Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa College of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
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ABSTRACT |
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Stimulation of esophageal nerves produces biphasic relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and an off response of circular esophageal muscle. Previously, we proposed that cGMP mediates nerve-induced hyperpolarization of circular LES muscle but not LES relaxation. These experiments explore whether cGMP mediates LES relaxation or the off response. Strips of muscle from the opossum esophagus and LES were connected to force-displacement transducers, placed in tissue baths containing oxygenated Krebs solution at 37°C, and stimulated by an electrical field. 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a selective inhibitor of guanylyl cyclase, antagonized the off response, shortened its latency, and blocked the first phase of LES relaxation. ODQ also antagonized LES relaxation by exogenous nitric oxide (NO) but not relaxations by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). Part of the nerve-induced LES relaxation and the off response appear to be mediated by the second messenger cGMP. These studies indicate that VIP-induced LES relaxation is not mediated by cGMP and therefore do not support the hypothesis that VIP produces LES relaxation by causing the generation of NO.
nitric oxide; gastrointestinal motility; smooth muscle; enteric nervous system; vasoactive intestinal polypeptide; guanylyl cyclase
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INTRODUCTION |
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SMOOTH MUSCLE FROM THE BODY of the esophagus and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) produce distinctive mechanical and electrophysiological responses to activation of their intrinsic myenteric innervation. Circular muscle of the LES generates tone at rest and relaxes on intrinsic nerve stimulation (4, 25). During nerve stimulation, circular muscle from the body of the esophagus does not generate a mechanical response (25, 38). Cessation of the stimulus is followed by a short period of mechanical quiescence before a transient circular muscle contraction. The time from the end of the stimulus to the beginning of the contraction is called the latency period, and the delayed contraction is called the off response. Circular smooth muscle cells from the esophagus and LES hyperpolarize during intrinsic nerve stimulation: the period of hyperpolarization correlates with relaxation of the LES and the latency period in the esophagus (11, 31, 32). Longitudinal smooth muscle from the esophagus contracts during intrinsic nerve stimulation and is referred to as the on response.
We now know that nitric oxide (NO) is the neurotransmitter that participates in the nerve-induced LES relaxation, smooth muscle membrane hyperpolarization, and in the timing of the off response (8, 15, 25, 34). In previous studies (9, 26), we proposed that the activation of guanylyl cyclase by NO is responsible for nerve-induced hyperpolarization of esophageal muscle but not LES relaxation. This was somewhat troublesome because nerve stimulation or exogenously applied NO increases cGMP concentrations in this muscle, and analogs of cGMP relax LES muscle (1, 33). In retrospect, these inhibitors of guanylyl cyclase (cystamine and methylene blue) may not have been an adequate solution to the question. Cystamine appears to inhibit only the particulate guanylate cyclase (30, 37). Methylene blue, a putative inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase, may not be a potent inhibitor of the cyclase, and it has several nonspecific effects, including inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) (3, 20, 23, 24).
In the studies reported here, we used 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase (2, 20, 28), to once again test the hypothesis that NO from intrinsic esophageal nerves controls LES relaxation by activating guanylyl cyclase. We also explored the role of guanylyl cyclase in the control of the esophageal off response and longitudinal muscle contraction.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Fasted adult opossums of either sex weighing 2-4 kg were anesthetized with ketamine HCl (30 mg/kg) and acepromazine (0.3 mg/kg) given intramuscularly and pentobarbital sodium (50 mg/kg) given intraperitoneally. The chest and abdomen were opened, and the entire intrathoracic and intra-abdominal esophagus was marked and measured in situ. The esophagus was transected at the proximal mark and excised, along with a cuff of gastric tissue. The entire tissue was opened in the long axis of the esophagus along the lesser curve of the stomach. It was washed with warmed, aerated Krebs solution and pinned flat in a tissue bath at its dimensions in situ with the mucosal surface facing up. The bath contained oxygenated (95% O2-5% CO2) Krebs solution maintained at 37°C and pH 7.4. The mucosa and most of the submucosa were removed, and the LES was recognized as a thickened band of circular muscle at the gastroesophageal junction. Transversely oriented strips measuring 2 × 0.2-0.3 cm were prepared from the LES and the body of the esophagus 1 cm above the LES, so that the long axis of the muscle strip paralleled the long axis of smooth muscle cells constituting the circular muscle layer. Muscle strips of like dimensions were prepared in the long axis of the esophagus so that the long axis of the muscle strip paralleled the long axis of smooth muscle cells constituting the longitudinal muscle layer. Muscle strips were attached with silk suture to force-displacement transducers, positioned between platinum electrodes placed 4 mm apart, and lowered into 8-ml jacketed tissue baths filled with Krebs solution maintained at 37°C and bubbled continuously with 95% O2-5% CO2. Electrical field stimulation (EFS) was accomplished by connecting the electrodes to the output of a Grass S11 stimulator that delivered 4-s trains of 1.0 ms, 50 V square-wave pulses at 10-20 Hz. These stimulus parameters were previously shown to produce activation of intrinsic esophageal nerves (5, 25, 38). Each force-displacement transducer was attached to a rack-and-pinion device that allowed sequential stretching of the muscle strips. The output of the force-displacement transducers was processed through a Maclab 8 analog-digital converter and recorded on a Macintosh IICi computer.
