Selective utilization of L-isomer of lactate in the smooth muscle of the guinea pig taenia caeci

Utilization of D- and L-lactate in the isolated intestinal smooth muscle of the guinea pig taenia caeci was examined by measuring contractile tension, oxygen consumption, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate (PCr) concentrations. In the absence of glucose in the medium, muscle contraction induced by a high concentration of K+ was inhibited and the rate of oxygen consumption and the concentrations of ATP and PCr were decreased. Addition of glucose, L-lactate, and D,L-lactate, but not D-lactate, led to recovery of muscle contraction, rate of oxygen consumption, and ATP and PCr concentrations when the tissue had been incubated in the high K+, glucose-free solution. These results suggest that the isolated guinea pig taenia caeci selectively utilizes the L-isomer of lactate as a substrate for energy metabolism.     

Intracellular-free magnesium in the smooth muscle of guinea pig taenia caeci: a concomitant analysis for magnesium and pH upon sodium removal

This study is concerned with the regulation of intracellular-free Mg2+ concentration ([Mg2+]i) in the smooth muscle of guinea pig taenia caeci. To assess an interaction of Ca2+ on the Na(+)-dependent Mg(2+)- extrusion mechanism (Na(+)-Mg2+ exchange), effects of Na+ removal (N- methyl-D-glucamine substitution) were examined in Ca(2+)-containing solutions. As changes in pHi in Na(+)-free solutions perturb estimation of [Mg2+]i using the single chemical shift only of the beta-ATP peak in 31P NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectra, [Mg2+]i and pHi were concomitantly estimated from the chemical shifts of the gamma- and beta- peaks. When extracellular Na+ was substituted with N-methyl-D- glucamine, [Mg2+]i was reversibly increased. This increase in [Mg2+]i was eliminated in Mg(2+)-free solutions and enhanced in excess Mg2+ solutions. ATP content fluctuated little during removal and readmission of Na+, indicating that [Mg2+]i changes were not induced by Mg2+ release from ATP, and that Mg(2+)-extruding system would not be inhibited by fuel restriction. A slow acidification in Na(+)-free solutions and transient alkalosis by a readmission of Na+ were observed regardless of the extracellular Mg2+ concentration. When the extracellular Ca2+ concentration was increased from normal (2.4 mM) to 12 mM, only a marginal increase in [Mg2+]i was caused by Na+ removal, whereas a similar slow acidosis was observed, indicating that extracellular Ca2+ inhibits Mg2+ entry, and that the increase in [Mg2+]i is negligible through competition between Mg2+ and Ca2+ in intracellular sites. These results imply that Na(+)-Mg2+ exchange is the main mechanism to maintain low [Mg2+]i even under physiological conditions.     

Calcium-induced calcium release mechanism in guinea pig taenia caeci

Fura-2 was used to measure the amount of Ca released from the intracellular Ca store of a saponin-skinned smooth muscle fiber bundle of the guinea pig taenia caeci (width, 150-250 microns) placed in a capillary cuvette at 20-22 degrees C. The amount of Ca actively loaded into the store was assayed when released by the application of 50 mM caffeine and/or 10 microM inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) in the absence of ATP, and was found to have a biphasic dependence on the loading [Ca2+] with a peak near pCa 6. After Ca loading at pCa 6, IP3 released almost all the releasable Ca, whereas caffeine discharged Ca from only approximately 40% of the store. The maximum amount of Ca in the store was some 220 mumol/liter cell water. Ca in the caffeine-releasable store was released approximately exponentially to zero with time when Ca2+ was applied in the absence of ATP, and the rate constant of the Ca-induced Ca release (CICR) increased steeply with the concentration of Ca2+ applied. Increase in [Mg2+] (0.5-5.0 mM) or decrease in pH (7.3-6.7) shifted the relation between pCa and the rate of CICR roughly in parallel toward the lower pCa. An adenine nucleotide increased the rate of the CICR, but it did not change the range of effective [Ca2+]. 5 mM caffeine greatly enhanced the CICR mechanism, making it approximately 30 times more sensitive to [Ca2+]. However the drug had no Ca-releasing action in the absence of Ca2+. Procaine in millimolar concentrations inhibited the rate of the CICR. These properties are similar to those of the skeletal muscle CICR and ryanodine receptor channels. Rates of the CICR under a physiological ionic milieu were estimated from the results, and a [Ca2+] greater than 1 microM was expected to be necessary for the activation of the Ca release. This Ca sensitivity seems too low for the CICR mechanism to play a primary physiological role in Ca mobilization, unless assisted by other mechanisms.     

