Changes in mechanism of PACAP-induced relaxation in longitudinal muscle of the distal colon of Wistar rats with age

Mechanisms of relaxation of longitudinal muscle of the distal colon induced by exogenously added pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) were studied in 2- to 30-week-old Wistar rats. Exogenous PACAP induced very significant relaxation of the longitudinal muscle in 2-week-old rats, but this effect decreased significantly with age. The cyclic AMP-cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) pathway and the tyrosine kinase-small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel (SK channel) pathway were found to be involved in the mechanism of PACAP-induced relaxation. In 2-week-old rats, PACAP-induced relaxation was significantly inhibited by tetrodotoxin (TTX). Since relaxation was also significantly inhibited by NG-nitro-L-arginine (N5-nitro-amidino-L-2,5-diamino-pentanoic acid: L-NOARG), the neurogenic effect of PACAP seems to be mediated mainly through nitric oxide neurons. In 8-week-old rats, L-NOARG and TTX had little effect on PACAP-induced relaxation, suggesting that the relaxant effect in 8-week-old rats is a direct action on longitudinal smooth muscle cells. Changes in the mechanisms of PACAP-induced relaxation with age were examined in the distal colon in relation to changes in the neurogenic and the direct effects of PACAP. The neurogenic effect in the exogenous PACAP-induced relaxation of the longitudinal muscle of the Wistar rat distal colon is dominant in tissue isolated from 2-week-old and lost in tissue isolated from 8-week-old rats.