Responsiveness of isolated tracheal smooth muscle from normal and sensitized guinea pigs

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 1942-1950 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mansour ◽  
E. E. Daniel

Studies of the responsiveness of strips of tracheal smooth muscle and the changes after sensitization of ovalbumin were carried out. The hypothesis that there might be a generalized or a selective change of airway smooth muscle responsiveness to sensitization was examined in vitro. Agonists acting on muscarinic receptors, α1-, α2-, and β-adrenoceptors, purine receptors, histamine and serotonin receptors, and leukotriene and prostaglandin receptors were tested, as well as mediators released from local nerves by field stimulation and procedures such as elevation of potassium or addition of Ca2+ ionophores which do not involve specific receptors. Sensitivity to serotonin increased significantly in sensitized animals. Total magnitude of the contraction and subsequent relaxation responses to field stimulation also increased significantly. Neither of these changes was large in magnitude. Although there were a few minor changes in sensitivity (pD2) or in maximum responses, the hypothesis of important changes in responses of any sort in tracheal muscle after sensitization was rejected. The question was raised whether this general absence of changed responsiveness in vitro reflected (i) the failure of sensitization to induce generalized smooth muscle hyperresponsiveness, (ii) the loss of the mechanisms of such responsiveness in vitro, or (iii) the inadequacy of in vitro techniques to assess responsiveness present in vivo.

1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (2) ◽  
pp. L220-L225 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. McGrogan ◽  
L. J. Janssen ◽  
J. Wattie ◽  
P. M. O’Byrne ◽  
E. E. Daniel

To investigate the role of prostaglandin (PG) E2 in allergen-induced hyperresponsiveness, dogs inhaled either the allergen Ascaris suum or vehicle (Sham). Twenty-four hours after inhalation, some animals exposed to allergen demonstrated an increased responsiveness to acetylcholine challenge in vivo (Hyp-Resp), whereas others did not (Non-Resp). Strips of tracheal smooth muscle, either epithelium intact or epithelium denuded, were suspended on stimulating electrodes, and a concentration-response curve to carbachol (10−9 to 10−5 M) was generated. Tissues received electrical field stimulation, and organ bath fluid was collected to determine PGE2content. With the epithelium present, all three groups contracted similarly to 10−5 M carbachol, whereas epithelium-denuded tissues from animals that inhaled allergen contracted more than tissues from Sham dogs. In response to electrical field stimulation, Hyp-Resp tissues contracted less than Sham tissues in the presence of epithelium and more than Sham tissues in the absence of epithelium. PGE2release in the muscle bath was greater in Non-Resp tissues than in Sham or Hyp-Resp tissues when the epithelium was present. Removal of the epithelium greatly inhibited PGE2release. We conclude that tracheal smooth muscle is hyperresponsive in vitro after in vivo allergen exposure only when the modulatory effect of the epithelium, largely through PGE2 release, is removed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (4) ◽  
pp. C718-C726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason C. Hedges ◽  
Brian C. Oxhorn ◽  
Michael Carty ◽  
Leonard P. Adam ◽  
Ilia A. Yamboliev ◽  
...  

Phosphorylation of h-caldesmon has been proposed to regulate airway smooth muscle contraction. Both extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases phosphorylate h-caldesmon in vitro. To determine whether both enzymes phosphorylate caldesmon in vivo, phosphorylation-site-selective antibodies were used to assay phosphorylation of MAP kinase consensus sites. Stimulation of cultured tracheal smooth muscle cells with ACh or platelet-derived growth factor increased caldesmon phosphorylation at Ser789 by about twofold. Inhibiting ERK MAP kinase activation with 50 μM PD-98059 blocked agonist-induced caldesmon phosphorylation completely. Inhibiting p38 MAP kinases with 25 μM SB-203580 had no effect on ACh-induced caldesmon phosphorylation. Carbachol stimulation increased caldesmon phosphorylation at Ser789 in intact tracheal smooth muscle, which was blocked by the M2 antagonist AF-DX 116 (1 μM). AF-DX 116 inhibited carbachol-induced isometric contraction by 15 ± 1.4%, thus dissociating caldesmon phosphorylation from contraction. Activation of M2 receptors leads to activation of ERK MAP kinases and phosphorylation of caldesmon with little or no functional effect on isometric force. P38 MAP kinases are also activated by muscarinic agonists, but they do not phosphorylate caldesmon in vivo.