Biphasic Ca2+ dependence of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced Ca release in smooth muscle cells of the guinea pig taenia caeci

Ca2+ dependence of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-induced Ca release was studied in saponin-skinned smooth muscle fiber bundles of the guinea pig taenia caeci at 20-22 degrees C. Ca release from the skinned fiber bundles was monitored by microfluorometry of fura-2. Fiber bundles were first treated with 30 microM ryanodine for 120 s in the presence of 45 mM caffeine to lock open the Ca-induced Ca release channels which are present in approximately 40% of the Ca store of the smooth muscle cells of the taenia. The Ca store with the Ca-induced Ca release mechanism was functionally removed by this treatment, but the rest of the store, which was devoid of the ryanodine-sensitive Ca release mechanism, remained intact. The Ca2+ dependence of the IP3-induced Ca release mechanism was, therefore, studied independently of the Ca-induced Ca release. The rate of IP3-induced Ca release was enhanced by Ca2+ between 0 and 300 nM, but further increase in the Ca2+ concentration also exerted an inhibitory effect. Thus, the rate of IP3-induced Ca release was about the same in the absence of Ca2+ and at 3 microM Ca2+, and was about six times faster at 300 nM Ca2+. Hydrolysis of IP3 within the skinned fiber bundles was not responsible for these effects, because essentially the same effects were observed with or without Mg2+, an absolute requirement of the IP3 phosphatase activity. Ca2+, therefore, is likely to affect the gating mechanism and/or affinity for the ligand of the IP3-induced Ca release mechanism. The biphasic effect of Ca2+ on the IP3-induced Ca release is expected to form a positive feedback loop in the IP3-induced Ca mobilization below 300 nM Ca2+, and a negative feedback loop above 300 nM Ca2+.     

Cholinergic inhibition of electrogenic sodium absorption in the guinea pig distal colon

Submucosal cholinergic and noncholinergic neurons in intestines have been shown to be involved in regulating epithelial transport functions, particularly stimulating Cl(-) secretion. This study investigates the role of submucosal cholinergic neurons in regulating electrogenic Na(+) absorption in distal colon. Amiloride-sensitive short-circuit current (I(sc)) and (22)Na(+) flux were measured in mucosal and mucosal-submucosal preparations mounted in Ussing chambers. In the mucosal preparation, carbachol (CCh) added to the serosal side inhibited amiloride-sensitive I(sc) and amiloride-sensitive (22)Na(+) absorption. The inhibitory effect of CCh was observed at approximately 0.1 microM, and maximum inhibition of approximately 70% was attained at approximately 30 microM (IC(50) = approximately 1 microM). CCh-induced inhibition of amiloride-sensitive I(sc) was almost totally abolished by 10 microM atropine. Treatment of the tissue with ionomycin markedly reduced amiloride-sensitive I(sc), but a subsequent addition of CCh further decreased it. Also, CCh still had an inhibitory effect, although significantly attenuated, after the tissue had been incubated with a low-Ca(2+) solution containing ionomycin and BAPTA-AM. Applying electrical field stimulation to submucosal neurons in the mucosal-submucosal preparation resulted in inhibition of amiloride-sensitive I(sc), approximately 33% of this inhibition being atropine sensitive. Physostigmine inhibited amiloride-sensitive I(sc), this effect being abolished by atropine. In conclusion, submucosal cholinergic and noncholinergic neurons were involved in inhibiting electrogenic Na(+) absorption in colon. This inhibition by cholinergic neurons was mediated by muscarinic receptor activation.     

