Visfatin expression is elevated in normal human pregnancy.

Visfatin is a novel-secreted 52kDa adipokine that appears to mimic the action of insulin, inducing glucose transport into mammalian cells. We examined visfatin expression in a cohort of pregnant women to determine if pregnancy influenced visfatin gene expression, circulating levels of visfatin, or local concentrations of visfatin in either omental fat or placenta. Samples of female omental fat, blood and placenta were collected over a 2-year period and frozen at -80 degrees C until they were employed in a series of various assays. Samples were collected during delivery in pregnant women, at hysterectomy in lean women and at bariatric surgery in obese and obese diabetic women. Visfatin expression and concentrations were measured in four cohorts of women: lean controls, pregnant women at term, obese (BMI>40) and obese diabetic women (BMI>40). Visfatin expression was seven times higher in omental fat of pregnant women than in lean women. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) demonstrated that the visfatin gene transcript was translated to protein. An immunoblot confirmed that visfatin protein was much higher in pregnant women than in obese women. Serum visfatin was 20.8ng/ml (n=7) in lean women as compared to 40.3ng/ml in pregnant women (n=4); thus the increased visfatin mRNA levels in omental fat were not reflected in increased serum visfatin. We measured visfatin mRNA content of human placenta and found that placenta expresses substantial amounts of visfatin. GAP-DH, a housekeeping gene that is highly expressed in most human cells had a threshold value (Ct) of 20.9 versus a Ct of 22.4 for visfatin. Again, IHC confirmed that placental visfatin mRNA was translated into visfatin protein. [(3)H] 2-deoxyglucose transport was measured in partially differentiated 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. At a concentration of 2nM, visfatin and insulin produced nearly identical increases in glucose transport. Taken together, these data suggest there is a selective increase in visfatin gene expression in pregnant women at term. Since visfatin also potently and efficaciously induced glucose transport in a cell culture model, any hypothetical role for visfatin in pregnancy should include the possibility that it may function in regulation of maternal/fetal glucose metabolism or distribution.

Obestatin and ghrelin in obese and in pregnant women.

We identified, through qPCR, receptor mRNA for a number of gut peptides in female human omental fat: the incretins, GIP and GLP-1, the orexigenic peptides PYY-Y1 and -Y2 and ghrelin, and the anorexigenic peptide obestatin. Four cohorts of women were examined: lean controls (BMI<23), obese (BMI>41), obese diabetic and term pregnant women. Human fat expressed receptor mRNAs for all six peptides. Pregnant women expressed roughly three times as much orphan GPR-39 receptor, a proposed obestatin receptor, than other women and less than half as much of the ghrelin receptor (GHSR-1a). An immunoblot probed with a GPR-39 selective antibody yielded a single band corresponding to the correct molecular weight (52 kDa) for the proposed obestatin receptor. Fluorescent immunohistochemistry of human fat employing the same antibody indicated the receptor protein was localized to the adipocyte cell membrane. The concentration of obestatin circulating in blood was measured in the same cohort of women and was significantly lower in obese and obese diabetic women compared to control.

Analysis of the interactions of Nrf-2, PMF-1, and CSN-7 with the 5'-flanking sequence of the mouse 4E-BP1 gene.

