of positive nerve fibres was found to remain, however, in the wall of the sterile (empty) horn during unilateral pregnancy. The reduction was less prominent in the cervix, particularly its lower part. Distinct changes were encountered already during early and mid pregnancy in those parts of the uterine wall distended by the growing conceptus, where almost no fibres were seen. The nerve supply was more intact in the non-distended portions located between the fetuses, and especially in the empty horn of unilateral pregnancy. No overt reduction in the number of positively stained nerve fibres was found in the cervix at these pregnancy stages. The results show that marked alterations take place in the uterine autonomic innervation during such an entirely physiological event as pregnancy. There is reason to assume that the histochemical observations reflect both structural and functional alterations in the innervation related both to the type of nerves involved and to the localization of the conceptus.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Peptidergic innervation in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

The gastrointestinal tract harbors several populations of peptide containing nerve fibers. Among the gut neuropeptides are vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), substance P, enkephalin, and gastrin releasing peptide (GRP). We have examined specimens from five patients with pyloric stenosis and from five controls immunocytochemically with respect to the density of nerve fibers containing VIP, substance P, enkephalin, or GRP. In the control specimens VIP and enkephalin fibers were fairly numerous, whereas substance P and GRP fibers were few. In the pyloric stenosis patients the density of VIP fibers and enkephalin fibers was reduced in the smooth muscle. In the myenteric ganglia there was no such reduction. Substance P and GRP fibers were rare as in controls. The results indicate a reduction of VIP and enkephalin fibers in smooth muscle in pyloric stenosis patients and may be interpreted to support the view that an impaired neuronal function is involved in the pathophysiology of pyloric stenosis.

Enkephalins↗

Calcitonin gene related peptide: a sensory transmitter in dental pulps?

Nerve fibers displaying calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity occurred in dental pulps of several mammals, including man. The CGRP fibers were more numerous in the apical parts than in the coronal parts and were distributed around small blood vessels as well as in the pulpal stroma without any obvious relation to blood vessels. The trigeminal, spinal and jugular-nodose ganglia harbored a moderate supply of CGRP immunoreactive perikarya and nerve fibers. Immunocytochemic double staining revealed the coexistence of CGRP and SP in a population of perikarya in the sensory ganglia and suggested coexistence of the two peptides in perivascular nerve fibers in the cat dental pulp. The cervical sympathetic ganglia did not contain CGRP-immunoreactive perikarya. Cervical sympathectomy (studied in the guinea-pig and rat) did not affect the frequency or distribution of pulpal CGRP fibers. The distribution of CGRP fibers within the dental pulp and the presence of CGRP perikarya in sensory ganglia known to supply the dental pulps indicate that the pulpal CGRP fibers are sensory in nature and that CGRP together with SP may participate in the regulation of local blood flow and the response to local inflammation.

Animals↗

Galanin: a novel pancreatic neuropeptide.

Immunofluorescent staining for galanin in canine pancreatic tissue was performed together with an evaluation of the effects of synthetic galanin on pancreatic output of glucagon, somatostatin, and insulin in pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs. A dense network of galaninlike immunoreactive nerve fibers was visualized in association with the islets of Langerhans and occasional galanin immunoreactive fibers were seen to course through the exocrine parenchyma of dog pancreas. During intravenous infusion of synthetic porcine galanin (25 pmol X kg-1 X min-1) pancreatic glucagon output rapidly doubled, and the output of both somatostatin and insulin decreased by 70%. Because arterial and pancreatic venous catecholamine levels remained unchanged, the effects on hormone secretion were not secondary to activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The direct pancreatic action of galanin was confirmed by infusing a peripherally ineffective dose of galanin (0.25 pmol X kg-1 X min-1) into the pancreatic artery, which also stimulated glucagon (+90%) and suppressed somatostatin (-50%) and insulin (-70%) release. The presence of galaninlike immunoreactive neurons in dog islets, together with the direct action of galanin on pancreatic hormone release, suggest that this recently discovered peptide could serve as an important neuromodulator of endocrine pancreatic function.

Animals↗

Activation and hyperplasia of gastrin and enterochromaffin-like cells in the stomach.

The stomach is rich in endocrine cells, most of which are still unidentified with respect to the peptide hormones they produce. The endocrine cell populations in the antrum usually differ from those in the oxyntic mucosa. Gastrin cells are found in the antrum and respond readily to stimuli from the gastric lumen, such as changes in the pH and the presence of food. In order to study the functional control of the antral gastrin cell, rats were subjected to different kinds of surgery. The serum gastrin concentrations in the various experimental groups were measured 8-10 weeks after the operations. Elevated antral pH raised the serum gastrin concentration. The combination of elevated antral pH and the passage of food over the pyloric glands produced gastrin cell hyperplasia. The operation that was most effective in inducing gastrin cell hyperplasia was removal of the acid-producing part of the stomach. Interestingly, gastrin cell hyperplasia was seen also after bilateral truncal vagotomy, indicating that an intact vagal innervation is not essential for the development of gastrin cell hyperplasia. Enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells are endocrine/paracrine cells that are numerous in the acid-producing part of the stomach in many species. In the rat, they occur predominantly in the basal half of the oxyntic mucosa and produce and store histamine. The ECL cells have an unknown function and do not seem to respond to stimuli from the gastric lumen. They are activated by circulating gastrin and by vagal excitation. Gastrin mobilises histamine from these cells and activates the histamine-forming enzyme, histidine decarboxylase. Long-term hypergastrinaemia produces diffuse ECL cell hyperplasia, whereas hypogastrinaemia (following removal of the endogenous stores of gastrin by antrectomy) reduces the ECL cell number. Portacaval shunt brings about a marked increase in the number of ECL cells through an unknown mechanism. Also neuronal stimuli are important for the trophic control of the ECL cells. Studies of unilaterally vagotomised rats showed reduced weight and thickness of the oxyntic mucosa as well as a markedly reduced number of ECL cells on the denervated side. Gastric carcinoids in man are rare tumours predominantly made up of ECL cells. The incidence of such tumours is increased in patients with hypergastrinaemia (pernicious anaemia, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome). A diffuse ECL cell hyperplasia is a common finding in such patients, which is in keeping with the known gastrin sensitivity of the normal ECL cell in the rat.

Animals↗

Hypergastrinemia after blockade of acid secretion in the rat: trophic effects.

The availability of potent and long-acting blockers of acid secretion, such as omeprazole, has paved the way for experimental studies on the long-term effects of permanently raised levels of circulating gastrin without the complication of surgical intervention. We have examined rats given high doses of the antisecretagogues omeprazole and ranitidine during 10 or 20 weeks for general trophic effects on the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas and for the effects on endocrine cells such as the somatostatin cells and the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, which are present in the oxyntic mucosa. The ECL cells, which in the rat produce and store histamine (in addition to an as yet unidentified peptide hormone), are known to be activated by gastrin. In rats given high doses of omeprazole, the serum gastrin levels rose about 10-fold. General trophic effects were restricted to the stomach; the weight was increased, as was the thickness of the oxyntic mucosa. Omeprazole treatment resulted in a 3- to 5-fold increase in the ECL cell density. A close correlation was found between plasma gastrin levels and the ECL cell density as well as the levels of histidine decarboxylase and histamine in the oxyntic mucosa. The somatostatin cell density was unaffected by the hypergastrinemia. During a 10-week recovery period after discontinuation of the omeprazole treatment, the ECL cell density diminished, but was still significantly higher than in age-matched control rats. Plasma gastrin levels and gastric histidine decarboxylase activity rapidly returned to control values. The results suggest that the observed general trophic effects on the oxyntic mucosa and on the ECL cells are related to the plasma gastrin levels and not to an action of the antisecretagogues per se.

Animals↗

Peptide histidine isoleucine amide stimulates thyroid hormone secretion and coexists with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in intrathyroid nerve fibers from laryngeal ganglia.