Each muscle strip was stretched rapidly until 100 mg of force was generated. This was taken as the initial length. Muscle strips were then sequentially stretched to 130% of initial length. The strips were equilibrated for 1 h in the warmed, oxygenated Krebs solution before experimentation. Only LES strips generated tone at rest and relaxed on stimulation, and muscle strips from the body of the esophagus produced an off response. Muscle strips were stimulated at 5-min intervals beginning 15 min before experimentation. Only muscle strips showing reproducible responses to EFS were used. All drug concentrations listed are final concentrations in the tissue bath.
The modified Krebs solution used in these experiments contained (in mM)
138.5 Na+, 4.6 K+, 2.5 Ca2+, 1.2 Mg+, 125 Cl, 21.9 HCO3
, 1.2 H2PO4
, 1.2 SO4
, and
11.5 glucose. It was maintained at 37°C and bubbled continuously with
95% O2-5% CO2 to maintain a pH of 7.4 throughout the experiment.
Saturated solutions of NO were prepared by equilibrating deoxygenated water and NO in a sealed bottle at a pressure slightly above atmospheric pressure. The concentration of NO in these solutions, as measured by using a stream of nitrogen to purge the solution directly into a chemiluminescence NO analyzer, was 2.4 ± 0.1 mM. Solutions of NO prepared in this way are minimally contaminated by other nonvolatile vasoactive nitrogen oxide products (35).
Ketamine was obtained from Aveco (Fort Dodge, IA). Pentobarbital sodium was obtained from University of Iowa Pharmaceutical Service. The following agents were purchased from Sigma Chemical (St. Louis, MO): vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), atropine sulfate, ODQ, and DMSO.
DMSO was used as vehicle for ODQ, but at the concentrations used in these studies, it did not alter EFS-induced responses significantly.
All physiological recordings were made and analyzed with MacLab software. Data are expressed as means ± SE; n represents the number of animals from which observations were made. Statistical comparisons were made with the Tukey-Kramer honest significant difference test or Dunnett's method when appropriate.
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RESULTS |
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Effect of ODQ on EFS-induced relaxation of LES muscle.
EFS-induced relaxation of LES is biphasic, with the prominence of each
component of the relaxation depending on the frequency of the stimulus
(Fig. 1) (22, 36). There is
a transient relaxation that occurs during the stimulus and becomes
prominent at lower stimulus frequencies (R1), and there is a
relaxation that lasts well after the end of the stimulus and becomes
more prominent at higher frequencies of stimulation (R2).
Both components of the relaxation are sensitive to TTX, but
R1 is much more sensitive to inhibitors of NOS. We
used ODQ, an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase, to determine if
either phase of nerve-induced LES relaxation is mediated by cGMP.
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Effect of ODQ on NO and VIP-induced relaxation of LES muscle.
NO relaxes smooth muscle by activating guanylyl cyclase to increase
cellular concentrations of cGMP. If ODQ antagonizes nerve-mediated relaxation of the LES by inhibiting the activity of guanylyl cyclase, then it should also antagonize LES relaxation by exogenous NO. Exogenous authentic NO produced a 55.8% ± 13.0% relaxation of LES
muscle strips. Treating the tissue with 10 µM ODQ diminished the NO-induced relaxation to 9.8 ± 3.3% (P < 0.05, n = 4) (Fig. 3).
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Effect of ODQ on EFS-induced contraction of circular esophageal
muscle.
Activation of intrinsic esophageal nerves produced an off response in
circular muscle strips taken from the body of the esophagus (Fig.
4). The amplitude of the off response was
diminished in a concentration-dependent manner by ODQ (Figs. 4 and
5A). The latency of the off
response, the time from the end of the stimulus to the start of the
contraction, was also shortened by ODQ (Figs. 4 and 5B).
Exposing the tissue to 1 µM atropine sulfate ameliorated the effect
of ODQ on both the amplitude and timing of the off response (Fig.
6).
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Effect of ODQ on EFS-induced contraction of longitudinal esophageal
muscle.