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2) binds to a specific polyamine responsive element (PRE) in the promoter region of the spermidine-spermine acetyltransferase (SSAT) gene, a key component of the polyamine catabolic pathway. Regulation of SSAT gene transcription requires the additional interaction of Nrf-2 with polyamine modulated factor 1 (PMF-1). Likewise, transcription of the eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) gene is regulated in a polyamine-dependent manner, but the actual mechanism has not previously been determined. Analysis of the 5'-flanking sequence of the murine 4E-BP1 gene indicated the presence of several potential PRE sites, which might be involved in regulating its transcription. Our goal in this research was to determine potential interactions between Nrf-2, PMF-1, the human homologue of the Arabidopsis signalosome complex (CSN-7), and these potential PRE sites. Four PCR fragments containing regions with considerable homology (78%) to the human PRE were generated from the 5'-flanking sequence of the mouse 4E-BP1 gene and the fragments were used in electrophoretic gel mobility shift and supershift assays. Purified Nrf-2 interacted with all four of these fragments, and similar gel shifts were observed with both cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions of NIH-3T3 cells. However, polyamine depletion with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) eliminated the gel shift. Supershift assays indicated that the shift was due to the binding of Nrf-2, and the binding was competitive with a known Nrf-2 binding sequence. Purified PMF-1 did not bind any of the PCR fragments alone, but when added with Nrf-2, decreased the magnitude of the gel shift for one of the fragments (PRE located at -2060 relative to the transcription start site). CSN-7 did not interact with the sequences, nor did it inhibit protein/DNA interaction. These data indicate a possible mechanism by which polyamines enhance the binding of a Nrf-2/PMF-1 complex to the 5'-flanking region of the 4E-BP1 gene. Since polyamines increase expression of the 4E-BP1 gene, it seems likely that formation of this complex is involved in its transcriptional regulation.

Vascular endothelial cell proliferation: regulation of cellular polyamines.

OBJECTIVE: The aims were to investigate the requirement for and regulation of cellular polyamines during vascular endothelial cell proliferation. METHODS: Proliferation of cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells was determined after cellular polyamine depletion. In addition, polyamine synthesis and uptake mechanisms were examined in the presence and absence of trophic stimuli and density dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. RESULTS: Serum stimulated, subconfluent cells ceased cell division following the inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a rate limiting enzyme for polyamine biosynthesis. The addition of 10 microM putrescine, the product of the enzyme reaction catalysed by ODC, completely reversed the inhibition of cell growth. Serum deprivation reduced cytosolic ODC activity to near non-detectable levels. Readdition of 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) resulted in transient increases in ODC activity which preceded DNA synthesis and mitosis. Basic fibroblast growth factor also stimulated ODC activity in a dose dependent manner with levels approximating the maximum obtainable with FBS. In contrast, platelet derived growth factor and epidermal growth factor did not stimulate ODC activity. Finally, mitogenic stimuli did not induce ODC activity in density arrested cells. The uptake of radiolabelled putrescine from the cell medium was time dependent and saturable. Kinetic studies from dividing cells revealed a single transport component for putrescine uptake [maximum rate of uptake (Vmax) = 11.2(SEM 2.0) pmol.10(5) cells-1.h-1; Michaelis constant (Km) = 1.1(0.3) microM]. Putrescine uptake by density arrested cells was characterised by a 57% decrease in Vmax with no change in Km. Readdition of FBS to serum deprived subconfluent cells, in the presence of ODC inhibitors, resulted in a rapid increase in the rate of putrescine uptake with Vmax increasing by 533% over FBS alone by 48 h. DISCUSSION: These data suggest that polyamines are essential for endothelial cell proliferation and that synthesis and uptake mechanisms are regulated according to cell growth.

Inhibition by rapamycin of ornithine decarboxylase and epithelial cell proliferation in intestinal IEC-6 cells in culture.

1. Induction of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) appears to be controlled primarily at the level of ODC mRNA translation. The immunosuppressant drug, rapamycin, blocked the induction of ODC in response to serum by roughly 50% but was without effect on transport of putrescine into the intracellular space. The effect on ODC was specific for the intracellular signalling pathway leading to activation of p70S6k, as the immunosuppressant FK 506 was without effect on ODC activity. 2. Exposure of IEC-6 duodenal epithelial cells to rapamycin inhibited cellular proliferation. The effect of rapamycin was cytostatic in that removal of the immunosuppressant from the medium resulted in renewed cell division. Conversely, addition of exogenous putrescine, the product of the ODC catalysed reaction, was unable to reverse the cytostatic effects of rapamycin. 3. At a concentration of 10 nM, rapamycin inhibited the induction of ODC by 50%, a level of inhibition which could not be enhanced by exposure cells to 1000 nM rapamycin. This observation suggests that other intracellular signalling pathways, in addition to the p70S6k cascade, might be involved in regulation of translation of ODC mRNA or that rapamycin does not completely inhibit p70S6k.

