Faculty Bibliography

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the pathway of substance P (SP) and neurotensin (NT) catabolism in the gastric wall of the rat and identify some of the enzymes involved. Under anaesthesia an infusion catheter and a bundle of dialysis fibres were implanted into the stomach wall of the rat. Experiments commenced on conscious rats 2 days after surgery. In control experiments [3H]-SP(Pro-2,4) or [3H]-NT(Tyr-3,11) were injected into gastric tissues through the catheter and catabolites were collected in the dialysis fibres and separated by high pressure liquid chromatography. In other studies captopril, MK422 (inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme) or phosphoramidon (an inhibitor of endopeptidase-24.11, 'enkephalinase') were injected into gastric tissues before the peptide label. SP1-11 was degraded to mainly SP1-2, SP3-4 with some SP1-6, SP1-7 and SP1-8. Catabolism was partially but significantly (5% level) inhibited by MK422 and captopril, but not by phosphoramidon. NT1-13 was degraded to NT1-8, NT9-13, NT1-11 and NT1-12. NT catabolism was partially but significantly (5% level) inhibited by MK422. It is concluded that an enzyme resembling angiotensin converting enzyme is involved in the initial stages of SP and NT catabolism in the rat stomach. The involvement of other peptidases cannot be excluded because inhibition of breakdown was not complete.

The aim of this study was to examine the catabolism of substance P (SP) in the stomach wall of the rat. Catabolism in vitro was investigated by incubation of unlabelled and tritiated SP (prolyl 2,4-3,4(n)-3H SP) with membrane bound-peptidases prepared from the rat gastric corpus. Catabolism was studied in vivo by use of a catheter chronically implanted in the stomach wall to deliver tritiated SP to the gastric tissues and implanted dialysis fibers to collect the catabolic products. The products from both experiments were separated by high pressure liquid chromatography and identified by their retention times or amino acid analysis. Membrane-bound peptidases in vitro hydrolyzed both unlabelled and tritiated SP and the products of hydrolysis were consistent with the cleavage of three bonds: Gln6-Phe7, Phe7-Phe8 and Gly9-Leu10. None of the peptide fragments would be expected to be biologically active. Only those fragments with tritiated Pro residues could be detected in vivo. The major identified products were SP(1-2) and SP(3-4), with smaller amounts of SP(1-4), SP(1-6), SP(1-7), SP(1-8) and SP(1-9). The enzymes that may be responsible for these cleavage patterns are discussed.

The synthetic mammalian bombesin-like peptides, canine gastrin releasing peptide 27, 23 and 10, and porcine gastrin releasing peptide 27 were compared with amphibian bombesin 14 and 10 during intravenous infusions into six conscious dogs with chronic gastric cannulae. Gastrin and gastrin releasing peptide were measured in peripherally sampled venous blood by radioimmunoassay and gastric acid secretions were collected. All forms of gastrin releasing peptide stimulated gastrin release and gastric acid secretion in a dose-dependent manner. The larger canine and porcine peptides were more potent than the decapeptide. Bombesin 14 was more potent than bombesin 10. A rise in the venous concentration of immunoreactive gastrin releasing peptide of only 20 fmol ml-1 stimulated gastrin release to about 50% of maximal. Gastrin releasing peptide 10 was cleared from the circulation three times faster than the larger forms and this may account for the apparent differences in potency.

The aim of this study was to examine the distribution of dopamine and norepinephrine in the proximal alimentary tract of the rat and to assess the contributions of sympathetic and vagal fibers to the tissue concentrations of both catecholamines. Tissues were extracted in perchloric acid and the catecholamines were separated by high pressure liquid chromatography and detected electrochemically. In untreated rats (controls) both catecholamines were concentrated in the gastric muscle but norepinephrine levels were 6-8 times higher (corpus, dopamine 35 +/- 7 ng . g-1, norepinephrine 265 +/- 50 ng . g-1, mean +/- SE, n = 6). In the mucosa norepinephrine concentrations were 10-12 times higher (corpus, dopamine 12 +/- 3 ng . g-1, norepinephrine 140 +/- 26 ng . g-1). Chemical sympathectomy (6 hydroxydopamine, 100 mg . kg-1 ip 3 days) significantly reduced dopamine concentrations in muscle and norepinephrine in muscle, mucosa, pylorus and duodenum. In all tissues the effects on norepinephrine were greater. Surgical vagotomy significantly reduced dopamine concentrations in the gastric muscle, but not the mucosa. Norepinephrine concentrations in the stomach of vagotomized rats were significantly reduced only in the pylorus. Differences in the relative concentrations of dopamine and norepinephrine in gastric tissues of the normal rat and differences in the effects of sympathectomy and vagotomy suggest that dopamine and norepinephrine exist, to an extent, in separate populations of cells and that dopamine is not merely a precursor of norepinephrine. Gastric mucosal dopamine, which was mainly unaffected by either treatment, may exist in APUD cells.

