Calcium signaling in cultured human and rat duodenal
enterocytes
Catherine S.
Chew1,2,
Bengt
Säfsten1, and
Gunnar
Flemström1
1 Department of Physiology,
Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; and
2 Institute for Molecular
Medicine and Genetics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia
31902
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ABSTRACT |
Vagal stimuli increase duodenal mucosal
HCO
3 secretion and may provide
anticipatory protection against acid injury, but duodenal enterocyte
(duodenocyte) responses and cholinoceptor selectivity have not been
defined. We therefore developed a stable primary culture model of
duodenocytes from rats and humans. Brief digestion of scraped rat
duodenal mucosa or human biopsies with collagenase/dispase yielded
cells that attached to the extracellular matrix Matrigel within a few
hours of plating. Columnar cells with villus enterocyte morphology that
exhibited spontaneous active movement were evident between 1 and 3 days
of culture. Rat duodenocytes loaded with fura 2 responded to carbachol
with a transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration
([Ca2+]i),
with an apparent EC50 of ~3
µM. In a first type of signaling pattern,
[Ca2+]i
returned to basal or near basal values within 3-5 min. In a second
type, observed in cells with enlarged vacuoles characteristic of crypt
cell morphology, the initial transient increase was followed by
rhythmic oscillations. Human duodenocytes responded with a more
sustained increase in
[Ca2+]i,
and oscillations were not observed. Rat as well as human duodenocytes also responded to CCK-octapeptide but not to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. Equimolar concentrations (100 nM) of the
subtype-independent muscarinic antagonist atropine and the
M3 antagonist
4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide prevented the response to 10 µM carbachol, whereas the
M1 antagonist pirenzepine and the
M2 antagonists methoctramine and
AF-DX 116BS had no effect at similar concentrations. Responses in rat
and human duodenocytes were similar. A new agonist-sensitive primary
culture model for rat and human duodenocytes has thus been established
and the presence of enterocyte CCK and muscarinic M3 receptors demonstrated.
cholecystokinin; calcium oscillations; muscarinic
M3 receptors; primary culture of
duodenal enterocytes
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INTRODUCTION |
HCO
3 SECRETION
by the duodenal mucosa alkalinizes the viscoelastic mucus gel adherent
to the epithelial cell surface, providing an important first line of
duodenal mucosal defense against hydrochloric acid in the intestinal
lumen. In addition, centrally elicited vagal activation of the
secretion presumably provides anticipatory protection against acid
discharged from the stomach. Vagally mediated stimulation of duodenal
alkaline secretion has been demonstrated in all species studied (8, 10). Several studies (15, 19, 22, 27, 29) of intact animals and
isolated mucosa have also sought to characterize the mechanisms of both
extrinsic vagal and enteric nervous control of secretion.
In these studies, it has been shown that the nonselective muscarinic
antagonist atropine inhibits the stimulation of mucosal HCO
3 secretion by the cholinomimetics
carbachol and bethanechol in anesthetized rats (19, 27, 29) and guinea pigs (22) in vivo as well as in rabbit mucosa in vitro (15). There is,
however, some controversy with respect to the type and subtypes of
cholinoceptors involved in mediating this stimulation. One such study
in the rat (27) provided evidence for involvement of nicotinic as well
as muscarinic M1 receptors.
Further evidence for the involvement of
M1 receptors is the inhibition of
basal secretion in human subjects (21) and of secretion stimulated by
carbachol in the guinea pig (22) by the
M1-selective antagonist pirenzepine. Another study in the rat (29), however, suggested the
involvement of muscarinic M2
receptors. Interestingly, atropine also inhibits secretion stimulated
by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the guinea pig in vivo
(22) and in rabbit mucosa in vitro (15). This suggests the possibility
that there are interactions between muscarinic- and
peptidergic-mediated stimulation of duodenal mucosal
HCO
3 secretion.
Despite the physiological importance of duodenal
HCO
3 secretion and its regulation,
neither the duodenal enterocyte (duodenocyte) signaling mechanisms nor
the specific receptors present on these cells have been characterized.
Because muscarinic agonists have several possible sites of action in
the intestine, including ion-transporting enterocytes, postsynaptic axons, and presynaptic terminals in the enteric nervous system, it is
likely that one site of action will dominate in a particular experimental protocol. The use of isolated duodenocytes would thus seem
a prerequisite for the demonstration of actions of muscarinic and other
stimuli on duodenocyte receptors at the cellular level and for the
evaluation of agonist-responsive intracellular signaling pathways.
The aim of the present investigation was thus to develop an
agonist-responsive duodenocyte model and to begin to characterize the
suitability of this model for defining cell-specific intracellular signaling pathways. We report the development of primary culture models
of rat and human duodenocytes that retain agonist responsiveness for
several days in culture. We further demonstrate, by measuring changes
in intracellular calcium concentration
([Ca2+]i)
within single cells, the presence of receptors for both cholinergic agonists and CCK (CCK-8) on the same duodenocytes. Pharmacological analyses at the single-cell level further indicate that the cholinergic receptors that linked to the Ca2+
signaling pathway are of the M3
subtype.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Isolation and primary culture of rat duodenocytes.
