Abstract
1. We have investigated the correlation between relaxation and changes in cyclic nucleotide content of human tracheal smooth muscle (HTSM) in vitro following inhibitory non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (i-NANC) neural bronchodilator responses evoked by electrical field stimulation (EFS), and compared these with changes seen with sodium nitroprusside (SNP), 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). The effects of N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), Methylene Blue and alpha-chymotrypsin (alpha-CT) were studied. 2. EFS (10 Hz, 1 ms, 40 V for 30 s) evoked a time-dependent relaxation accompanied by a concurrent rise in cGMP, both of which were maximal at 30 s and unaffected by epithelium removal. Levels of cAMP were more variable than those of cGMP and were not significantly changed at any time point. 3. SIN-1 (1 mM) and SNP (100 microM) also produced time-dependent relaxations which were maximal between 2 and 8 min, accompanied by concomitant rises in cGMP; however, these changes were larger than those associated with i-NANC relaxations. cAMP levels were unchanged at all time points. 4. EFS-evoked i-NANC relaxations and cGMP increases (time, t = 30 s) were inhibited by L-NAME. The effects were partially reversed by L-arginine (1 mM), but not by D-arginine. D-NAME and alpha-CT (2 u ml-1) had no effect on either relaxation or cGMP accumulation. Tetrodotoxin (TTX, 3 microM) inhibited both relaxation and cGMP accumulation. 5. VIP (1 microM) also produced a time-dependent relaxation associated with a concurrent rise in cAMP levels with no change in cGMP levels. 6. Methylene Blue (10 microM) partially inhibited EFS (10 Hz)-evoked i-NANC relaxation and cGMP accumulation, and almost completely inhibited both relaxation and cGMP accumulation evoked by SIN-1 (1 mM). Methylene Blue had no significant effect on relaxation or cGMP accumulation evoked by SNP (100 microM). 7. Neural i-NANC relaxations in HTSM are associated with a concurrent selective accumulation of cGMP which is unaffected by epithelium removal. This is inhibited in a stereoselective manner by L-NAME and mimicked by SNP and SIN-1; however, cGMP accumulation was greatly increased with SNP and SIN-1 suggesting compartmentalized changes in cGMP content. VIP also caused relaxation associated with an increase of cAMP; however, no evidence was found for VIP being involved in i-NANC relaxation. Hence nitric oxide (NO), or a NO-containing complex, appears to mediate i-NANC responses in human trachea in vitro.
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