Respiration ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.U. Di Maria ◽  
J.G. Martin ◽  
S. Bellofiore ◽  
A. Mistretta

1980 ◽  
Vol 238 (1) ◽  
pp. C27-C33 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Kannan ◽  
E. E. Daniel

The structural bases for myogenic and neurogenic control of canine tracheal smooth muscle were studied. At optimum lengths, strips of muscle showed insignificant neurogenic or myogenic tone. Atropine and/or tetrodotoxin blocked the contractile responses elicited on electrical field stimulation of intrinsic nerves. After raising the tone with tetraethylammonium ion and in the presence of atropine, field stimulation of nerves caused a relaxation, a major component of which was blocked by propranolol and/or tetrodotoxin, suggesting an effect mediated through interaction of mediator released from sympathetic nerves with beta-adrenergic receptors. Electron microscopic studies revealed gap junctions between extensions of smooth-muscle cells and a sparse innervation. The axonal varicosities, corresponding to cholinergic (predominantly) and adrenergic (occasionally) nerves, were seen predominantly in the clefts between cell bundles. The physiological responses were compared with the morphological features. Although this muscle exhibits multiunit behavior in vitro, implying that nerves initiate the coordinate activity, its ultrastructural features suggest a potential for single-unit behavior.


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Jones ◽  
P. M. O'Byrne ◽  
M. Pashley ◽  
R. Serio ◽  
J. Jury ◽  
...  

Airway hyperresponsiveness occurs after inhalation of O3 in dogs. The purpose of this study was to examine the responsiveness of trachealis smooth muscle in vitro to electrical field stimulation, exogenous acetylcholine, and potassium chloride from dogs with airway hyperresponsiveness after inhaled O3 in vivo and to compare this with the responsiveness of trachealis muscle from control dogs. In addition, excitatory junction potentials were measured with the use of single and double sucrose gap techniques in both groups of dogs to determine whether inhaled O3 affects the release of acetylcholine from parasympathetic nerves in trachealis muscle. Airway hyperresponsiveness developed in all dogs after inhaled O3 (3 ppm for 30 min). The acetylcholine provocative concentration decreased from 4.11 mg/ml before O3 inhalation to 0.66 mg/ml after O3 (P less than 0.0001). The acetylcholine provocative concentration increased slightly after control inhalation of dry room air. Airway smooth muscle showed increased responses to both electrical field stimulation and exogenous acetylcholine but not to potassium chloride in preparations from dogs with airway hyperresponsiveness in vivo. The increased response to electrical field stimulation was not associated with a change in excitatory junctional potentials. These results suggest that a postjunctional alteration in trachealis muscle function occurs after inhaled O3 in dogs, which may account for airway hyperresponsiveness after O3 in vivo.


1983 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1469-1476 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Barnes ◽  
B. E. Skoogh ◽  
J. K. Brown ◽  
J. A. Nadel

We have investigated the activation of alpha-adrenergic contractile responses in dog tracheal smooth muscle. After cholinergic and beta-adrenergic blockade, neither electrical field stimulation nor alpha-adrenergic agonists caused contraction of trachealis strips in vitro, but after exposure to histamine or serotonin a striking contractile response was obtained. Similar activation of the contractile response to norepinephrine was seen in isolated tracheal segments in vivo after exposure to histamine and serotonin. This response was mediated predominantly by alpha 2-adrenoceptors, because the alpha 2-antagonist yohimbine was a potent inhibitor whereas the alpha 1-antagonist prazosin was a weak inhibitor of the response to both electrical stimulation and exogenous agonists. Using [3H]yohimbine to label alpha 2-receptors and [3H]prazosin to label alpha 1-receptors, we confirmed the preponderance of alpha 2-receptors in trachealis membranes but found no increase in either receptor number or affinity after incubating muscle strips with histamine. The magnitude of alpha-adrenergic contraction was significantly related to the magnitude of precontraction by histamine and serotonin both in vitro and in vivo but persisted after washout. Acetylcholine was much less potent in activating the alpha-adrenergic response. We conclude that activation of airway alpha-adrenergic responses involves a postreceptor mechanism not directly related to membrane depolarization, but involving some related process such as activation of calcium channels.