Male rats (Lewis × Dark Agouti, 150-250 g; from
Uppsala Biomedical Center breeding) were raised in a conditioning unit
under standardized temperature and light conditions (21-22°C;
12:12-h light-dark cycle) and had access to pelleted food (Ewos,
Södertälje, Sweden) and drinking water ad
libitum. Animals were fasted in mesh-bottomed cages with
free access to water for 20-24 h before cell isolation. All
experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee for Experiments with
Animals at Uppsala University.
Rats were decapitated to avoid the possible stimulatory effects of
anesthetics on intestinal mucus release. A 3-cm segment of duodenum,
starting just distal to the Brunner's glands was promptly excised via
an abdominal midline incision and freed from mesentery. The segment was
opened along the antemesenterial axis, rinsed with DMEM-Ham's nutrient
mixture F-12 (DMEM-F12) (with 15 mM HEPES, no
HCO
3), 0.01 mg/ml gentamicin, and
2.5% FCS. The mucosa was scraped off, minced, and then rinsed by
settling two to three times in the same medium and suspended in 10 ml
of pH 7.4 enzymatic dissociation medium (4) containing (in mM): 125.4 Na+, 5.4 K+, 1.0 Ca2+, 1.2 Mg2+, 121.8 Cl
, 1.2 SO2
4, 6.0 phosphate, 15.0 HEPES, 1.0 pyruvate, and 10 glucose plus 2 mg/ml sterile BSA (35% solution, Sigma
cell culture grade), 300 U/ml collagenase type IA, 0.1 mg/ml dispase, and 10 mg/l phenol red. After a brief gassing with 100%
O2, the tissue suspension was
incubated in a horizontal shaking water bath for 20 min at 37°C at
96 rpm (CS20 shaker, Messgeräte-Werk, Lauda, Germany). A portion
of the supernatant was then removed and tissue fragments further
dissociated by trituration. The remaining nondissociated tissue was
separated from dissociated cell groups by brief settling and
trituration continued. Successive fractions of dissociated groups of
cells (~10-20 cells/group) were immediately diluted with an
8-10× volume of sterile DMEM-F12 (with 15 mM HEPES, L-glutamine, no
HCO
3), 0.01 mg/ml gentamicin, 2.5%
FCS, and 0.5 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). Cell fractions were filtered
through 200-µm nylon mesh (Saati, Como, Italy), washed three times by
centrifugation (2-3 min at 500 g), and resuspended in the same
medium. The final cell pellet was suspended (~0.1 ml cells in 3 ml
medium) in culture medium composed of DMEM-F12 (with 15 mM HEPES,
L-glutamine), 0.12%
NaHCO3 (from a sterile 7.5%
solution), 2.5-10% FCS, and 0.01 mg/ml gentamicin. Cells (30-50 µl) were plated by underlaying into 1.5 ml of culture
medium in 35-mm Matrigel-coated culture dishes (50 µl of a 1:7
Matrigel/sterile H2O dilution), as
previously described (5). Cells were allowed to settle onto Matrigel
for ~15 min at room temperature then placed in a humidified 37°C
water-jacketed CO2 incubator.
HCO
3/CO2 was used because uptake of HCO
3 by
NaHCO3 cotransport and export via
both an anion channel and
Cl
/HCO
3
exchange are important characteristics of the duodenocyte (8). Culture
media were exchanged daily.
Isolation and primary culture of duodenocytes from human biopsies.
Duodenal biopsies (2-3 from each individual, ~1-2 mm in
diameter) were obtained from eight patients (7 female and 1 male, median age 51 yr, range 39-71 yr) undergoing upper endoscopy at the Department of Surgery, Uppsala University Hospital and found to
have endoscopically normal duodenal and gastric mucosae. No antiulcer
drugs
(H+-K+-ATPase
inhibitors or histamine
H2-receptor antagonists),
cholinergic antagonists, or sedatives had been administered for at
least 5 days preceding endoscopy. The project was approved by the
Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty at Uppsala University, and all subjects provided written informed consent. Biopsies were immediately placed into 5 ml of sterile DMEM-F12 (plus 15 mM HEPES and
L-glutamine, no
HCO
3) containing 2.5% FCS and 0.01 mg/ml gentamicin, transported to the laboratory, rinsed, and minced in
the same medium at room temperature within 20-40 min after removal. After washing, the minced tissue was suspended in
enzyme-containing solution and cells isolated and placed in primary
culture as described above for the rat duodenal mucosa.
Digitized video image analyses of duodenocytes in primary culture.
