Effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on the motility of guinea-pig colon in vitro

Abstract

The effects of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) on longitudinal and circular muscle strips of guinea-pig proximal and distal colons, and on propulsive activity of guinea-pig distal colon were investigated in vitro. VIP (10(-9)-10(-6) M) produced relaxations of longitudinal and circular muscle strips in proximal colon and of circular muscle strip in distal colon, but produced a contraction of longitudinal muscle strip in distal colon. VIP-induced responses of the muscle strips were not influenced by indomethacin (10(-6) M). Tetrodotoxin (10(-6) M) and atropine (10(-6) M) converted VIP-induced contraction into relaxation in longitudinal muscle strip of distal colon, although these nerve blockers did not influence VIP-induced relaxations of longitudinal and circular muscle strips in proximal colon and of circular muscle strip in distal colon. VIP (10(-6) M) inhibited spontaneous and carbachol (10(-8) M)-stimulated propulsive activities of the isolated segment in distal colon. These results suggest that VIP may directly relax colonic smooth muscle cells and may indirectly contract longitudinal muscle strip of distal colon, mainly via stimulation of cholinergic neurones in the myenteric plexus of the muscle strip. It is also suggested that VIP-induced watery diarrhea in WDHA syndrome may not due to a direct stimulation of colonic motility.