Insulin-like growth factor I in human gastrointestinal exocrine secretions.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is the mediator of growth hormone dependent growth. The peptide has been identified by radioimmunoassay in a number of human exocrine secretions of the gastrointestinal tract including (nM): saliva 0.9, gastric juice 3.5, jejunal chyme 24.6, pancreatic juice 3.6, and bile 0.9. The identification of IGF-I in pancreatic juice was confirmed by HPLC. The intravenous injection of 1 unit/kg secretin increased pancreatic juice IGF-I content from a basal level of roughly 4 nM to nearly 20 nM. Conversely, the IGF-I content of bile was unaffected by secretin. Radioligand blot analysis of samples of gastric juice, jejunal chyme and pancreatic juice demonstrated that these fluids contained no IGF binding proteins. Thus, unlike IGF-I in serum, IGF-I secreted into the gastrointestinal lumen is not bound to insulin-like growth factor I binding proteins. Since the growth factor is not protein bound, its concentration in the gut lumen may be high enough to exert biological activity.

The effects of cholinergic agents on morphine-induced circling behavior in the intact mouse.

The effects of morphine on locomotor activity in mice was studied. It was shown that morphine in this species induces circling, a dose-dependent, stereotyped behavior. At high doses of morphine, mice engaged virtually exclusively in circling uninterrupted by other activities. The effect was modified by muscarinic agents. Blockade of muscarinic receptors with atropine potentiated circling while the muscarinic agonist, oxotremorine, attenuated it. The mixed muscarinic/nicotinic cholinergic agonist, physostigmine, had no effect on this behavior.

Peroxynitrite inhibits the activity of ornithine decarboxylase.

Polyamines are required during cell proliferation, whereas NO has anti-proliferative properties. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a critical enzyme for the synthesis of polyamines. We tested the hypothesis that the modification of ODC by peroxynitrite (OONO-), a short-lived free radical formed from NO and superoxide produces a fall in ODC activity, and therefore polyamine synthesis and cell proliferation. The treatment of a rat recombinant ODC (rODC) with OONO- resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of rODC activity with an IC50 of approximately 100 microM. A Western blot employing a specific antibody to nitrotyrosine revealed a dose-dependent nitration of rODC tyrosine residues. When intact IEC-6 cells were treated with ONOO-, ODC activity decreased by 49%. These data suggest a correlation between ODC activity and nitration, and a possible mechanism by which NO synthesis may modulate polyamine synthesis.

Distribution of (3H)QNB binding in dog gastric smooth muscle pre- and post vagotomy.

Tritiated quinuclidinyl benzilate [(3H) QNB] was used to characterize muscarinic cholinergic receptors in membrane fragments prepared from the circular smooth muscle of the dog stomach. In preliminary experiments the effect of protein, incubation time, temperature and pH on QNB binding were evaluated. Muscarinic cholinergic antagonists and agonists inhibited QNB binding in a concentration-dependent manner, but the nicotinic antagonist hexamethonium and adrenergic compounds were not effective in displacing QNB from binding sites. Scatchard plot analysis of binding data showed an asymmetric receptor distribution in the stomach. The cardia bound 425fmol of QNB/mg protein with a Kd of 0.05nM, the fundus 267fmol/mg protein with a Kd of 0.09nM and the antrum 147 fmol/mg protein with a Kd of 0.14nM. In a second series of experiments, binding of QNB was measured in dogs which had been vagotomized three weeks earlier. Vagotomy had no effect on the apparent Kd but disrupted the asymmetric receptor distribution seen in the normal dog such that the Bmax of the cardia fell to a value of 222fmol/mg protein.