Changes in
[Ca2+]i
were measured in fura 2-loaded cells, using the dual-wavelength
excitation ratio technique (31) as previously described (20). Cells
that had been cultured for 1-5 days on Matrigel-coated
glass-bottomed 35-mm dishes (20) were loaded with fura 2 (8 µM fura
2-AM for 30 min at 37°C), rinsed several times, and placed in a
perfusion chamber on the warmed (37°C) stage of a Zeiss Axiovert
microscope. Fluorescence in single cells was monitored at
340 and 380 nm excitation and 510 nm emission and quantitated with a
GenIIsys light-amplified charge-coupled device (CCD) 72 video camera
(DAGE-MTI, Michigan City, IN) using Inovision IC300 software (Research
Triangle Park, NC) supported by a SUN 4/330 computer (Palo Alto, CA).
Changes in
[Ca2+]i
were expressed as the ratio of fluorescence intensities at 340 and 380 nM, as described previously (20). Images of cells and cell colonies
were acquired with a DAGE 72 CCD camera and printed from the computer
monitor with a UP 5000P printer (Sony).
Chemicals and drugs.
CCK-8 (fragment 26-33) was from Peninsula Europe (Merseyside, UK).
Atropine sulfate, EGTA, BSA (fraction V, pH 7, sterile 35% solution),
sodium bicarbonate (sterile 7.5% solution, cell culture tested),
carbachol (carbamylcholine chloride), collagenase type IA, DTT,
DMEM-F12 (1:1 mixture with
L-glutamine and 15 mM HEPES,
without sodium bicarbonate), HEPES, gentamicin, and VIP (porcine) were
obtained from Sigma Chemical (St. Louis, MO). Fura 2-AM was from
Calbiochem (La Jolla, CA). Dispase II was purchased from Boehringer
(Mannheim, Germany), Matrigel from Collaborative Biomedical Products
(Bedford, MA), and FCS from Harlan Sera-Lab (Loungborough, UK). The
muscarinic antagonists atropine, methoctramine tetrahydrochloride,
4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine
methiodide (4-DAMP), and pirenzepine dihydrochloride were from
Research Biochemicals (Wayland, MA). The
M3-selective antagonist
11-({2-[(diethylamino)methyl]1-piperidinyl}acetyl)5,11-dihydro-6H-pyrido(2,3-
)(1,4)benzodiazepin-6-one (AF-DX 116BS) was a generous gift from Karl Thomae (Biberach, Germany).
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RESULTS |
Primary culture of rat and human duodenocytes.
Initial cell fractions isolated from duodenal collagenase digests were
enriched in columnar cells with villus enterocyte morphology (Fig.
1A).
These cells, when attached in small groups, exhibited spontaneous
active movement between 1 and 3 days of culture (not shown). In
contrast, cellular fractions obtained after successive triturations
were composed predominately of cells with rounded, vacuolated
morphologies (Fig. 1A)
characteristic of crypt cells (30). These vacuolated cells retained
such morphologies for 2-3 days. Within 3-4 days of plating,
small colonies of epithelial cells with distinct morphologies began to
form and by days
7-10 "domes" characteristic of actively secreting cell types were
evident (Fig. 1B). Importantly,
duodenocytes did not attach to the matrix if collagenase was not used
during the preparation procedure. Cells also did not attach as well if
the mucosa was dissected away from the underlying substratum by
blistering compared with our standard scraping protocol.

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Fig. 1.
Duodenal enterocytes (duodenocytes) can be maintained in primary
culture for several weeks, and cells with villus-like morphologies are
present for at least 24 h in these cultures.
A: duodenocyte fractions with villus
and crypt-like morphologies are readily identified between 8 and 24 h
of culture. Left: 2 villus cells after
8 h in culture. Middle: after 24 h,
some villus cells become rounded, but others retain a columnar
appearance. Right: after 24 h in
culture, cells from crypt fractions are often found to contain
secretory vacuoles. B: duodenocytes
begin to divide and form discrete colonies after several days in
culture. Shown are images from 2 different 4-day cultures of rat
duodenocytes. Such colonies remained viable for at least 3 wk of
culture. Bar, 20 µm. Left: arrow
indicates dome formation in center of colony.
Right: no domes are evident in this
colony.
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Effects of carbachol on
[Ca2+]i
signaling in single duodenocytes.
Carbachol consistently increased
[Ca2+]i
in rat duodenocytes in primary culture. Moreover, the carbachol-induced
increase in [Ca2+]i
in these cells was reproducibly observed even after several days of
culture (Fig. 2). Two types of signaling
patterns were observed in duodenocytes. In the first,
[Ca2+]i
spiked rapidly and returned to basal or near basal values within 3-5 min after carbachol addition (Fig. 2). In the second, which was predominately observed in cells with enlarged vacuoles as described
for secreting crypt cells (30), the initial
Ca2+ transient was followed by
slow, rhythmic oscillations in
[Ca2+]i
of lower amplitude. The oscillatory patterns varied between cells and
oscillations were usually not sustained. A typical pattern and
frequency is shown in Fig.
