Neuropeptides and Secretion

1987 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 524-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ekström

In the rat parotid gland, an atropine-resistant parasympathetic-nerve-evoked secretion was demonstrated in vivo. In the absence of atropine, the non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic transmitter release seemed to contribute to the fluid secretion and to be largely responsible for the secretion of amylase and acinar secretory granules. The gland was reached by nerve fibers containing substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and, to some extent, calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) via the parasympathetic auriculo-temporal nerve. Upon electrical stimulation of the nerve, these peptides were released. SP and substance K (SK), a novel tachykinin, induced a profuse watery secretion when injected i.v., while VIP caused a sparse but amylase-rich secretion. CGRP caused no secretion on its own. The tachykinin-evoked secretory response was enhanced by VIP and CGRP. A SPanalogue almost abolished the SP-evoked response, while the atropine-resistant parasympathetic response was only halved. None of the peptides under study can on its own account for the atropine-resistant parasympathetic secretion. The neuropeptides may play complementary roles in the regulation of the exocrine functions of the gland.

1974 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne M. Jones ◽  
Robert H. Michell

When rat parotid fragments that had been labelled with32P in vivo were exposed to high concentrations of acetylcholine, radioactivity was lost from phosphatidylinositol but not from other phospholipids. Simultaneously the concentration of phosphatidylinositol in the tissue decreased. If previously unlabelled tissue was incubated with32Pi an increase in incorporation of radioactivity into phosphatidylinositol was observed during this decrease in concentration. The effects of acetylcholine were blocked by atropine, but not by tubocurarine. The response to acetylcholine was rapid, with up to one-third of the tissue's phosphatidylinositol disappearing within 5min. Similar effects were evoked by stimulation with methacholine and by high concentrations of tetramethylammonium ion; these responses were also atropine-sensitive and tubocurarine-insensitive. It is concluded that the event in inositol lipid metabolism that is affected by acetylcholine stimulation is removal of the phosphorylinositol group from the molecule; this is mediated through muscarinic cholinergic receptors. This is followed by a compensatory increase in the rate of synthesis of phosphatidylinositol, which has been described in detail in the past. These observations are compared with those of previous workers and are discussed in relation to the existing hypotheses relating to the significance of stimulus-provoked phosphatidylinositol turnover.


1965 ◽  
Vol 209 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Schneyer ◽  
H. D. Hall

Stimulation of rat parotid gland by way of the auriculotemporal nerve was used to delineate the relationship between flow rate and concentration of Na and K in the saliva. It was found that [Na] increased with increasing flow rate, whereas [K] hardly changed. Comparison of the electrolyte composition of saliva evoked by supramaximal stimulation of the nerve with that evoked by supramaximal doses of pilocarpine showed only small differences in [Na] and [K], and these were attributable to differences in flow rate. On the other hand, levels of amylase activity and total protein were 5–20 times higher in pilocarpine-evoked saliva than in saliva obtained by stimulation of the auriculotemporal nerve; these differences could not be attributed to differences in flow rate. Pilocarpine is, therefore, an adequate substitute for stimulation of the parotid gland by the parasympathetic nerve if only electrolytes and flow rate are considered, and is not a satisfactory substitute when the protein and amylase activity are considered.


1987 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.T. Izutsu ◽  
D.E. Johnson ◽  
M. Goddard

Electron probe x-ray micro-analysis was used to study the elemental concentration changes that occur during pilocarpine-stimulated saliva secretion. Quantitative x-ray micro-analysis of elemental concentrations in intracellular compartments of rat parotid glands stimulated in vivo with pilocarpine showed that Na concentration was significantly increased, while K concentration was significantly reduced. The magnitude of these changes was consistent with values obtained in other tissues with the x-ray micro-analysis method, and in the same tissue with other experimental methods. Comparisons with results from studies utilizing dispersed acini suggest that acinar dispersion procedures may affect intracellular elemental concentrations. Total electrolyte concentrations in cytoplasm and secretory granules were estimated to increase on a dry-weight basis following pilocarpine stimulation. The former change is consistent with the notion of a trans-cellular route of salivary fluid flow, while the latter change may be important in the exocytosis of secretory granules.