The catabolism of two gastric neuropeptides, the C-terminal decapeptide of gastrin releasing peptide-27 (GRP10) and substance P (SP), by membrane-bound peptidases of the porcine gastric corpus and by porcine endopeptidase-24.11 ("enkephalinase") has been investigated. GRP10 was catabolized by gastric muscle peptidases (specific activity 1.8 nmol min-1 mg-1 protein) by hydrolysis of the His8-Leu9 bond and catabolism was inhibited by phosphoramidon (I50 approx. 10(-8) M), a specific inhibitor of endopeptidase-24.11. The same bond in GRP10 was cleaved by purified endopeptidase-24.11, and hydrolysis was equally sensitive to inhibition by phosphoramidon. SP was catabolized by gastric muscle peptidases (specific activity 1.7 nmol min-1 mg-1 protein) by hydrolysis of the Gln6-Phe7, Phe7-Phe8 and Gly9-Leu10 bonds, which is identical to the cleavage of SP by purified endopeptidase-24.11. The C-terminal cleavage of GRP10 and SP would inactivate the peptides. It is concluded that a membrane-bound peptidase in the stomach wall catabolizes and inactivates GRP10 and SP and that, in its specificity and sensitivity to phosphoramidon, this peptidase resembles endopeptidase-24.11.

A ganglioneuroblastoma was excised at surgery from a 1-yr-old girl with severe watery diarrhea. The tumor, weighing 1 g, was extracted in trifluoracetic acid and contained 8.3 nmol immunoreactive vasoactive intestinal peptide. The peptide was isolated by affinity chromatography and high pressure liquid chromatography and was found to be identical to porcine vasoactive intestinal peptide by amino acid analysis and microsequence analysis.

Using an antiserum raised against synthetic cholecystokinin (CCK 8), the localization and distribution of gastrin-like or CCK-like immunoreactivity was investigated in the alimentary tract of the sheep by the method of indirect immunofluorescence. Immunoreactive cells were confined to the mucosa of the abomasal antrum and the proximal small intestine and were not observed in the oesophagus, rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasal fundus, ileum, large intestine, pancreas or gall-bladder. Antral tissue was fixed for electron microscopy and stained by the unlabelled antibody peroxidase anti-peroxidase procedure. Stained cells were found across the entire thickness of the mucosa. Adjacent sections stained with heavy metals revealed secretory granules with an electron-dense core and some G cells possessed a tuft of microvilli projecting into the glandular lumen.

The catabolism of neurotensin (NT) was studied in the gastric submucosa of the conscious rat using a novel technique to obtain a dialysate of interstitial fluid. A microdialysis fiber system was surgically implanted into the gastric submucosa, and 2 days later experiments were commenced on conscious animals. Isotope-labeled NT was administered to the tissue, and a dialysate of the submucosal interstitial fluid was collected. In the dialysate, NT and catabolites of NT formed in the interstitial fluid were identified and quantitated by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The catabolism of 125I-NT-(1-13) and [3H]NT-(1-13) was studied as was the further breakdown of the major catabolites. NT-(1-13) was, regardless of the type of label, catabolized mainly into NT-(1-8), NT-(9-13), NT-(1-11), and free tyrosine. None of the catabolites formed is known to possess significant biological activity. NT-(9-13) was rapidly cleared, whereas the amino-terminal fragments NT-(1-8) and NT-(1-11) were more resistant to degradation. The biological half-life of neurotensin in the gastric submucosa of the rat was between 9 and 15 min.

The purpose of the study was to develop a method for collecting interstitial fluid bathing the stomach tissues in which prostaglandins could be measured. Hollow dialysis fibers attached at the ends to Silastic tubes were surgically implanted into the submucosa of the gastric fundus and antrum of dogs. The Silastic tubes were exteriorized through the body wall. After full recovery from surgery, the fibers were filled with 5% bovine serum albumin in isotonic saline that was replaced at 5-min intervals. Prostaglandin E2 was measured in the dialysate by radioimmunoassay. In 6 dogs, feeding significantly stimulated the release of prostaglandin E2 into the fundic interstitial fluid from 5.3 +/- 0.6 ng X ml-1 to 12.1 +/- 1.6 ng X ml-1 (p less than 0.01) but had no effect on antral levels. In 4 dogs, indomethacin (0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 ng X kg-1, i.v.) caused a dose-dependent depression in prostaglandin E2 levels in interstitial fluid of the fundus and antrum. In 4 other dogs, indomethacin depressed the ex vivo generation of prostaglandin E2 in biopsy specimens of the fundus and antrum. These results validate the technique of interstitial fluid dialysis and suggest that it is a powerful method for examining the secretion of locally acting substances in the stomach of conscious animals.

The aim of this study was to develop a method to examine the catabolism of neuropeptides in the tissue fluids that bathe specific regions in the alimentary tract of the conscious animal. Two bundles of dialysis fibers were surgically implanted in the submucosal region of the gastric corpus in the anesthetized rat. After recovery from surgery, one set of fibers was perfused with 125I - Tyr4 bombesin 14. Some molecules of peptide diffused into the tissues and were catabolized by enzymes therein. The catabolites were collected in the second dialysis fiber and fractionated by high pressure liquid chromatography. Bombesin 14 was catabolized to iodo-tyrosine and three unidentified peptides. The catabolites did not bind with a carboxyl-terminal specific antiserum and, as this is the biologically active region of bombesin, were devoid of any biological activity.