Abstract
The opioid-like heptadecapeptide nociceptin (NC) has the following effects in the airways (investigated in isolated tracheae and bronchi from guinea pig or rat): the electric field stimulation (EFS)-induces release of acetylcholine (ACh), the tachykinin substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is reduced after pretreatment with NC, and EFS-induced tachykinergic nonadrenergic-noncholinergic (NANC) bronchoconstriction is inhibited by NC. Both the NC-mediated inhibition of neurotransmission and of smooth muscle contraction occurred in a concentration-dependent manner. Because these effects were naloxone-insensitive, were blocked by the NC receptor antagonist [F/G]NC(1-13)NH2, and could be mimicked by the NC analogs, NCNH2 and NC(1-13)NH2, it is thought that they are distinct from the classic opioid receptors. That these pharmacological actions of NC are of relevance for airway physiology is highly probable given the presence of NC-immunoreactivity in the nerve fibers of the airways and of opioid-like receptor (ORL-1) transcripts in the jugular ganglia, from where the tachykinin-containing afferents arise. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 995-998 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Peptides |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2000 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Endocrinology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience