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Depletion of secretory granules from the feline parotid gland: action of NANC transmitters per se.

A parotid acinar degranulation of approximately 60 and 40% was observed in cats under pentobarbitone anaesthesia after a 90-min period of continuous stimulation of the parasympathetic auriculo-temporal nerve at 10 Hz in the absence and presence of atropine, respectively. Atropine completely abolished the large fluid response of the gland to the nerve stimulation. In the non-atropinized cats, bethanechol, infused into the carotid artery at a dose rate evoking a salivary flow similar to that in response to parasympathetic nerve stimulation, caused an acinar degranulation of approximately 25% and acinar vacuolation. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP; 0.5 microgram kg-1 min-1 also infused into the carotid artery for 90 min) caused an acinar degranulation of the same magnitude as the parasympathomimetic drug but the peptide did not give rise to any fluid secretion or vacuole formation. The experiments were performed in the presence of alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blockers. Thus, in parotid glands of the cat, producing no overt secretion of fluid, non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) mechanisms may be at work causing exocytosis of the acinar granules. These mechanisms are also likely to contribute to the secretion of granules in response to parasympathetic nerve activity in the absence of blockade of the classical autonomic receptors.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗

Sulfonylurea-sensitive K(+) transport is involved in Cl(-) secretion and cyst trowth by cultured ADPKD cells.

Transepithelial chloride and fluid secretion by many types of epithelia involves activation of a conductive K(+) pathway that serves to support the electrochemical driving force for Cl(-) secretion. This study sought to determine if such a pathway is involved in Cl(-) and fluid secretion by the cystic epithelia in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Primary cultures of cells derived from the cysts of patients with ADPKD were used. Confluent monolayers of these cells, mounted in Ussing chambers, were stimulated to secrete Cl(-) by application of the adenylyl cyclase agonist, forskolin. The effects of various K(+) channel blockers on the increase in short-circuit current (I(sc)) generated by active Cl(-) secretion were determined. Charybdotoxin, an inhibitor of Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) channels exerted no effect. Similarly, the chromanole 293B, an inhibitor of cAMP-induced K(+) conductance, exerted no effect on cAMP-dependent anion secretion. Glibenclamide, an inhibitor of ATP-sensitive K(+) channels and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), modestly inhibited the forskolin-stimulated current when applied to the apical surface of the monolayers, suggesting a relatively weak effect on CFTR. Basolateral application of glibenclamide inhibited I(sc) to a greater extent. This latter effect may be due to inhibition of a K(+)-conductive transport step. Glibenclamide exerted little effect on the I(sc) of nonstimulated monolayers. Cyst growth in ADPKD is driven by cell proliferation and Cl(-) and fluid secretion. The effect of glibenclamide on the growth of cysts formed within a collagen gel by cultured ADPKD cells was tested. Addition of glibenclamide to the media bathing the cysts inhibited their growth. Glibenclamide also blocked the formation of cysts when it was added to the media at the time the cells were seeded within the collagen gel. Glibenclamide was also found to inhibit the proliferation of ADPKD cells. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the ATP-sensitive K(+) channel, K(ir) 6.2, is expressed in cultured ADPKD cells and in normal human kidney. These results suggest that ATP-sensitive K(+) channel blockers should be investigated as possible therapeutic agents to inhibit cyst growth in ADPKD.

Barium↗

An overview of autonomic regulation of parotid gland activity: influence of orchiectomy.

The parotid gland participates in the digestive process by providing fluid, electrolytes and enzymes that facilitate the onset of digestion. Neurotransmitters, hormones and biologically active peptides regulate its activity. The autonomic system is the main regulatory mechanism of the gland. Sympathetic stimulation induces amylase release through beta(1)-receptor activation and few fluid secretion by alpha(1)-receptor activation. The parasympathetic system controls basal activity of the gland acting on M(1) and M(3) muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and induces the secretion of fluid saliva rich in electrolytes through the modulation of ion channels and the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity. In addition, its activation induces amylase release. The mechanisms involved in amylase secretion by isoproterenol and carbachol, as well as the mechanism of the cholinergic regulation of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity and the changes observed after orchiectomy, are the scope of this review.

Amylases↗

Dibutyryl cAMP activates bumetanide-sensitive electrolyte transport in Malpighian tubules.

The effects of dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (DBcAMP) and bumetanide (both 10(-4) M) on transepithelial Na+, K+, Cl-, and fluid secretion and on tubule electrophysiology were studied in isolated Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Peritubular DBcAMP significantly increased Na+, Cl-, and fluid secretion but decreased K+ secretion. In DBcAMP-stimulated tubules, bumetanide caused Na+, Cl-, and fluid secretion to return to pre-cAMP control rates and K+ secretion to decrease further. Peritubular bumetanide significantly increased Na+ secretion and decreased K+ secretion so that Cl- and fluid secretion did not change. In bumetanide-treated tubules, the secretagogue effects of DBcAMP are blocked. In isolated Malpighian tubules perfused with symmetrical Ringer solution, DBcAMP significantly hyperpolarized the transepithelial voltage (VT) and depolarized the basolateral membrane voltage (Vbl) with no effect on apical membrane voltage (Va). Total transepithelial resistance (RT) and the fractional resistance of the basolateral membrane (fRbl) significantly decreased. Bumetanide also hyperpolarized VT and depolarized Vbl, however without significantly affecting RT and fRbl. Together these results suggest that, in addition to stimulating electroconductive transport, DBcAMP also activates a nonconductive bumetanide-sensitive transport system in Aedes Malpighian tubules.

Aedes↗

Amylase secretion in the rabbit parotid gland when stimulating the sympathetic nerves during parasympathetic activity.

1. In anaesthetized rabbits amylase secretion from the parotid gland was investigated. Secretion was evoked by sympathetic nerve stimulation, either alone or superimposed on a parasympathetic background secretion, imitating the resting secretion present in the waking animal.2. Sympathetic nerve stimulation at frequencies below 1 Hz was alone subthreshold for fluid secretion, but could greatly increase the amounts of amylase present in fluid secretion produced by parasympathetic nerve stimulation. The amylase output due to sympathetic nerve stimulation alone at 10 Hz did not exceed that seen in response to a stimulation at 1 Hz superimposed on parasympathetic activity.3. The amylase output in response to superimposed sympathetic stimulation was not influenced by the rate of fluid secretion, which was altered by stimulating the parasympathetic nerves at different frequencies.4. Sympathetically-evoked amylase secretion was abolished after beta(1)-block. The amylase secretion remaining on parasympathetic activation was sparse.5. It is concluded that secretion of amylase in response to sympathetic nerve stimulation requires the presence of a parasympathetic fluid secretion to be washed along the glandular ducts. Parasympathetic activity may also augment the sympathetic effect on amylase secretion.

Amylases↗

Salmonellosis: in retrospect and prospect.

Despite years of study and the accumulation of much potentially relevant information, neither the microbial determinants nor the pathophysiological mechanisms of salmonella-induced enteritis are known with precision. Earlier work is reviewed on the experimental pathology of salmonellosis, the pathophysiology of the disease and the biotyping of salmonella strains in closed rabbit ileal loops. The same strains have been confirmed by us to be (i) invasive and diarrhoeagenic, (ii) invasive and non-diarrhoeagenic, and (iii) non-invasive and non-diarrhoeagenic. At least two mechanisms have been put forward to explain fluid exsorption. One implicates prostaglandins released from polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) interacting with invading organisms, whereas the second involves salmonella enterotoxin(s). This subject is in a state of confusion and requires clarification. The toxin has been shown by some to bear partial likeness to either cholera toxin (although the evidence is in fact contradictory) or Shiga toxin. Since both 'cholera-like' and 'Shiga-like' toxins are produced by all three biotypes in vitro, production of toxin (of whatever class or subclass) cannot per se be the sole explanation for salmonella-induced fluid secretion. In our experiments the onset of fluid secretion in rabbit ileal loops was coincident with the appearance of large numbers of infiltrating PMNs. We have also shown that organisms from all three biotypes, grown for 6 h in iron-containing but not in iron-deficient media, yielded polymyxin B extracts which are enterotoxic in rabbit ileal loops; culture supernatants were negative. Structural damage occurred to villus tips but not crypts in infected loops, succeeded the onset of fluid secretion, and was not reproduced by polymyxin B enterotoxic extracts. Thus salmonella diarrhoea may be a complex phenomenon with multiple determinants which might include the release of endogenous secretagogues and bacterial enterotoxin(s), if such are shown to be synthesized and released in vivo at appropriate times and in appropriate sites. Structural damage to villus tips leading to shortened villi may also contribute to diarrhoea by altering absorption (tip function)/secretion (crypt function) ratios as well as to the expulsion of those organisms which have not migrated to deeper tissues.

Animals↗

HCO3- transport in relation to mucus secretion from submucosal glands.

The role of HCO(3)(-) transport in relation to fluid secretion by submucosal glands is being studied in sheep, pigs, cats and humans. Optical methods have been developed to measure secretion rates of mucus volume from single glands with sufficient temporal resolution to detect differences in minute-by-minute secretion rates among glands. The ionic composition and viscoelastic properties of the uncontaminated gland mucus are measured with a combination of ratiometric fluorescent indicators, ion-selective microelectrodes, FRAP, and a miniaturized, magnetic force viscometer. Sheep glands secreted basally at low rates, showed small, transient responses to alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists, and large responses to a cholinergic agonist, carbachol. Peak rates and temporal patterns of responses to carbachol differed markedly among glands. To assess the contribution of HCO(3)(-) transport to gland secretion, we either inhibited Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl(-) cotransporter (NKCC) with bumetanide or replaced HCO(3)(-) with HEPES and gassed with O(2). Bumetanide caused a small, non-significant inhibition of basal secretion, but removal of HCO(3)(-)/CO(2) significantly reduced basal secretion almost by half. Both bumetanide and removal of HCO(3)(-)/CO(2) reduced carbachol-stimulated secretion significantly, with HCO(3)(-) removal having the larger effect: a reduction to 33% of control (P<0.01). The remaining secretory response to carbachol was nearly eliminated by bumetanide. Sheep mucus pH measured with ion selective electrodes was about 0.4 log more acidic than the bath. In humans, we observed the same pattern of responses to agonists and antagonists as in sheep, and observed a mucus pH of 7.0 using 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF). We hypothesize that HCO(3)(-) transport is important in the formation of mucus secretion, but that most HCO(3)(-) is scavenged before the final mucus appears at the duct opening. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator's (CFTR) best understood function is as an anion channel, but increasing attention has been given to its role in HCO(3)(-) transport. By analogy with organ-specific CFTR effects on Cl(-) transport, it seems likely that the relative importance of CFTR in HCO(3)(-) transport will also vary across organs. Because lung disease is by far the greatest cause of mortality among people with cystic fibrosis, it is important to determine how loss of CFTR function causes lung disease. We are testing the hypothesis that loss of CFTR alters serous cell secretion in the lungs, and the corollary that such loss contributes to cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. CFTR is highly expressed in serous cells of submucosal glands and the Calu-3 serous cell model secretes HCO(3)(-). Human gland serous cells grown in culture and tested for fluid secretion under open circuit conditions showed reduced fluid secretion to all mediators. However, submucosal glands are complex organs containing at least 4 distinct regions and at least that many cell types, making it difficult to predict the consequences on whole-organ function from experiments with individual cell types. Therefore, we have resurrected long-neglected methods for studying whole-gland function, and have attempted to improve them in a variety of ways. We are refining these methods and increasing our understanding of gland function by studying tracheal glands from sheep, pigs and cats. As human tissues become available, they are studied with the best methods presently available. The key questions now being asked are: Is mucus secretion from submucosal glands altered in cystic fibrosis? If so, how is it altered and how does it contribute to CF lung disease? Answering the last question will require an understanding of how glands interact with other regions of the lung. In the context of this meeting, we present preliminary data on the role of HCO(3)(-) in gland mucus secretion.

Animals↗

Kidney function of the American eel Anguilla rostrata.

Urine formation in the eel, acclimated to freshwater (FW) and seawater (SW) was studied. SW eels maintained higher plasma and urine osmotic and ionic concentrations than FW eels. Polyethylene-1,2-glycol-14C (PEG-14C) clearance was 29% greater than methoxy-inulin-3H clearance. PEG-14C clearance was considered to be the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR of SW and FW eels did not differ. Urine flow rate in SW eels was one-third of that in FW eels. The primary urinary solutes in both groups were Na and Cl. Apparently, tubular fluid secretion occurred in FW and, to a lesser degree, in SW eels. With the assumption that water reabsorption was secondary to Na reabsorption in the kidney, the clearance data were used to evaluate all possible explanations for what appeared to be fluid secretion. The data were inconsistent with the possibility that GFR had been underestimated due to glomerular sieving of PEG or active or passive reabsorption of the marker, but consistent with tubular fluid secretion. Furosemide caused diuresis in both groups of eels apparently by inhibition of Na reabsorption in the distal tubule, but it had no effect on the apparent tubular fluid secretion. Tubular ion secretion could not be conclusively implicated as a driving force for fluid secretion. However, the possibility of K, Ca, or Mg secretion in a proximal segment followed by reabsorption in a more distal part of the nephron was not ruled out.

Acclimatization↗

Pathogenic properties of Campylobacter jejuni: assay and correlation with clinical manifestations.

The pathogenic properties of 20 strains of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from persons with clearly defined clinical manifestations were determined. Cell-free broth filtrates were examined for (i) enterotoxin production by Chinese hamster tissue culture assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing GM1 ganglioside and affinity-purified antiserum to Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin, (ii) cytotoxin production by Vero and HeLa cell tissue culture lines, and (iii) their ability to cause fluid secretion in rat ligated ileal loops. Viable bacteria were examined for invasive properties by an ELISA with the immunoglobulin fraction of antiserum to Formalin-killed bacteria of an invasive strain, and by their effect on fluid secretion and morphology in rat ligated ileal loops. None of the eight isolates obtained from asymptomatic carriers had any detectable pathogenic properties. All six strains isolated from persons with bloody invasive-type diarrhea elaborated a cytotoxin; their viable bacteria had high titers in the ELISA for invasive properties and caused fluid secretion in ligated ileal loops, although consistent morphologic abnormalities and evidence of mucosal invasion, examined by immunofluorescence techniques, were not detected. All six strains isolated from persons with watery secretory-type diarrhea produced an enterotoxin, one elaborated a cytotoxin, and broth filtrates of all strains caused fluid secretion in ligated ileal loops; viable bacteria had low titers in the ELISA for invasive properties and evoked fluid secretion in ligated loops by means of enterotoxin production. These observations show (i) that a correlation exists between the pathogenic properties of the infective C. jejuni strain and gastrointestinal manifestations in the infected host, and (ii) that these pathogenic properties can be identified by in vitro assays, including ELISAs.

Animals↗

Renal epithelial cyst formation and enlargement in vitro: dependence on cAMP.

Cysts, a common abnormality of kidneys, are collections of urine-like fluid enclosed by a continuous layer of epithelial cells. Renal cysts derive from nephrons and collecting ducts and progressively enlarge as a consequence of epithelial proliferation and transepithelial fluid secretion. The initiation of cyst formation and the factors that control cyst enlargement are unknown. We used an in vitro model of renal cysts to explore the role of the cAMP signal transduction system in the formation and expansion of cysts. MDCK cells, cultured in hydrated-collagen gel, produced polarized monolayered epithelial cysts when intracellular cAMP was increased by prostaglandin E1, arginine vasopressin, cholera toxin, forskolin, or 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. All agonists were potentiated by 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, a nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The cell proliferation component of cyst enlargement was accelerated by cAMP agonists, as shown by the increased growth of MDCK cells in subconfluent monolayers. The fluid secretion component, reflected by the transepithelial movement of fluid across polarized monolayers of MDCK cells grown on permeable supports, was stimulated by cAMP agonists in the basolateral medium. Chloride levels were higher in the cyst fluid and the secreted fluid than in the bathing medium. We conclude that the development of MDCK cysts is dependent on cAMP. This signal transduction system may be an important modulator of epithelial cell proliferation and transepithelial fluid secretion in the kidney.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Effect of enterotoxin on glutathione status in the intestinal mucosa.

The effect of luminal exposure of enterotoxins on the intestinal mucosal glutathione (GSH) was studied in rat. Cholera toxin induced fluid secretion and decreased mucosal GSH by 35% without altering oxidized glutathione (GSSG) level. Toxin induced fluid secretion was tested after mucosal GSH depletion by compounds such as diethyl maleate (DEM) and buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) and thiol supplementation with N-Acetyl cysteine (NAC). Fluid secretion was not altered by prior thiol depletion or supplementation. Exposure of intestinal lumen to bacterial endotoxin resulted in 25% decrease in mucosal GSH with two fold increase in GSSG. Luminal exposure of Shiga toxin did not alter the mucosal thiol. The level of other low molecular weight thiols, cysteine and cystine was not altered by luminal exposure of any of these toxins. These results show that although cholera toxin decreased the mucosal GSH level, prior modulation of thiol status of the mucosa may not have any effect on toxin-induced fluid secretion.

Animals↗

L-Arginine, nitric oxide, and intestinal secretion: studies in rat jejunum in vivo.

BACKGROUND: L-Arginine has been shown to induce fluid secretion in human jejunum. Nitric oxide, a derivative of L-arginine is thought to have an important role as an intestinal secretagogue. AIM: To determine the effect of L-arginine and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), on fluid and electrolyte movement in rat jejunum. METHODS: A 25 cm segment of rat jejunum was perfused in situ with iso-osmotic solutions containing either (1) saline, (2) D-arginine 20, (3) L-arginine 20, (4) L-NAME 0.1, 1, or 20 mmol/l, or (5) a combination of L-arginine 20 and L-NAME 0.1, 1, or 20 mmol/l. In further groups the effect of a subcutaneous injection of L-NAME 100 mg/kg was examined in rats pretreated with either D-or L-arginine 500 mg/kg. RESULTS: L-Arginine, unlike D-arginine, induced fluid secretion despite being better absorbed (mean -7.3 v 17.0 microliters/min/g; p < 0.01). L-NAME at 0.1 mmol/l had no effect on basal fluid movement but reversed L-arginine induced secretion (7.8; p < 0.05). L-NAME at 1 and 20 mmol/l induced fluid secretion (-15.4 and -28.4, respectively), which was enhanced by the addition of L-arginine (-30.0 and -41.0, respectively; both p < 0.05). A subcutaneous injection of L-NAME resulted in marked fluid secretion (-39.9) and histological evidence of intestinal ischaemia. These changes were attenuated or reversed by pretreatment with subcutaneous L- but not D-arginine. CONCLUSIONS: L-arginine induces intestinal fluid secretion through production of nitric oxide. There is a delicate balance between the effect of nitric oxide as a secretagogue and its effect on maintaining blood flow and thus preventing intestinal ischaemia.

Animals↗

Effects of ethacrynic acid on electrolyte and fluid transport by the guinea pig gallbladder.

The effect of ethacrynic acid on fluid and electrolyte transport by the guinea pig gallbladder was investigated in vitro. 10-4M ethacrynic acid, applied to the serosal side, inhibited fluid and sodium chloride absorption. The reduction in salt absorption was accounted for by a 3 muEq/cm2h decrease in the unidirectional fluxes of Na and Cl from mucosa to serosa with no change in the fluxes from serosa to mucosa. Ethacrynic acid (10-4 M) had no effect on HCO3 - Cl exchange, PGE1-induced fluid secretion and inulin permeability. At 10-3 M, ethacrynic acid markedly increased both the serosa to mucosa fluxes of Na and Cl, and the inulin permeability. Examination by light and electron microscopy of gallbladder tissue treated with 10-3 M ethacrynic acid revealed large intracellular vacuoles and occasionally ruptured apical cell membranes. Only slight morphological changes were seen by 10-4 M ethacrynic acid with no changes in the controls and ouabain treated gallbladders. The effects of ethacrynic acid are remarkably different from those of furosemide which has been previously shown to inhibit only the HCO3 secretion leaving fluid and NaCl absorption unchanged.

Absorption↗

Parasympathetic nerve-evoked protein synthesis, mitotic activity and salivary secretion in the rat parotid gland and the dependence on NO-generation.

Incorporation of radiolabelled leucine and thymidine into trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material of the parotid gland was used as indices of protein synthesis and mitotic activity, respectively, following electrical stimulation of the parasympathetic auriculo-temporal nerve for 30 min in pentobarbitone-anaesthetized rats under adrenoceptor blockade (phentolamine and propranolol, 2mg/kg intravenous of each) in the absence or presence of atropine (2mg/kg intravenous) and without or with nitric oxide synthase inhibitors. In atropinized rats, the parasympathetic non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) nerve-evoked mean increases in protein synthesis at a frequency of 10 Hz (142%) and 40 Hz (200%) were not affected in a statistically significant way (124 and 275%, respectively) by the neuronal type NO-synthase inhibitor N(w)propyl-l-arginine (N-PLA) (30 mg/kg intravenous). Neither were the increase (175%) in protein synthesis at 10 Hz in non-atropinized animals affected by N-PLA (180%). The increase (65%) in mitotic activity, 19 h after the end of stimulation at 40 Hz, in the presence of atropine, was not affected by N-PLA (55%). Neither were the increase (95%) in gland content of amylase at this point of observation statistically significant affected by N-PLA (144%). The secretion of fluid and output of amylase from the parotid gland upon nerve stimulation was not affected by N-PLA. When examining the non-selective NO-synthase inhibitor l-NAME (30 mg/kg intravenous) in atropinized rats subjected to stimulation at 10 Hz, neither the increase in protein synthesis nor the evoked fluid response or amylase outputs were affected. Hence, in contrast to an NO-dependent sympathetic-induced protein synthesis and mitosis in the parotid gland, involving the activity of the neuronal type NO-synthase, no support for a parasympathetic-induced protein synthesis (and gain in gland amylase) and mitosis, depending on NO-generation, was found. Likewise, the present findings provide no evidence for a role of NO in the parasym pathetic nerve-evoked fluid secretion and amylase output.

Amylases↗

Vitamin C controls the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel.

Vitamin C (l-ascorbate) is present in the respiratory lining fluid of human lungs, and local deficits occur during oxidative stress. Here we report a unique function of vitamin C on the cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a cAMP-dependent Cl channel that regulates epithelial surface fluid secretion. Vitamin C (100 microM) induced the openings of CFTR Cl channels by increasing its average open probability from 0 to 0.21 +/- 0.08, without a detectable increase in intracellular cAMP levels. Exposure of the apical airway surface to vitamin C stimulated the transepithelial Cl secretion to 68% of forskolin-stimulated currents. The average half-maximal stimulatory constant was 36.5 +/- 2.9 microM, which corresponds to physiological concentrations. When vitamin C was instilled into the nasal epithelium of human subjects, it effectively activated Cl transport in vivo. In CF epithelia, previous treatment of the underlying trafficking defect with trimethylamine oxide or expression of WT CFTR restored the activation of Cl transport by vitamin C. Sodium dependency and phloretin sensitivity, as well as the expression of transcripts for sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter (SVCT)-1 and SVCT2, support a model in which an apical vitamin C transporter is central for relaying the effect of vitamin C to CFTR. We conclude that cellular vitamin C is a biological regulator of CFTR-mediated Cl secretion in epithelia. The pool of vitamin C in the respiratory tract represents a potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical target for the complementary treatment of sticky airway secretions by enhancing epithelial fluid secretion.

Animals↗

Nitric oxide in the control of submandibular gland function in the anaesthetized ferret.

Stimulation of parasympathetic innervation of the submandibular gland (2 or 20 Hz continuously or 20 Hz for 1 s at 10 s intervals), in the ferret, produced secretion of fluid and protein and a fall in vascular resistance. The responses following the administration of N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 2 mmol kg-1 i.a.) to block the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) were reduced, and the persisting responses were abolished (at 2 Hz continuously and 20 Hz intermittently) or further reduced (at 20 Hz continuously) by the additional administration of atropine. The output of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) from the gland was not affected. Neither the secretory nor the vascular response to intra-arterial infusions of acetylcholine (1.25 nmol kg-1) was affected by L-NAME, whereas the vascular responses to both VIP (10 pmol kg-1) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (1-38) (PACAP) (0.5 pmol kg-1) were reduced thereby. Neither peptide evoked a fluid secretion per se. However, when infused during parasympathetic stimulation of saliva secretion, VIP increased both flow rate and the output of protein. These effects of VIP were abolished by L-NAME. The experiments were performed in the presence of sodium nitroprusside at doses (4-8 nmol min-1 kg-1 i.v.) aimed to counterbalance the systemic effects of L-NAME. The results show that, in the ferret, parasympathetic nerve activity increases submandibular blood flow, and elicits the flow of saliva and output of protein by mechanisms that involve in situ generation of NO, upon which the effects of VIP and PACAP but not acetylcholine are largely dependent.

Animals↗

The action of the C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin and related peptides on pancreatic exocrine secretion.

The effect of the C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin-pancreozymin (CCK-PZ), caerulein, and the C-terminal tetrapeptide of gastrin on pancreatic secretion of fluid, electrolyte, amylase, and protein was studied in anaesthetized dogs prepared with pancreatic fistulae. Against background stimulation of fluid secretion with submaximal doses of secretin, all the polypeptides produced a qualitatively similar pancreatic response, causing a highly significant increase in amylase, protein, calcium, and zinc concentrations. Magnesium concentration was significantly increased only when the concentration preceding the administration of the peptide was below 100 mu-equiv/l. Octa-CCK-PZ was 13-35 times and 20-56 times more potent than tetragastrin on weight and molar bases, respectively, as a stimulant of amylase secretion. The threshold doses were largest for amylase, lower for calcium, and lowest for zinc. A significant linear correlation was observed between amylase and calcium concentration, zinc and protein concentration, and magnesium and calcium concentration. The peptides produced some increase in secretin-induced volume flow, whereas bicarbonate, chloride, sodium, and potassium concentrations remained unchanged. The direct relation between bicarbonate concentration and flow rate was limited to rates below 1.5 ml/5 minutes. At higher rates bicarbonate and chloride concentration reached a high and low plateau, respectively, although the first five-min sample of pancreatic juice after secretin stimulation exhibited a relatively low bicarbonate and high chloride concentration compared with its voluminous flow. Chloride concentration varied inversely with bicarbonate concentration, the sum of the two anions being constant.

Amylases↗

Extravascular protein in the renal medulla: analysis by two methods.

Two methods have been used to test for the presence of extravascular protein in the interstitium of the renal inner medulla. First, ascending vasa recta (AVR) segments were perfused with buffer containing 5 g/dl of albumin. The hydraulic pressure in the perfused vessel was varied to control transmembrane volume flux (Jv) to the interstitium. Interpolation to the point of zero Jv was employed to estimate interstitial Starling forces in the hydropenic rat papilla. Analysis of those experiments predicts that interstitial protein concentration (Ci) is high. When AVR segments are filled with oil, the oil column spontaneously breaks up as fluid is secreted into the lumen from the papillary interstitium. To obtain a lower limit on Ci, isolated AVR segments (IAS) filled with oil were sampled to measure protein concentration in the secreted fluid. In hydropenic rats, protein concentration was 3.4 +/- 0.5 and 5.2 +/- 0.2 g/dl in IAS and adjacent free-flowing AVR, respectively (P < 0.01). In rats subjected to furosemide and saline diuresis, the values were nearly identical, 4.7 +/- 0.2 and 5.2 +/- 0.2 g/dl, respectively. These separate experimental approaches corroborate a high concentration of protein in the renal inner medullary interstitium.

Animals↗