1971 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Amsterdam ◽  
Michael Schramm ◽  
Itzhak Ohad ◽  
Yoram Salomon ◽  
Zvi Selinger

After enzyme secretion the membrane of the secretory granule, which had been fused to the cell membrane, was resorbed into the cell. Experiments were therefore carried out to test whether formation of new secretory granules involves reutilization of the resorbed membrane or synthesis of a new membrane, de novo, from amino acids. Incorporation of amino acids-14C into proteins of various cell fractions was measured in vivo, 30, 120, and. 300 min after labeling. At all times the specific radioactivity of the secretory granule membrane was about equal to that of the granule's exportable content. At 120 and 300 min the specific radioactivity of the granule membrane and of the granule content was much higher than that of any other subcellular fraction. It is therefore concluded that the protein of the membrane is synthesized de novo concomitantly with the exportable protein. The proteins of the granule membrane could be distinguished from those of the granule content by gel electrophoresis. All major bands were labeled proportionately to their staining intensity. The amino acid composition of the secretory granule membrane was markedly different from that of the granule's content and also from that of the mitochondrial membrane. The granule membrane showed a high proline content, 30 moles/100 moles amino acids. The analyses show that the radioactivity of the granule membrane is indeed inherent in its proteins and is not due to contamination by other fractions. The possibility is considered that the exportable protein leaves the endoplasmic reticulum already enveloped by the newly synthesized membrane.


1975 ◽  
Vol 148 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
L M Jones ◽  
R H Michell

The possibility that Ca2+ ions are involved in the control of the increased phosphatidylinositol turnover which is provoked by alpha-adrenergic or muscarinic cholinergic stimulation of rat parotid-gland fragments has been investigated. Both types of stimulation provoked phosphatidylinositol breakdown, which was detected either chemically or radiochemically, and provoked a compensatory synthesis of the lipid, detected as an increased rate of incorporation of 32Pi into phosphatidylinositol. Acetylcholine had little effect on the incorporation of labelled glycerol, whereas adrenaline stimulated it significantly, but to a much lower extent than 32P incorporation: this suggests that the response to acetylcholine was entirely accounted for by renewal of the phosphorylinositol head-group of the lipid, but that some synthesis de novo was involved in the response to adrenaline. The responses to both types of stimulation, whether measured as phosphatidylinositol breakdown or as phosphatidylinositol labelling, occurred equally well in incubation media containing 2.5 mm-Ca2+ or 0.2 mm-EGTA [ethanedioxybis(ethylamine)-tetra-acetic acid]. Incubation with a bivalent cation ionophore (A23187) led to a small and more variable increase in phosphatidylinositol labelling with 32Pi, which occurred whether or not Ca2+ was available in the extracellular medium: this was not accompanied by significant phosphatidylinositol breakdown. Cinchocaine, a local anaesthetic, produced parallel increases in the incorporation of Pi and glycerol into phosphatidylinositol. This is compatible with its known ability to inhibit phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.3.4) and increase phosphatidylinositol synthesis de novo in other cells. These results indicate that the phosphatidylinositol turnover evoked by alpha-adrenergic or muscarinic cholinergic stimuli in rat parotid gland probably does not depend on an influx of Ca2+ into the cells in response to stimulation. This is in marked contrast with the K+ efflux from this tissue, which is controlled by the same receptors, but is strictly dependent on the presence of extracellular Ca2+. The Ca2+-independence of stimulated phosphatidylinositol metabolism may mean that it is controlled through a mode of receptor function different from that which controls other cell responses. Alternatively, it can be interpreted as indicating that stimulated phosphatidylinositol breakdown is intimately involved in the mechanisms of action of alpha-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptor systems.


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