3A in two
cells from the same duodenal preparation. Selected images of these fura
2-loaded cells are shown in Fig. 3B.

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Fig. 2.
Although most experiments were performed within 24-48 h after
cells were placed in culture, carbachol continued to induce increases
in intracellular calcium concentration
([Ca2+]i)
in rat duodenocytes even after several days in primary culture. In
contrast, cells with fibroblast-like morphologies did not respond to
cholinergic stimulation. Shown are recordings of
[Ca2+]i
signals (10 µM carbachol present as indicated), as measured with fura
2, in 5 duodenocytes and 2 fibroblasts (not responding). Measurements
were performed on the 5th day of culture.
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Fig. 3.
Example of rhythmic oscillations in
[Ca2+]i
induced by carbachol in a subpopulation of rat duodenocytes with large
secretory vesicles. Top: recordings of
[Ca2+]i
signals before and after addition of 10 µM carbachol.
Bottom: selected images of cells from
which recordings were obtained. Bar, 5 µm.
A: transmitted light image before
carbachol addition. B: fura 2 fluorescence ratio before carbachol addition.
C: increase in fura 2 fluorescence
ratio during peak carbachol response (darkened edges of image were off
scale). D: transmitted light image at
the end of the experiment showing expansion of cellular vacuoles.
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In contrast to the transient increase in
[Ca2+]i
observed in rat duodenocytes, human duodenocytes isolated from biopsies
consistently responded to carbachol with an initial spike followed by a
sustained plateau (Fig. 4). Furthermore,
rhythmic oscillations in
[Ca2+]i
were not observed in duodenocytes from human biopsies. The increase in
[Ca2+]i
elicited by the cholinergic agonist carbachol was dose dependent with
an EC50 of ~3 × 10
6 M in human (Fig. 4) as
well as in rat (not shown) duodenocytes.

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Fig. 4.
Similar to rat duodenocytes, human duodenocytes responded to increasing
concentrations of carbachol in a dose-dependent fashion. For recordings
depicted, duodenocytes were isolated from a biopsy from a 40-yr-old
female and cultured for ~24 h before loading with fura 2. Data shown
are from 5 duodenocytes and are representative of 30 cells (6 experiments with biopsies from 6 subjects aged 36-66 yr). Note the
more sustained
[Ca2+]i
plateau in response to carbachol compared with the transient increase
in rat duodenocytes (Figs. 2 and 3).
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Effects of muscarinic receptor-selective antagonists.
To define muscarinergic receptor subtypes present on duodenocytes, we
tested several selective antagonists, including the M3-selective antagonist 4-DAMP,
the M2-selective antagonists AF-DX 116BS and methoctramine, the
M1-selective antagonist
pirenzepine, and the nonselective antagonist atropine. In an initial
series of experiments, nanomolar concentrations of 4-DAMP were found to
dose dependently inhibit the increase in
[Ca2+]i
induced by 10 µM carbachol in human duodenocytes (Fig.
5). In other, less extensive experiments
with rat duodenocytes, nanomolar concentrations of 4-DAMP were
similarly effective in suppressing the increase in
[Ca2+]i
in response to 10 µM carbachol. Interestingly, higher concentrations of 4-DAMP reduced the "steady-state" increase in
[Ca2+]i
more potently than the initial, transient peak in
[Ca2+]i
(Fig. 5D).

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Fig. 5.
Carbachol-induced increase in
[Ca2+]i
in human duodenocytes is potently suppressed by nanomolar
concentrations of the muscarinic
M3-selective receptor antagonist
4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine
methiodide (4-DAMP). Shown are recordings from 5 duodenocytes that were
obtained from a duodenal mucosal biopsy of a 57-yr-old female with
normal duodenal mucosa. Cells were cultured for ~24 h before
Ca2+ measurements were performed.
Data are representative of results from 37 cells isolated from 3 female
patients (36-57 yr of age).
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To further characterize the actions of 4-DAMP on carbachol-induced
Ca2+ fluxes, experiments were
conducted with human duodenocytes in the presence and nominal absence
of extracellular Ca2+. As expected
based on the pattern of the Ca2+
signaling response to carbachol, chelation of
Ca2+ medium with EGTA abolished
the plateau phase but not the initial increase in
[Ca2+]i
induced by carbachol (Fig.
6C).
Thus, as in other cell types, it appears that carbachol causes both
release of Ca2+ from intracellular
stores and influx of extracellular
Ca2+ in human duodenocytes.