Peptide histidine isoleucine amide (PHI) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) are fragments of the same precursor molecule, prepro-VIP, and coexistence of the two peptides is, therefore, to be expected. Nerve fibers displaying PHI and VIP immunoreactivity occurred around blood vessels and follicles in the thyroid gland of several species. Sequential staining with antibodies against PHI and VIP revealed coexistence of the two peptides in the same population of nerve cell bodies in ganglia situated along the laryngeal nerves and in intrathyroid nerve fibers. Chemical sympathectomy (6-hydroxydopamine treatment), surgical sympathectomy (removal of the superior cervical ganglia), and unilateral cervical vagotomy (removal of the nodose ganglion) failed to affect the number and distribution of PHI/VIP fibers in the thyroid gland. Taken together, the findings suggest that both the perivascular and interfollicular PHI/VIP fibers originate in laryngeal ganglia. PHI weakly stimulated basal thyroid hormone secretion in mice in vivo, but did not influence the response to TSH or VIP. PHI had no effect on calcitonin secretion in rats. Like VIP, PHI may play a physiological role in the regulation of thyroid hormone secretion.

Animals↗

Calcitonin gene-related peptide: occurrence in pancreatic islets in the mouse and the rat and inhibition of insulin secretion in the mouse.

The intrapancreatic cellular distribution and effects on basal and stimulated insulin secretion of the 37-amino-acid polypeptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), were investigated in the mouse. The cellular localization of CGRP was also studied in the rat pancreas. In both species, CGRP was demonstrated in pancreatic islet cells and nerve fibers. Immunocytochemical double staining experiments revealed the CGRP-immunoreactive cells in the mouse to be identical with a majority population of the insulin cells. In the rat, on the other hand, CGRP-immunoreactive cells were identical with somatostatin cells. CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers were observed, in both species, running in the exocrine parenchyma, particularly around blood vessels, and they were occasionally seen also within the islets. In in vivo experiments, CGRP was found to inhibit both basal and stimulated insulin secretion in the mouse. Thus, 6 min after the iv injection of CGRP (0.85 nmol/kg), plasma insulin levels were 13 +/- 2 (SE) microU/ml compared to 30 +/- 4 microU/ml in controls (P less than 0.01). At this dose level, CGRP inhibited the insulin secretory response to carbachol, leaving that to glucose unaffected. However, at a higher dose level (4.25 nmol/kg), CGRP inhibited glucose-induced insulin secretion as well. We conclude that CGRP occurs in islet cells and in intrapancreatic nerve fibers of both the mouse and the rat, and inhibits both basal and stimulated insulin secretion in vivo in the mouse.

Animals↗

Calcitonin gene-related peptide in thyroid nerve fibers and C cells: effects on thyroid hormone secretion and response to hypercalcemia.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the thyroid has a dual localization to nerve fibers around blood vessels and follicles and to parafollicular (C) cells. CGRP was found to coexist with substance P (SP) in most of the nerve fibers; a few CGRP fibers seemed to lack SP, and a few SP fibers seemed to be devoid of CGRP. In the C cells, CGRP coexisted with calcitonin (CT). Cervical vagotomy (extirpation of the nodose ganglion) eliminated approximately 50% of the CGRP/SP fibers in the thyroid without any overt influence on CGRP/CT in the C cells. Removal of the superior cervical ganglion or chemical sympathectomy (6-hydroxydopamine treatment) affected neither thyroid CGRP/SP nerve fibers nor CGRP/CT-storing C cells. CGRP nerve cell bodies were numerous in the jugular-nodose ganglionic complex (notably in the jugular portion); in many of them, CGRP coexisted with SP. A few scattered CGRP nerve cell bodies also occurred in the laryngeal ganglion, whereas none was found in the thyroid ganglion. Hypercalcemia evoked by vitamin D2 treatment, which is known to degranulate thyroid C cells, reduced the thyroid content of both CGRP and CT. As tested in mice in vivo, CGRP and SP alone or together had no effect on basal or TSH- or isoprenaline-induced thyroid hormone secretion. Vasoactive intestinal peptide-stimulated iodothyronine release, on the other hand, was enhanced by CGRP, but not by SP. SP had no effect on combined vasoactive intestinal peptide-CGRP-stimulated iodothyronine release. These findings suggest that CGRP participates in the control of thyroid hormone secretion and that, like CT, CGRP in the C cells is under control of the serum calcium level.

Animals↗

Distribution of ornithine decarboxylase in ovaries of rat and hamster during pro-oestrus.