Polyamines are absorbed through a y+ amino acid carrier in rat intestinal epithelial cells.

Due to the similarity in transport characteristics of polyamines and the y+ basic amino acid system, we hypothesized that both substrates could be moving through a common carrier site. Competitive and cross inhibition experiments in intestinal epithelial cells revealed the possibility of a common transport site. N-ethylmalemide (NEM) inhibited both lysine and putrescine transport, confirming that both were carried by a y+ transporter. Overexpressing the y+ transporter CAT-1 in a polyamine transport-deficient cell line, CHO-MG, did not reconstitute polyamine-transport. Thus, polyamines are not traveling through CAT-1. To determine if lysine is carried by a polyamine transport site, an antizyme-overexpressing cell line was used. Antizyme overexpression decreased polyamine uptake by 50%; in contrast, lysine transport was unaffected. Therefore, lysine is not traveling through a polyamine transport site. It appears that polyamines and lysine are likely traveling through a common unknown y+ transport site.

Hormonal regulation of postprandial induction of gastrointestinal ornithine decarboxylase activity.

The growth of gastrointestinal mucosa can be related to ingestion and digestion of diet, with fasting producing mucosal hypoplasia and hyperphagia producing mucosal hyperplasia. Experiments were designed to determine whether induction of polyamine metabolism following ingestion of a meal was related to mucosal growth. Activity of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in both jejunum and ileum but not in duodenum was dependent on the presence of food in the gut; ODC activity was more than 200-fold greater in mucosa of fed rats than in fasted rats. Inhibition of ODC with difluoromethylornithine lead to mucosal atrophy in ileum but not in duodenum. Refeeding of fasted rats resulted in significant induction of ODC in duodenal, ileal, and colonic, but not fundic, mucosa. In addition, two hormones, epidermal growth factor and glucagon, were effective inducers of ileal ODC activity. Direct evidence for hormonal involvement in the postprandial rise in mucosal ODC activity was provided by experiments in rats that had undergone ileal bypass surgery. After refeeding of fasted rats mucosal ODC activity was induced in both ileum left in continuity and in the bypassed segment. Refeeding of elemental diets demonstrated that ingestion of carbohydrate alone was sufficient for maximal enzyme induction. Mixed amino acids or glyceryl trioleate were no more effective inducers than nonnutritive solutions of cellulose or saccharin. These data demonstrate that hormones which are released during ingestion and digestion of a meal are the stimuli for induction of mucosal polyamine metabolism, suggesting that food-induced mucosal growth is hormonally mediated.

Apparent post-transcriptional modification of ornithine decarboxylase accounts for its induction in IEC-6 cells in culture.

Putrescine, the product of the ornithine decarboxylase (ODC)-catalyzed reaction, stimulates macromolecular synthesis in a duodenal crypt cell line, IEC-6 cells, grown in culture. In addition, supplementation of medium with putrescine alone reverses the inhibition of proliferation produced by inhibition of ODC with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). A series of experiments was initiated in the IEC-6 cell line to study the regulation of induction of ODC, as this enzyme is rate-limiting in putrescine synthesis. Five percent fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 10 nM IGF-II stimulated a 21-fold and 6-fold induction of ODC activity, respectively. Kinetic analysis indicated that the effect was on the Vmax of the reaction and not on the Km, suggesting an increase in total ODC protein. This was verified by measuring [3H]DFMO binding; serum-stimulated induction of activity was accompanied by a corresponding 20-fold increase in the specific binding of DFMO to ODC. In contrast, Northern analysis demonstrated only a two-fold change in ODC mRNA level during induction. Measurement of enzyme stability showed that the half-life of the ODC protein was increased three-fold above basal level in the induced state. Inhibition of induction was produced by pretreatment with either the calmodulin antagonist, W-7, or the product of the ODC-catalyzed reaction, putrescine. Further analysis illustrated that the inhibition produced by these agents was partly the result of destabilization of the enzyme and not a decrease in message level. These results demonstrate that the induction of ODC by trophic agents is the result of post-transcriptional events rather than at the level of RNA synthesis.