Although there was some variability in the effects of 4-DAMP on the
peak vs. the plateau phase of the [Ca2+]i
response to carbachol (compare Figs. 5 and 6), the data presented in
Fig. 6 show that EGTA addition in the presence of a submaximal inhibitory concentration of 4-DAMP almost completely abolished the
carbachol-induced increase in
[Ca2+]i
(Fig. 6B). Moreover, when 4-DAMP was
added in the presence of extracellular
Ca2+, the carbachol-induced
increase in
[Ca2+]i
was slightly delayed compared with the increase in
[Ca2+]i
induced by carbachol alone (Fig. 6, A
and D). Because EGTA is expected to
primarily prevent Ca2+ influx,
these combined data support the conclusion that 4-DAMP potently
suppresses the carbachol-induced release of intracellular Ca2+.

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Fig. 6.
Differential effects of extracellular
Ca2+ chelation on
carbachol-induced elevation of
[Ca2+]i
in the presence and absence of 4-DAMP. Compared with the response to
carbachol alone, a submaximal concentration of 4-DAMP (3 nM) caused a
slight delay in the initial carbachol-induced increase in
[Ca2+]i
and strongly suppressed the plateau phase of the response (compare
A and
D). Chelation of extracellular
Ca2+ with EGTA suppressed the
plateau phase of the carbachol response but not the initial transient
increase in
[Ca2+]i
(compare C and
D). In contrast, 4-DAMP almost
completely abolished the response to carbachol when EGTA was present
(compare B and
C). Taken together, these results
and those in Fig. 5 suggest that both phases of the carbachol-induced
increase in
[Ca2+]i
are suppressed by 4-DAMP. The EGTA data further suggest that the
release of Ca2+ from intracellular
store(s) is potently affected by the inhibitor. Recordings are from 6 duodenocytes that were originally isolated from the same human mucosal
biopsy as used in Fig 5. Cells were in primary culture for ~24 h
before use.
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In contrast to the potent inhibition by the
M3-selective antagonist 4-DAMP,
similar nanomolar (
1 µM) concentrations of the M1-selective antagonist
pirenzepine (Fig. 7) as well as of the M2-selective antagonist AF-DX
116BS (Fig. 8) did not significantly inhibit the response to carbachol. At higher concentrations, the M1- and
M2-selective antagonists did
suppress the carbachol-induced increase in
[Ca2+]i,
presumably because of a nonspecific action on
M3 receptors. With pirenzepine, a
concentration of 1 µM reduced the steady-state increase in
[Ca2+]i
and the highest concentration tested (10 µM) reduced the transient as
well the steady-state increase in
[Ca2+]i.
The latter effect was observed also with 10 µM (but not with 1 µM)
AF-DX 116BS. Results with rat (not shown) and human duodenocytes were
similar.

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Fig. 7.
In contrast to 4-DAMP, micromolar concentrations of the
M1-selective antagonist
pirenzepine (pir.) are required to suppress the carbachol-induced
increase in
[Ca2+]i.
Duodenocytes from a 57-yr-old female patient were placed in primary
culture for ~24 h before Ca2+
measurements. Data are representative of results from 22 cells in
primary culture initially isolated from duodenal biopsies from 2 female
patients (ages 36 and 57 yr).
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Fig. 8.
Similar to the M1-receptor
antagonist pirenzepine only very high (micromolar) concentrations of
the M2-selective antagonist AF-DX
116BS (AF-DX) were capable of suppressing the carbachol-induced
increase in
[Ca2+]i
in duodenocytes. Shown are recordings from 6 duodenocytes that were
isolated from a duodenal biopsy of a 57-yr-old female and cultured for
~24 h. Data are representative of results with 24 cells in 4 different experiments (4 subjects, 36-57 yr).
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The reproducibility of the responses and difference in effects of the
muscarinic receptor-selective antagonist in the same human duodenocyte
are depicted in Fig. 9. In addition, the
actions of methoctramine, another
M2-selective antagonist, and the
subtype-independent muscarinic antagonist atropine were examined. As
expected, atropine, but not methoctramine inhibited the increase in
[Ca2+]i
in response to carbachol (Fig. 9). This difference between atropine and
methoctramine was also observed in rat duodenocytes (not shown).

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Fig. 9.
Comparison of differential effects of the muscarinic receptor
antagonists 4-DAMP, AF-DX 116BS, pirenzepine, methoctramine, and
atropine. Shown is a continuous recording of
[Ca2+]i
in a single human duodenocyte. Data demonstrate the reproducibility of
[Ca2+]i
responses of human duodenocytes (compare with recordings in Figs. 5, 7,
and 8) as well as the expected inhibition by atropine and lack of
inhibition by methoctramine, another
M2-selective antagonist.
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Effects of CCK and VIP.
CCK released postprandially from the duodenal mucosa is an interesting
potential stimulus of intestinal secretion; however, CCK actions at the
enterocyte level have not been characterized. The octapeptide of CCK,
consisting of the carboxy-terminal eight amino acids (CCK-8), is the
most biologically potent small peptide of CCK that has been isolated.