1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (3) ◽  
pp. H832-H841 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Parker ◽  
R. S. Keller ◽  
D. V. DeFily ◽  
M. H. Laughlin ◽  
M. J. Novotny ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to determine whether intrinsic contraction-relaxation properties of coronary arteries are altered during acute gram-negative endotoxemia. Coronary vascular smooth muscle (VSM) was evaluated in vitro using large and small left circumflex coronary ring preparations isolated from dogs 4 h after administration of either saline (control; C) or 1.5 mg/kg Escherichia coli endotoxin (ET). ET dogs exhibited marked systemic hypotension and cardiovascular depression throughout the 4-h in vivo phase of the study accompanied by reduction in total left ventricular myocardial blood flow. Isolated coronary vessels were stretched to the apex of the length-contractile tension curve; no differences were observed in length-active or length-passive tension (vessel compliance) relationships between C and ET vessels. Isometric contractions produced by K+ and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) were similar in C and ET coronary arteries. VSM relaxant responses to nitroprusside (NP; 10(-10) to 10(-4) M) were also similar in C and ET vessels. In contrast to the apparent lack of effect of ET on directly acting VSM agents, relaxation responses to the endothelial-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (ACh) were significantly less in ET vessels. Impaired vasodilator response to ACh was not improved by in vivo treatment with the combination antioxidant therapy of allopurinol, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. We conclude that both depolarization (K+) and receptor (PGF2 alpha)-mediated contractile mechanisms, as well as basal cGMP (NP)-mediated vasodilator mechanisms, remained functional in coronary vasculature during acute endotoxemia. Inhibition of ACh-mediated relaxation in ET vessels suggests altered endothelial-dependent vasodilation in coronary arteries during endotoxemia, but this change did not seem to be associated causally with oxygen free radicals.


1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 743-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Hershenson ◽  
M. E. Wylam ◽  
N. Punjabi ◽  
J. G. Umans ◽  
P. T. Schumacker ◽  
...  

Recently, we demonstrated that chronic exposure to hyperoxia causes in vivo airway muscarinic receptor hyperresponsiveness in the developing rat [Am. J. Physiol. 262 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 6): L263-L269, 1992]. To test whether airway cholinergic hyperresponsiveness might result from intrinsic alterations in smooth muscle contractility, we measured the effect of in vivo hyperoxia on the contractile force elicited by acetylcholine (ACh) of isometrically mounted tracheal rings in vitro. Tracheal rings were obtained from 3-wk-old rats exposed to air or to > 95% O2 for 8 days. Muscarinic responses were determined by measuring the force elicited by exposure to increasing concentrations of ACh. Responses were normalized to the morphometrically determined tracheal smooth muscle cross-sectional area in a plane perpendicular to the axis of force generation. In vivo O2 exposure significantly increased maximal ACh-induced stress generation (response to 10(-3) M ACh: air, 15.92 +/- 1.37 g/mm2; O2, 21.78 +/- 1.52 g/mm2; P = 0.010). The ACh-induced stress generation of cylinders from hyperoxic rats was substantially reduced by both epithelial removal and treatment with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. We conclude that in vivo hyperoxic exposure increases tracheal smooth muscle contractile function in vitro and that epithelium-derived prostaglandin(s) contributes to the observed increase in maximal contractile responsiveness.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1316-1320 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ishida ◽  
P. D. Pare ◽  
R. J. Thomson ◽  
R. R. Schellenberg

Repeated aerosol antigen challenge of previously sensitized guinea pigs induces airway hyperresponsiveness to inhaled acetylcholine. To determine the mechanism producing these airway changes and assuming that changes in the trachealis muscle reflect changes in muscle of the entire tracheobronchial tree, we examined the in vitro smooth muscle mechanics and morphometric parameters of tracheae from guinea pigs demonstrating hyperresponsiveness in vivo vs. tracheae from control guinea pigs. No differences between these groups were found in luminal volume at zero transmural pressure, passive pressure-volume characteristics, or area of airway wall. Smooth muscle areas were slightly less in tracheae from hyperresponsive guinea pigs. Tracheae from hyperresponsive guinea pigs had both significantly increased isovolumetric force generation and isobaric shortening compared with tracheae from controls when evaluated over the range of transmural pressures from -40 to 40 cmH2O. We conclude that the in vivo airway hyperresponsiveness induced with repeated antigen challenge is associated with both increased force generation and shortening of tracheal smooth muscle without increased muscle mass, suggesting enhanced contractile activity.


1985 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1874-1878 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Wagner ◽  
S. R. Kleeberger ◽  
E. W. Spannhake ◽  
G. K. Adams

We have studied the effect of repeated in vivo antigen exposure on in vitro airway responsiveness in sensitized sheep. Fourteen sheep underwent five biweekly exposures to aerosolized Ascaris suum antigen or saline. Following this exposure regimen, the animals were killed and tracheal smooth muscle and lung parenchymal strips were prepared for in vitro studies of isometric contraction in response to histamine, methacholine, prostaglandin F2 alpha, and a thromboxane A2 analogue. No alteration in tracheal smooth muscle responsiveness was observed between saline- and antigen-exposed tissue. In contrast, by use of lung parenchymal strips as an index of peripheral airway responsiveness, significant increases in responsiveness to histamine and a thromboxane A2 analogue (10(-6) and 10(-5) M) were observed in antigen-exposed tissue compared with saline controls. These results demonstrate that repeated antigen exposure in vivo selectively increase the responsiveness of peripheral lung smooth muscle to certain chemical mediators of anaphylaxis.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document