Gastrointestinal luminal polyamines: cellular accumulation and enterohepatic circulation.

The concentration of polyamines contained in the lumen of the gut was quantified. The duodenum and jejunum of the rat contained 2-3 mM putrescine and 1-2 mM cadaverine, whereas in the ileum and colon the concentration of these polyamines was significantly less. In addition, the concentrations of spermine and spermidine in the intestinal lumen were low to undetectable. Putrescine in the lumen of the gut was over 90% free with only 10% or less bound to protein. The activity of the enzymes responsible for the synthesis of polyamines was also measured. In contrast to concentration, enzyme activity was found to be high in the ileum, cecum, and colon and nonexistent in the duodenal and jejunal lumen. This suggested the potential for enterohepatic circulation of polyamines that were synthesized by the colonic microflora and transported to the proximal gut via the portal circulation and biliary tree. Indeed, when [14C]putrescine was instilled into the lumen of the gut, it was secreted in pancreaticobiliary secretions. Upper and lower jejunum and colon all supported enterohepatic circulation of polyamines, whereas it was absent in the ileum. Polyamine accumulation in IEC-6 cells grown under in vitro conditions was also measured. Putrescine was transported under time- and temperature-dependent but sodium-independent conditions. The transporter displayed little selectivity for the various polyamines and compounds with related structures but did not recognize amino acids. The Michaelis constant for putrescine accumulation was 1.26 x 10(-6) M with a maximal velocity of the enzyme reaction of 5,184 pmol putrescine.mg protein-1.h-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Polyamine-dependent growth and calmodulin-regulated induction of ornithine decarboxylase.

The proliferation of cultured gastrointestinal crypt epithelial cells (IEC-6) and the role of calcium in polyamine biosynthesis were examined after serum stimulation of quiescent cells. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was high when cells grew in 5% fetal calf serum (FCS) and dropped to nearly nondetectable levels when cells reached contact inhibition of growth. Polyamines appeared to be necessary for the proliferation of these cells, as growth was completely inhibited by the addition of 5 mM difluoromethylornithine, a specific inhibitor of ODC, to the media. This effect was reversed by 10 microM putrescine. Serum deprivation of preconfluent cells resulted in a fall in ODC activity. Readdition of serum led to an increase in ODC activity, which peaked at 4 h after addition and preceded both putrescine accumulation and [3H]thymidine incorporation into acid-precipitable material. Furthermore, readdition of serum to serum-deprived cells resulted in an approximately twofold increase in the level of free, ionized, intracellular Ca2+ as measured spectrophotometrically by monitoring fura-2 fluorescence. Inhibition of calmodulin-mediated processes with N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalelesulfonamide (W-7), a calmodulin antagonist, inhibited the serum-stimulated induction of ODC in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 of approximately 10 microM. Similar results were obtained with trifluoperazine. Lastly, 30 microM W-7 completely inhibited serum-stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation into acid-precipitable material. These data demonstrate that polyamine biosynthesis and subsequent DNA synthesis after serum refeeding of cells is regulated by a Ca2+ activated, calmodulin-dependent process. Furthermore, the production of polyamines is essential for normal proliferation of these epithelial cells in culture.

Microflora-derived polyamines modulate obstruction-induced colonic mucosal hypertrophy.