Similar to carbachol, CCK-8 increased [Ca2+]i
in rat (Fig. 10) as well as in human
(Fig. 11) duodenocytes. Comparing the
[Ca2+]i
response of CCK-8 (10 nM) with that of 10 µM carbachol in rat duodenocytes (Fig. 10), it appears that the responses are of similar magnitude. Moreover, although the CCK response has not yet been studied
in depth, the data suggest the
[Ca2+]i
response to CCK in human duodenocytes is rapidly downregulated as was
previously observed with respect to the CCK/gastrin response in the
gastric parietal cell (5). Thus, in Fig. 11, the response to 500 nM
CCK-8 was smaller than that to the preceding exposure to 50 nM CCK-8.
Furthermore, 1 nM CCK failed to elicit an increase in
[Ca2+]i
when administered after a higher dose of CCK had been removed. When 1 nM CCK was added initially, a response could be elicited (not shown).

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Fig. 10.
CCK-8 induces an increase in
[Ca2+]i
in rat duodenocytes. Shown are representative recordings from 2 cells
cultured for ~24 h. Cells were first stimulated with carbachol to
show specific response patterns for the sampled cells. After removal of
carbachol, cells were then stimulated with CCK-8. Although oscillations
in
[Ca2+]i
were not observed in all cells, similar initial spike responses to
CCK-8 were detected in 19 rat duodenocytes isolated from 6 different
animals.
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Fig. 11.
Human duodenocytes also respond not only to carbachol but also to the
peptide hormone CCK-8 with an increase in
[Ca2+]i.
In contrast to carbachol, the response to CCK-8 is rapidly
downregulated (compare with Fig. 4). Shown is a representative
recording from a single duodenocyte from an ~24-h primary culture of
duodenocytes isolated from a normal mucosal biopsy of a 66-yr-old
female. Similar responses to CCK were obtained in 12 human duodenocytes
from 3 separate biopsy experiments.
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In vivo, VIP and prostaglandin E2
stimulate the secretion of HCO
3 in the
duodenum of all mammalian species tested, including in rats and humans
(8). However, in isolated duodenocytes from humans, VIP
(10
9-10
6
M, 3 experiments, 20 cells) did not induce an increase in
[Ca2+]i
(not shown). Prostaglandin E2 (1 µM) tested in one experiment with human duodenocytes was similarly
without efffect.
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DISCUSSION |
The results presented in this study demonstrate, for the first time,
that viable, agonist-responsive enterocytes from both crypt and villus
regions of human and rat duodenal mucosae can be isolated and
maintained in primary culture for several days. In addition, dividing
colonies of agonist-responsive cells with epithelial-like morphologies,
originating from the initial cell isolates, could be sustained in
culture for at least 3-4 wk. Because of the possibility of actions
at several sites of muscarinic and other secretory agonists in the
intact animal in vivo, the use of isolated duodenocytes seems a
prerequisite for the demonstration of the presence of
enterocyte-specific receptor subtypes as well as for defining the
intracellular signaling pathways activated by these agonists. In
developing the models used here, cells were isolated only from young
adult rats and from adult human biopsies. Thus potential problems with
undeveloped expression of receptors that might occur with use of cells
from immature (fetal) animals or from transformed cells lines were
avoided.
The current model was developed using modifications of a technique
previously used to establish and characterize a primary culture model
of gastric parietal cells (3, 20). An important factor in the initial
cell isolation steps was the omission of EDTA and the use of a
relatively gentle trituration technique, rather than vibration, to
isolate villus and crypt-enriched fractions (see Ref. 6 for a review of
previously used intestinal cell isolation techniques). The use of a
mild enzymatic digestion protocol and the inclusion of DTT to break
mucus disulfide bonds were further found to be important prerequisites
for cell attachment. Previous studies with gastric parietal cells have
shown Matrigel to be an ideal attachment matrix for this cell type (3,
20). In this study, although cell attachment factors were not
systematically examined, a thin coating of dilute Matrigel was also
found to be a reliable attachment matrix for both human and rat
duodenocytes. It should be noted that in an earlier study, we found
collagen I to be a superior attachment factor for acutely isolated,
single duodenocytes that had been exposed to
Ca2+ chelators (16). It remains to
be determined whether or not these differences are the result of
differences in cell isolation techniques or are related to the plating
conditions with cell clumps vs. single cell isolates.
Our results with duodenocytes in primary culture show that cells with
crypt and villus-like morphologies from both humans and rats respond to
carbachol with a dose-dependent increase in [Ca2+]i.