Nerve-induced contraction of longitudinal esophageal smooth muscle is
largely cholinergic (4). The amplitude of EFS-induced contraction of longitudinal esophageal muscle was significantly increased only at an ODQ concentration of 100 µM (Fig.
8A). The timing of the
longitudinal muscle contraction was also altered by ODQ; the time from
the beginning of the stimulus to the initiation of the contraction
decreased as a function of the ODQ concentration (Fig. 8B).
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DISCUSSION |
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Transverse muscle strips taken from the LES and smooth muscle esophagus respond to activation of their intrinsic myenteric innervation with stereotyped responses (1, 4, 5, 7, 25, 38). The LES, which is tonically contracted at rest, relaxes during nerve stimulation. Depending on the stimulus parameters, all or a major portion of the relaxation is due to the generation of NO by myenteric neurons (36). Esophageal muscle does not respond during the stimulus period but contracts shortly after the end of the stimulus. This contraction is termed the off response, and the time between the end of the stimulus and the initiation of the contraction is called the latency. NO released from myenteric neurons controls both the amplitude and the timing of the off response in the distal smooth muscle esophagus (25). It also mediates nerve-induced hyperpolarization of circular esophageal and LES smooth muscle (8, 15).
In our previous studies (9, 26), we proposed that NO activation of guanylyl cyclase is responsible for nerve-mediated hyperpolarization of esophageal muscle but not for LES relaxation. At the time, this was problematic because we knew that nerve stimulation produced a rise in intracellular cGMP concentrations that coincided with LES relaxation, the cGMP analog 8-bromo-cGMP relaxed the LES, and specific cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitors, which increase intracellular concentrations of cGMP, caused LES relaxation (1, 33). In retrospect, the purported inhibitors of guanylyl cyclase we used (cystamine and methylene blue) may not have been adequate. Cystamine appears to inhibit only the particulate guanylate cyclase (30, 37). Methylene blue, a putative inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase, may not be a potent inhibitor of this cyclase, and it has several nonspecific effects, including inhibition of NOS (3, 20, 23, 24). In the studies reported here, we used ODQ, a newer and more reliable inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase (2, 20, 28), to once again explore the hypothesis that NO from intrinsic esophageal nerves controls LES relaxation by activating guanylyl cyclase. We also explored the role of guanylyl cyclase in control of the esophageal off response and contraction of longitudinal esophageal smooth muscle.
That portion of the LES relaxation that we (36) and Jury et al. (22) previously showed to be NO dependent was inhibited by ODQ in a concentration-dependent fashion; that is, it mimicked the effect of inhibiting NOS. In addition, ODQ inhibited LES relaxation caused by exogenous NO but not that caused by VIP. This observation indicates that the inhibitory effect of ODQ is a specific effect, because VIP-induced relaxation of this muscle is mediated by activation of adenylyl cyclase (33). Some studies (18, 21, 27) suggest that VIP relaxes gastrointestinal smooth muscle by stimulating the production of NO. This study and other findings by us (36), Daniel et al. (12), and Tottrup et al. (34) do not support the hypothesis that VIP relaxes LES muscle by the production of NO in either the nerve terminals or the muscle of the LES.
Nerve-induced contraction of circular esophageal muscle was also altered by ODQ. It attenuated or abolished the off response, shortened its latency, and uncovered a cholinergic contraction, the on response. In previous studies (25), inhibiting NOS with NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) produced the same result: diminution of the off response, shortening of its latency, and uncovering of a cholinergic on response. Together, these observations suggest that cGMP is the second messenger that mediates NO nerve-induced changes in esophageal motor function.
Shortening of the off response latency by ODQ was ameliorated by atropine. This observation and the changes in the off response produced by ODQ or inhibitors of NOS suggest a complex interplay of the excitatory cholinergic and the inhibitory NO-guanylyl cyclase systems in the control of esophageal motor function. In fact, there are studies suggesting the importance of both systems in the control of esophageal peristalsis. The cholinergic innervation plays a role in the generation of peristaltic contractions in the opossum smooth muscle esophagus because atropine and the M2 receptor antagonist 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-(2-chloroethyl)-piperidine hydrochloride decrease the amplitude of peristaltic pressure waves produced by swallowing, vagal stimulation, or intrinsic nerve stimulation (10, 13, 14, 17). They also delay the onset of swallow-induced peristaltic pressure waves at all levels of the smooth muscle esophagus, and in high doses they increase their velocity of propagation. In more recent studies, Yamato et al. (39) explored the effects of inhibitors of NOS and muscarinic cholinergic neurotransmission on peristalsis in the opossum esophagus produced by swallowing or vagal nerve stimulation. Inhibitors of NOS increased the velocity of peristalsis by preferentially shortening the time between swallowing or vagal stimulation and the appearance of peristaltic pressure waves in the distal smooth muscle esophagus. Adding atropine after the inhibitor of NOS increased the latency period slightly, but by about the same amount along the entire smooth muscle segment.