Inward current in single smooth muscle cells of the guinea pig taenia coli

Using the tight-seal voltage-clamp method, the ionic currents in the enzymatically dispersed single smooth muscle cells of the guinea pig taenia coli have been studied. In a physiological medium containing 3 mM Ca2+, the cells are gently tapering spindles, averaging 201 (length) x 8 microns (largest diameter in center of cell), with a volume of 5 pl. The average cell capacitance is 50 pF, and the specific membrane capacitance 1.15 microF/cm2. The input impedance of the resting cell is 1-2 G omega. Spatially uniform voltage-control prevails after the first 400 microseconds. There is much overlap of the inward and outward currents, but the inward current can be isolated by applying Cs+ internally to block all potassium currents. The inward current is carried by Ca2+. Activation begins at approximately -30 mV, maximum ICa occurs at +10-+20 mV, and the reversal potential is approximately +75 mV. The Ca2+ channel is permeable to Sr2+ and Ba2+, and to Cs+ moving outwards, but not to Na+ moving inwards. Activation and deactivation are very rapid at approximately 33 degrees C, with time-constants of less than 1 ms. Inactivation has a complex time course, resolvable into three exponential components, with average time constants (at 0 mV) of 7, 45, and 400 ms, which are affected differently by voltage. Steady-state inactivation is half-maximal at -30 mV for all components combined, but -36 mV for the fast component and -26 and -23 mV for the other two components. The presence of multiple forms of Ca2+ channel is inferred from the inactivation characteristics, not from activation properties. Recovery of the fast channel occurs with a time-constant of 72 ms (at +10 mV). Ca2+ influx during an action potential can transfer approximately 9 pC of charge, which could elevate intracellular Ca2+ concentration adequately for various physiological functions.     

Outward current in single smooth muscle cells of the guinea pig taenia coli

In single myocytes of the guinea pig taenia coli, dispersed by enzymatic digestion, the late outward current is carried by K+. It has both a Ca2+-activated component and a voltage-dependent component which is resistant to external Co2+. The reversal potential is -84 mV, and the channel(s) for it are highly selective to K+. At 33 degrees C, the activation follows n2 kinetics, with a voltage-dependent time constant of 10.6 ms at 0 mV, which shortens to 1.7 ms at +70 mV. Deactivation follows a single-exponential time course, with a voltage-dependent time constant of 11 ms at -50 mV, which lengthens to 33 ms at -20 mV. During a 4.5-s maintained depolarization, IK inactivates, most of it into two exponential components, but there is a small noninactivating residue. It is surmised that during an action potential under physiological conditions, there is sufficient IK to cause repolarization.     

Inhibitory synaptic potentials of the smooth muscle cells of guinea pig taenia coli

A single submaximal intramural application of rectangular stimuli (duration 0.2–0.5 msec) to an atropine-treated taenia coli muscle band evoked inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP) and a marked relaxation of the muscle band in the vast majority of muscle cells. The latency period of the IPSP was 122±16 msec; the times for a rise and fall of amplitude were 96±8 and 370±60 msec, respectively. The mean latency period of muscle relaxation was 800 msec. The latency period, and especially the amplitude of the IPSP depended on the intensity of the intramural stimulation. This indicates that one muscle cell is inhibited by several nerve fibers. IPSP evoked by threshold stimuli displayed a tendency toward summation, while the amplitude of the second and of subsequent IPSP evoked by low-frequency maximal stimuli was always less than that of the first IPSP. After periodic stimulation (frequency 10–60 impulses/min) was discontinued, a posttetanic decrease in IPSP amplitude was observed. Anodic polarization of the muscle band with a direct current raised the effectiveness of synaptic transmission, as was evidenced by the considerable increase in IPSP amplitude. When the muscle membrane was hyperpolarized with noradrenaline, IPSP inhibition was reversible. This is evidence that the unknown mediator and noradrenaline have a common ionic inhibitory mechanism.A. A. Bogomol'ts Institute of Physiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Kiev. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 544–551, September–October, 1970.     

Desensitization of isolated smooth muscle cells from guinea pig taenia caecum to acetylcholine

The role of tissue organization of smooth muscle in short-term desensitization to acetylcholine (ACh) was examined by studying the desensitization of isolated single cells from guinea pig taenia caecum. Cells were isolated by collagenase digestion. The conditions during cell isolation were adjusted to obtain cells that showed repeated contractions. The cells contracted on treatment with 10(-7)-10(-6) M ACh, showing an all-or-none response. Desensitized cells also showed an all-or-none response but required a higher concentration of ACh for induction of contraction; i.e., the magnitude of their maximal response was not changed appreciably but the threshold concentration of ACh for their contraction was raised. Incubation of the whole tissue with 10(-4) M ACh for 10 min also caused desensitization. This desensitization was accompanied by reduction of the contractile response at intermediate concentrations. The mode of desensitization of isolated cells determined from the average response of the isolated cells was almost the same as that of whole muscle. It is concluded that the desensitization occurred in each cell irrespective of its tissue organization and that the desensitization was due to an increase of the threshold for contraction to ACh of each cell.     