These data contrast with previous results obtained with human jejunal
biopsies and in rat enterocytes isolated using a hyaluronidase digestion technique (13) in which there was no detectable response to
cholinergic agonists in fura 2-loaded cells. The divergence in
stimulatory pathways and transport characteristics between duodenal
mucosa, capable of transporting HCO
3 at high rates (8), and jejunal mucosa may contribute to this difference. It would seem likely, however, that the improved
responsiveness is due to the fact that duodenocytes are
1) isolated by a more gentle
enzymatic technique, 2) not exposed
to Ca2+ chelators, and
3) placed in primary culture to
allow for recovery from the initial insults of tissue dissociation.
Interestingly, we (unpublished observation) and others (13, 28) have
found that the cAMP signaling pathway is much less sensitive to initial Ca2+ chelation and harsher
enzymatic digestion protocols.
On the basis of our pharmacological analyses in which a pattern of
inhibition characteristic of the
M3 receptor subtype was observed
(i.e., 4-DAMP
pirenzepine > AF-DX 116BS) (2), we conclude that
M3 muscarinic receptor subtypes
are present on both crypt and villus-like cells and are linked to the
Ca2+ signaling pathway in these
cells. To date, five different muscarinic receptor subtypes have been
cloned (2). M1 and
M3 receptors have been shown to be
linked to phosphoinositol turnover and the Ca2+ signaling pathway and are
generally stimulatory. M2 (and
M4 receptors) are linked to
adenylyl cyclase and are generally involved in mediating inhibitory
effects. Within the intestine, muscarinic agonists have several
well-documented sites of action, including the ion-transporting enterocytes, postsynaptic axons, and presynaptic terminals in the
enteric nervous system. Previous studies of the neurohumoral control of
duodenal mucosal HCO
3 secretion (9, 21, 27, 29) have suggested that cholinergic stimulation of the duodenal
secretion involves muscarinic M1
and M2 receptors as well as
nicotinic receptors. The central nervous system and the peripheral
sympathetic ganglia provide additional possible sites of action in the
intact animal, and one site of action may dominate in a particular
experimental protocol. For example, the muscarinic
M1-receptor antagonists
pirenzepine and telenzepine did not inhibit but caused a dose-dependent
increase in duodenal mucosal secretion
HCO
3 secretion in a study in
anesthetized rats (27). Pretreatment with the adrenoceptor antagonist
phentolamine prevented the increase in secretion, suggesting that
pirenzepine and telenzepine acted in a stimulatory manner by
antagonizing M1 transmission in
sympathetic ganglia thereby decreasing postsynaptic
-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition of the secretion.
The possibility of direct regulation of duodenocytes by muscarinic
M3 receptors, as demonstrated in
the present study, has not been considered previously. However,
cholinergic actions mediated by this receptor subtype have been
demonstrated in several tissues (2), including stimulation of
H+ secretion by gastric parietal
cells (24, 32) and 125I efflux in
the T84 colonic cell line (7). In addition, pharmacological characterization of the carbachol response in isolated rat distal colonic mucosa has suggested the involvement of muscarinic
M3 receptors (23).
In the present study, the pattern of carbachol-induced increase in
[Ca2+]i
in rat duodenocytes was typically transient, returning to basal or near
basal values within 3-5 min after the initial peak response. In
contrast, in human duodenocytes the initial transient peak was very
reproducibly followed by a sustained plateau in
[Ca2+]i.
This biphasic Ca2+ response to
carbachol is characteristic of many other nonexcitable cell types and a
substantial amount of evidence indicates that the initial spike in
[Ca2+]i
is the result of release of Ca2+
from an intracellular storage site(s), whereas the later sustained phase is due to the influx of Ca2+
across the cell membrane. This also appears to be the case
for duodenocytes, because as shown here chelation of extracellular Ca2+ leads to the abolishment of
the plateau phase but not the initial increase in
[Ca2+]i
elicited by carbachol. Thus our results with submaximal inhibitory concentrations of 4-DAMP and the extracellular
Ca2+ chelator EGTA suggest that
this M3-receptor antagonist is a
more potent inhibitor of carbachol-stimulated release of intracellular Ca2+ than of
Ca2+ entry. These data are in line
with a previous report by Wilkes et al. (32) who found that 4-DAMP is a
more potent inhibitor of intracellular
Ca2+ release
(EC50 ~1.7 nM) than influx
(EC50 >30 nM) in the gastric parietal cell.
Although not observed in human duodenocytes, we found that a
subpopulation of rat duodenocytes with enlarged vacuoles, as described
for crypt-like secreting enterocytes (30), responded to carbachol and
CCK-8 with an initial transient increase in
[Ca2+]i
followed by rhythmic oscillations in
[Ca2+]i
of lower amplitude (~
min). The reason for these
differences between rat and human
Ca2+ signaling patterns is
presently unclear but may be related to either differences in maturity
or to secretory status of the cells that were studied. Agonists that
provoke inositol lipid hydrolysis have been shown to induce
oscillations in
[Ca2+]i
in some, but not all, nonexcitable cell types, but the physiological significance of these oscillations is not clearly established. For
example, carbachol induces sustained oscillations in
[Ca2+]i
in mouse pancreatic
-cells exposed to 20 mM (but not in such cells
exposed to 3 mM) of glucose (12). In rabbit cultured gastric parietal
cells (20), carbachol induced apparently rhythmic oscillations but only
at concentrations below the half-maximal concentration for initiation
of acid secretion. Moreover, higher concentrations of carbachol (>1
µM), which did initiate a secretory response, induced only a
transient spike followed by a sustained elevation of
[Ca2+]i
in these cells.