Experiments were designed to determine the role of microflora-derived intraluminal polyamines in the colonic mucosal response to obstruction. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated per os with 0.9% NaCl or a combination of nonabsorbable antibiotics prior to the placement of either a sham or complete colonic obstruction. Sixty-six hours after surgery, wet tissue weight, DNA, RNA, and protein content were all increased in the mucosa proximal to the obstruction in NaCl-treated animals; however, DNA content was the only parameter increased after antibiotics. This induction was a purely local effect as neither hyperplasia nor hypertrophy was observed in the ileum or colon distal to the obstruction. In the NaCl-treated animals, mucosal ornithine decarboxylase activity was not induced until 48 h postsurgery, yet mucosal spermidine concentrations were significantly higher as early as 24 h. Intraluminal bacterial lysine, ornithine, and arginine decarboxylase activities were induced by obstruction but were reduced by antibiotic treatment. [14C]putrescine uptake by intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) in culture was blocked by the antibiotics employed in this study, but [14C]-lysine transport was relatively unaffected. These data demonstrate that intraluminal polyamines modulate the trophic response of the colonic mucosa after colonic obstruction.

Pentagastrin induction of spermine/spermidine N1-acetyltransferase and mucosal polyamines.

The trophic response of the gastrointestinal mucosa to treatment with the hormone gastrin includes a polyamine-dependent step. Because gastrin does not induce ornithine decarboxylase, experiments were designed to determine whether pentagastrin induced the polyamine interconverting enzyme, spermine/spermidine N1-acetyltransferase (SAT). Eight hours after intraperitoneal treatment of rats with either spermidine (0.8 mmol/kg) or pentagastrin (250 micrograms/kg) oxyntic gland mucosal SAT activity was increased from roughly 400 to 800 pmol [14C]acetate.mg protein-1.h-1. In contrast, colonic mucosa was not sensitive to pentagastrin even though spermidine treatment induced nearly a 400% increase in SAT activity. Measurement of both oxyntic gland and colonic mucosal polyamine concentrations showed that by 16 h after pentagastrin (250 micrograms/kg ip) putrescine, acetylspermidine, and spermidine levels all were increased to a level approximately 200% of that observed in NaCl-treated rats. By 24 h mucosal polyamine content of pentagastrin-treated rats was not different from control. Essentially the same results were found in animals treated with difluoromethylornithine, thus demonstrating that the increase in mucosal polyamine concentration was not related to the induction of ornithine decarboxylase. The results of these experiments demonstrate that unlike most hormones, the hormone gastrin induces the polyamine converting enzyme, SAT, rather than ornithine decarboxylase during stimulation of polyamine-dependent cell growth and/or division.

Cell spreading and the regulation of ornithine decarboxylase.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cell spreading on the induction of ornithine decarboxylase and the rate of putrescine uptake in anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent cells. Plating non-transformed IEC-6 epithelial cells at high versus low cell density restricted cell spreading from 900 microns 2 to approximately 140 microns 2, blunted the transient induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity from 202 to 32 pmol 14CO2/mg protein per hour and reduced the rate of [14C] putrescine uptake from 46 to 23 pmol/10(5) cells per hour. The mean spreading area of the cell population was controlled by coating tissue culture dishes with the nonadhesive polymer, polyHEMA. Ornithine decarboxylase activity and putrescine uptake correlated with cell spreading with minimal spreading (263 microns 2) corresponding to an 83% decrease in ornithine decarboxylase activity and 51% decrease in the rate of putrescine uptake. Adding the RGD peptide, Gly-Arg-Gly-Glu-Ser-Pro to the medium of sparsely plated cells resulted in rapid reductions in cell spreading concomitant with dose-dependent decreases in ornithine decarboxylase activity and putrescine uptake. Finally, minimizing cell spreading by depriving cells of substratum contact completely abolished serum-induced increases in ornithine decarboxylase and reduced the rate of putrescine uptake by 47%. In contrast to IEC-6 cells, ornithine decarboxylase of neoplastic HTC-116 cells was constitutively expressed with basal and stimulated activity (193 and 982 pmol 14CO2/mg protein per hour, respectively) completely independent of cell adhesion. Putrescine uptake, however, was abolished in the absence of cell adhesion. These data suggest that the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity and the rate of putrescine uptake correlate with spreading of anchorage-dependent IEC-6 cells and that ornithine decarboxylase activity but not putrescine uptake, appears to be independent of spreading of neoplastic HTC-116 cells.