ODQ allowed the expression of a cholinergic on response and altered both its timing and amplitude in a concentration-dependent manner. The time between the onset of nerve stimulation and initiation of the on response became shorter as the ODQ concentration was increased, and the amplitude of the on response increased with ODQ concentrations. Using long-duration vagal stimulation, Dodds et al. (13) and Yamato et al. (39) were able to generate two distinct peristaltic sequences in the opossum esophagus. One occurred during vagal stimulation, was primarily cholinergic, and was called the "A wave." The other occurred after stimulus, was primarily nitrergic, and was called the "B wave." Thus the A and B waves seen in vivo are likely to be analogous to the cholinergic on response and a nitrergic off response seen in vitro after exposure to either L-NNA or ODQ. Using vagal stimulation, Yamato et al. (39) found that NOS inhibitors increase the velocity of the cholinergic A wave by decreasing the time for its arrival in the distal esophagus. This is comparable with our observation that inhibiting guanylyl cyclase with ODQ shortens the time from the beginning of EFS to the initiation of the cholinergic on response.
Together, the data from previous studies and those we presented here
demonstrate the functional presence of excitatory cholinergic and
inhibitory NO-guanylyl cyclase signaling systems in the circular smooth
muscle of the opossum esophagus. Whether the nitrergic and cholinergic
signals are integrated at the level of the smooth muscle cell or the
myenteric neuron is not yet known. There is experimental evidence to
support both possibilities. According to Rae et al. (29),
EFS of neurons intrinsic to the circular muscle of the colon produced a
biphasic electrophysiological response consisting of an excitatory
junction potential (EJP) followed by an inhibitory junction potential
(IJP). The EJP was inhibited by atropine. ODQ, L-NNA, and
the protein kinase G inhibitor
Rp--phenyl-1,N2-etheno-8-bromoguanosine-3',5'-cyclic
monophosphorothioate all increased the EJP amplitude and attenuated or
abolished the IJP. Potentiation of the EJP by inhibiting NOS
was reversed by NO donors, and this effect was blocked by ODQ.
[14C]ACh was used to measure the ACh from cholinergic
neurons. ODQ, L-NNA, and NO donors had no effect on
[14C]ACh release. These studies suggested that
cholinergic and NO motor neurons innervate the smooth muscle and that
the inhibitory effect of NO on cholinergic neurotransmission is
postjunctional, at the level of the muscle cell. Hebeiss and Kilbinger
(19) used [3H]ACh to explore the hypothesis
that NO alters ACh release from myenteric neurons of the guinea pig
ileum. In their studies (19), ODQ increased the basal and
nerve-stimulated release of ACh, and it increased the amplitudes of
nerve-mediated cholinergic and tachykininergic muscle contraction.
L-NNA produced similar results. An activator of soluble
guanylyl cyclase inhibited the nerve-induced release of ACh and muscle
contraction. Fox-Threlkeld et al. (16) came to a similar
conclusion on the basis of their study of the canine ileum. These
studies support the hypothesis that NO modulates neuromuscular
transmission by inhibiting the release of excitatory neurotransmitters.
In our studies, ODQ also increased the amplitude of longitudinal muscle contraction and diminished the time from the beginning of the stimulus to initiation of the contraction. This observation suggests that guanylyl cyclase activity and cGMP levels may also play a role in controlling the cholinergic nerve-induced contraction of the longitudinal muscle. Cholinergic and NOS-containing neurons are present in the longitudinal muscle of the opossum esophagus (6, 38); however, the functional role of the latter is not known. Perhaps the motor function of the longitudinal muscle is also under the control of both systems. This speculation remains to be explored.
In summary, for the most part, ODQ tends to mimic the effects on esophageal motor function of NOS inhibition: it attenuates the off response and shortens its latency, and it diminishes nerve-induced LES relaxation. It also alters the cholinergic contraction of the longitudinal muscle. These studies support the hypothesis that the NO-guanylyl cyclase signaling system plays a role in controlling the nerve-induced motor functions of the esophagus. In particular, they provide evidence that activation of guanylyl cyclase mediates NO nerve-induced relaxation of the LES.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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This research was supported by a Veterans Affairs Merit Grant to J. L. Conklin and a scholarship from the Egyptian government to W. Shahin.
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FOOTNOTES |
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Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: J. L. Conklin, Dept. of Internal Medicine, 4549 John Colloton Pavilion, Univ. of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received 12 November 1999; accepted in final form 31 March 2000.
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