Effects of nicorandil on isolated smooth muscle cells from guinea-pig taenia caeci

1. The effects of nicorandil on guinea-pig taenia caeci were investigated with the use of isolated smooth muscle cells and glycerin-treated muscle fiber bundles. 2. Nicorandil inhibited high K-, Ca2+- and carbachol-induced contractions in a dose-dependent manner without affecting 45Ca fluxes in isolated cells. 3. Nicorandil had no effect on ATP-induced contraction of glycerin-treated muscle fiber bundles. 4. The present results suggest that nicorandil may inhibit the contraction by action on the contractile proteins in an indirect manner in guinea-pig taenia caeci.     

Relationship between sensitivity and density of muscarinic receptors in single smooth muscle cells of guinea pig taenia caecum prepared under three conditions

The relationship between the sensitivity (the pD2 value) of carbachol and the density (the total concentration of receptors) of muscarinic receptors using single cells from the guinea pig taenia caecum prepared with a mixture of crude collagenase and trypsin inhibitor, purified collagenase alone, and a mixture of purified collagenase and papain was examined. The sensitivity of the single cells prepared with a mixture of purified collagenase and papain was about 10 times more effective than that of the single cells prepared under other conditions. The dissociation constant of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) and Hill's coefficient did not change in the single cells prepared under the three conditions, though the maximum binding sites were significantly greater in the cells prepared with the mixture of purified collagenase and papain than in those prepared by other means. These results suggest that the increase in the sensitivity of carbachol obtained in the single cells prepared with this mixture is due to the increase in the density of muscarinic receptors and also suggest that the effects of this enzyme mixture may be due to an increase in the incorporation of newly synthesized receptors and (or) changes in receptor turnover.     

Sources and implications of basal nitric oxide in spontaneous contractions of guinea pig taenia caeci

We examined in vitro the source and role of basal nitric oxide (NO) in proximal segments of guinea pig taenia caeci in nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) conditions. Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), we measured the effect of the NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10(-4) M), the neuronal blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX, 10(-6) M), or both on spontaneous contractions and on the production of basal NO. Both L-NAME and TTX, when tested alone, increased the amplitude and frequency of contractions. NO production was abolished by L-NAME and was inhibited by 38% by TTX. When tested together, L-NAME in the presence of TTX or TTX in the presence of L-NAME had no further effect on the amplitude or frequency of spontaneous contractions, and the NO production was inhibited. These findings suggest that basal NO consists of TTX-sensitive and TTX-resistant components. The TTX-sensitive NO has an inhibitory effect on spontaneous contractions; the role of TTX-resistant NO is unknown.     

Components of cholinergic excitation coupling with smooth muscle contraction in the guinea pig taenia coli]

In concentrations of 10(-9)-10(-7) g/ml acetylcholine increased the tone of the smooth muscles of the longitudinal band of the large intestine of a guinea pig, increasing the permeability of the cellular membranes for the entering flux of 45Ca2+. In concentrations of 10(-6) g/ml and over acetylcholine caused a release of the membranous calcium and in the concentrations of 10(-5)-10(-3) g/ml markedly increased the permeability of the membranes of the smooth muscle cells for the 22Na+ ions causing depolarization and an increase in the frequency of the action potentials. It is supposed that the coupling of the cholinergic stimulus with the end effect (muscle contraction) included 3 components: intensification of the entrance of Ca2+ into the smooth muscle cells, release of the membrane calcium and adhesion mechanism.     

Efflux of 45Ca from isolated smooth muscle cells of guinea-pig taenia caeci

Single smooth muscle cells were isolated from guinea-pig taenia caeci by digestion with collagenase. The 45Ca desaturation curve from isolated cells, which were previously washed with Ca2+-free solution containing EGTA in Ca2+-free modified Locke solution, consisted of three components (half-time: 1.0, 3.8 and 12.4 min). The 45Ca efflux from isolated cells in the third component was significantly increased by caffeine. This increase was suppressed by procaine, but was not affected by La3+. These results suggest that, in guinea-pig taenia caeci, there are at least four Ca2+ compartments: superficial low and high affinity bound Ca2+ and cellular low and high affinity bound Ca2+. Caffeine releases Ca2+ from the cellular high affinity binding sites.