Ontogeny of gastric mucosal muscarinic receptor and sensitivity to carbachol.

Development of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor and sensitivity of oxyntic gland mucosa to a muscarinic agonist were studied in rats of various ages. The gastric lumen of the fetal rat at the 20th day of gestation contained a statistically significant amount of basal pepsin, which increased log linearly over the first 30 days of life. Carbachol was effective in stimulating the secretion of pepsin as early as 12 h after birth. Basal acid could be measured in the gastric lumen 12 h after birth. The secretion of basal acid increased log linearly over the first 30 days of life. Carbachol was an effective secretagogue even in the fetal rat. The density of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor of the adult rat oxyntic gland mucosa was 99.3 fmol/mg protein with an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant for quinuclidinyl benzilate of 0.40 nM. The receptor was well developed even in the fetal rat, which bound 79.6 fmol/mg protein with an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant of 0.26 nM. Except for immediately after birth, receptor density was maintained between 70 and 90% of the adult level over the first 30 days of life. These results suggest that cholinergic regulation of gastric acid and pepsin secretion is probably functional by either late gestation or at least immediately after birth.

Contraction and [3H]QNB binding in collagenase isolated fundic smooth muscle cells.

Smooth muscle cells from the guinea pig gastric fundus were isolated by successive collagenase digestions. Tritiated quinuclidinyl benzilate [( 3H]QNB) was used to study the binding characteristics of the muscarinic cholinergic receptors on these cells. Each cell bound 8.3 X 10(-19) mol of QNB, and a concentration of QNB of 0.19 nM was required to label one-half of the binding sites. This suggests a concentration of about 500,000 muscarinic cholinergic receptors per smooth muscle cell. The muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonists atropine and scopolamine inhibited QNB binding with a 50% inhibiting concentration (IC50) in the nanomolar range, whereas the agonists acetylcholine (ACh), oxotremorine, and carbamylcholine had IC50S in the micromolar range. Hill coefficients (nH) for antagonists approached unity, but agonists displayed fractional nH. Exposure of cells to cholinergic muscarinic agonists resulted in dose-dependent decreases in cell length. The concentration of agonist required to induce half-maximal contractions (ED50) was 8.3 X 10(-12) M for ACh and 6.3 X 10(-13) M for oxotremorine. Atropine (10(-9) M) decreased the sensitivity to ACh, increasing the ED50 for ACh-induced contractions to 1.2 X 10(-10) M. These results suggest the existence of muscarinic receptor heterogeneity for cholinergic agonists but not for antagonists.

Ileal mucosal growth during intraluminal infusion of ethylamine or putrescine.

Either ethylamine or the diamine putrescine was infused at the rate of 1 mumol/h for 66 h into the ileal lumen of rats. Total mucosal RNA, DNA, and protein content was greater in amine-treated rats than in rats receiving 0.9% NaCl. Growth was greatest in the mucosa surrounding the tip of the infusion catheter but was also observed 9 cm proximal and distal to the catheter tip. Infusion of these amines induced the activity of the enzymes ornithine and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. Ornithine decarboxylase activity was increased 2- and 6-fold and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity 10- and 5-fold by putrescine and ethylamine, respectively. Induction of the polyamine biosynthetic enzymes was not accompanied by increases in the tissue content of polyamines. Putrescine, spermidine, and spermine content of the ileal mucosa surrounding the catheter tip was the same in 0.9% NaCl-, ethylamine-, and putrescine-treated animals. Finally, ethylamine was without effect on serum gastrin concentration in these experiments. The results suggest that amines regulate mucosal growth and may do so by modulating the activity of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of the polyamines.