The biosynthesis of polyamines is dramatically increased in the ovaries of rat and hamster during the evening of pro-oestrus. In an attempt to shed some light on the physiological function of this biosynthesis ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the polyamines, was immunohistochemically localized in the ovaries from rat and hamster during pro-oestrus. At dioestrus, only a few immunoreactive cells were found in the ovaries. During the evening of pro-oestrus, on the other hand, numerous immunoreactive cells were observed in the ovaries. These cells were confined to the internal thecal layer of Graafian as well as smaller follicles and to the interstitial tissue of the ovary. The granulosa cells appeared to be devoid of immunoreactive ODC. The hamster ovary, which during this time exhibited considerably higher levels of ODC activity than the ovaries from the rat, did accordingly contain more immunoreactive cells than the rat ovary.

Animals↗

Gastrin and the trophic control of gastric mucosa.

Gastrin is a trophic stimulant of the acid producing gastric mucosa. Experiments have been carried out in rats, in which chronic states of either low or high serum gastrin levels were induced by surgical manipulation or drug treatment. A relationship between circulating gastrin and a trophic effect could be demonstrated in the oxyntic mucosa, but not in the pancreas and small intestine. Endocrine cells in the oxyntic mucosa (the ECL cells and A-like cells) are among the target cells for the trophic action of gastrin. The functional significance of these two cell populations is unknown. There is much experimental evidence indicating that they are under functional as well as tropic control of gastrin. The vagus nerve also exerts trophic control on the oxyntic mucosa, including the endocrine cells within it. This could be demonstrated by one-sided truncal vagotomy which caused atrophy of the mucosa and hypoplasia of endocrine cells (notably the ECL cells) on the denervated side of the stomach. Conversely, portacaval shunt greatly increased the number of ECL cells. There was no hypergastrinaemia after portacaval shunt, and no trophic effect on other cell types in the oxyntic mucosa. The factors responsible for the ECL cell proliferation after portacaval shunting remain unknown. Tumours may arise spontaneously from the ECL cells. Such neoplasias have been described in Mastomys (Praomys natalensis) and in man. ECL cell hyperplasia and neoplasia in man, but not in Mastomys, are usually associated with hypergastrinaemia either as a result of a gastrin producing tumour or as a result of achylia (sometimes associated with pernicious anaemia). It is unlikely that gastrin alone is responsible for the neoplasia, though it is quite likely that long-standing hypergastrinaemia triggers or facilitates a sequence of events that ultimately leads to tumour formation, via diffuse ECL cell hyperplasia.

Animals↗

Inhibition of gastric acid secretion by omeprazole and ranitidine. Effects on plasma gastrin and gastric histamine, histidine decarboxylase activity and ECL cell density in normal and antrectomized rats.

Female rats were subjected to various treatments for 10 weeks to study effects on plasma gastrin levels. Intact rats were treated orally with omeprazole, 10 or 400 mumol/kg, ranitidine, 175 + 175 + 350 mumol/kg, or vehicle; antrectomized rats were treated with omeprazole, 400 mumol/kg, or vehicle. In addition to plasma gastrin levels, histidine decarboxylase (HDC) activity, histamine levels and ECL cell density in the oxyntic mucosa were determined. Gastrin levels were increased in unoperated rats treated with the high omeprazole dose and with ranitidine, whereas they were lowered in antrectomized controls. A small increase in plasma gastrin was seen in the low-dose omeprazole group. In antrectomized rats treated with omeprazole, the plasma gastrin level was the same as in intact control rats. The ECL cell density, the activity of HDC and the concentration of histamine in the oxyntic mucosa were found to reflect the plasma gastrin concentration. The results suggest that the changes in ECL cell density are secondary to the changes in plasma gastrin, induced by inhibition of acid secretion or antrectomy. It is concluded that neither omeprazole nor ranitidine per se is likely to induce proliferation of ECL cells.

Animals↗

Innervation of the upper airways.

The respiratory tract has a rich supply of autonomic nerves. Among the neurotransmitter candidates are noradrenaline, neuropeptide Y, substance P, calcitonin-gene-related peptide, gastrin-releasing peptide, acetylcholine, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, and peptide histidine isoleucine. The fibers are distributed around blood vessels and seromucous glands, and beneath and/or within surface epithelium. The distribution suggests that the fibers may influence blood flow, glandular secretion, and epithelial functions.

Acetylcholine↗