In contrast to the cholinergic signaling pathway, other agonists that
stimulate duodenal mucosal HCO
3
secretion have been shown to increase cAMP production. For example,
dopamine D1-receptor agonists,
which stimulate HCO
3 secretion in rat
(9) and human (18) duodenum in vivo, increased cAMP production in
fractions of crypt as well as in fractions of villous duodenocytes from
the rat (26). In addition, VIP, which is a potent secretory stimulant
in all mammalian species tested (8), also increased cAMP production in
crypt and villus duodenocytes from the rat (26) and guinea pig (25).
Not unexpectedly, this peptide was not found to increase
[Ca2+]i
in the present study. It would thus seem highly likely that both the
cAMP and the
[Ca2+]i
signaling pathways are important modulators of duodenocyte function(s).
It has also recently been shown (11) that 8-bromo-cGMP as well as cGMP
stimulate HCO
3 in rat duodenum in
vitro.
With respect to the specific intracellular events activated by the cAMP
and Ca2+ signaling pathways,
studies of amphibian mucosa in vitro, of membrane vesicles, and of
acutely isolated rat and rabbit duodenocytes (1, 8, 16) have indicated
that duodenocytes import HCO
3 at the
serosal membrane by NaHCO3
cotransport and export
Cl
/HCO
3
exchange via an apical anion conductive pathway, recently suggested to
be the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator channel (11,
14). The cellular location (villus or crypt) within the duodenal mucosa
of the secretory processes and their relation to the mode of
intracellular signaling have, however, not yet been clarified.
Electrogenic secretion of HCO
3
mediated by cAMP may, as suggested for secretion of
Cl
by more distal small
intestine, be a property of crypt cells. In contrast, villus cells may
export HCO
3 by Cl
/HCO
3
exchange (8). However, the results of the present study suggest that
villus as well as crypt cells respond to muscarinic
M3 receptor stimulation with an
increase in
[Ca2+]i.
CCK released postprandially from the duodenal mucosa is an interesting
potential stimulus of duodenal mucosal
HCO
3 secretion, but contraction of the
smooth muscular layers induced by CCK and obstructing luminal perfusion
makes it experimentally difficult to interpret actions of this hormone
on intestinal electrolyte transport in intact animals. The presence of
CCK receptors at vagal afferent fibers may pose a further problem in
elucidating results. Studies of distal ileum, stripped of the
longitudinal muscle layer and mounted in an in vitro chamber (17), have
suggested that CCK acts at enteric neuronal receptors to stimulate
mucosal short-circuit current (anion secretion), in part by release of ACh. Actions of CCK at the enterocyte level have not been reported before. The results of the present study indicate that, similar to
carbachol, CCK-8 increases
[Ca2+]i
in isolated duodenocytes. Thus it would seem most likely that CCK
exerts a direct stimulatory effect on the duodenocyte in vivo. Interestingly, the duodenocyte
[Ca2+]i
response seems rapidly downregulated as was previously observed with
respect to the response to CCK and gastrin in the gastric parietal cell
(5).
In summary, the results of the present study indicate that muscarinic
receptors are present on both human and rat duodenocytes and are
M3 in nature. Because these
duodenocytes respond not only to the cholinergic agonist carbachol but
also to the peptide hormone CCK-8 with an increase in
[Ca2+]i,
our results further suggest that postprandially released CCK, similar
to cholinergic stimuli, may be involved in stimulating duodenocyte
HCO
3 secretion and protecting the duodenum against acid discharged from the stomach.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
We thank Drs. Lars Knutson and Mikael Ljungdal, (Dept. of Surgery,
Uppsala University Hospital) for providing biopsies of human duodenum,
Dr. Magnus Ljungström for help with the imaging system, and
Gunilla Jedstedt for skillful technical assistance.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
This study was supported by Swedish Medical Research Council Grants
04V-10651 and 04X-3515, Swedish National Board for Laboratory Animals
Grant 94-14, and by the Thuring Foundation (Stockholm, Sweden). C. S. Chew was the recipient of a Swedish Medical Research Council Visiting
Professorship.
Address for reprint requests: G. Flemström, Dept. of Physiology,
Uppsala Univ. Biomedical Center, PO Box 572, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden.
Received 31 December 1997; accepted in final form 15 April 1998.
 |
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