Pharmacological evidence for a 7-benzylidenenaltrexone-preferring opioid receptor mediating the inhibitory actions of peptidic delta- and mu-opioid agonists on neurogenic ion transport in porcine ileal mucosa.

The antidiarrheal and constipating effects of opiates are partly attributed to reductions in active anion secretion across the intestinal mucosa that are modulated by submucosal neurons. In this study, the opioid receptor mediating the actions of opioids on ion transport was characterized in mucosa-submucosa sheets from porcine ileum. Electrical transmural stimulation evoked transient increases in short-circuit current, an electrical measure of neurogenic ion transport, in this preparation. After serosal addition, the peptidic delta-opioid agonists [D-Ala(2)]-deltorphin II (pIC(50) = 8.4 +/- 0.7), [D-Ala(2),D-Leu(5)]-enkephalin (DADLE), [D-Pen(2),D-Pen(5)]-enkephalin (DPDPE), and [D-Ser(2),Leu(5),Thr(6)]-enkephalin (DSLET), and the mu-opioid agonists [D-Ala(2),N-methyl-Phe(4),Gly(5)-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO) (pIC(50) = 8.0 +/- 0.1), endomorphin I, and PL-017 inhibited short-circuit current elevations. Nonpeptidic mu- or delta-opioid agonists (morphine, loperamide, and SNC80) and kappa-opioid agonists (U-50,488H and U-69,593) were <360-fold less potent than deltorphin II. At 100 nM, the delta(1)-opioid antagonist 7-benzylidenenaltrexone reduced the potencies of DPDPE and DAMGO by 13.5- and 15.5-fold, respectively; at an identical concentration naltriben, a delta(2)-opioid antagonist, or the mu-opioid antagonist D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Orn-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH(2) (CTOP) reduced DPDPE potency by 4.1- and 3.4-fold, respectively, but had no significant effect on DAMGO potency. Using primary antisera directed toward cloned opioid receptors, delta-opioid receptor immunoreactivity was immunohistochemically localized in submucosal neurons and nerve fibers, but immunoreactivities to kappa- or mu-opioid receptors were not detected in the mucosa-submucosa. These results suggest that a novel 7-benzylidenenaltrexone-sensitive opioid receptor is expressed in submucosal neurons of the porcine ileum, which mediates the inhibitory effects of peptidic mu- and delta-opioid agonists on neurogenic ion transport.

Characterization of opioid receptors modulating neurogenic contractions of circular muscle from porcine ileum and evidence that delta- and kappa-opioid receptors are coexpressed in myenteric neurons.

Opioid receptors (ORs) in the myenteric plexus mediate the antimotility actions of opioids in the small intestine. In this study, ORs modulating neurogenic circular muscle contractions in the porcine ileum were characterized by pharmacological and immunohistochemical approaches. Circular muscle-myenteric plexus strips manifested tetrodotoxin- and atropine-sensitive contractions during (ON) and after (OFF) electrical field stimulation. The kappa-OR agonists U-50,488H and U-69,593 inhibited ON contractions (pIC(50) = 7.61 and 8.22, respectively). U-69,593 action was inhibited by the kappa-OR antagonist norbinaltorphimine with an antagonist equilibrium constant (K(e)) of 4.2 nM. Selective delta-OR agonists [D-Ala(2)]-deltorphin II, DSLET, DADLE, SNC80, and DPDPE inhibited OFF contractions (pIC(50) = 9.17, 8.63, 8.50, 8.26, and 7.47, respectively). The selective delta-OR antagonist naltriben reduced the inhibitory actions of SNC80 and DSLET with respective K(e) values of 2.3 and 3.0 nM. In addition, norbinaltorphimine inhibited the actions of these agonists with respective K(e) values of 0.7 and 4.2 nM. The mu-OR agonists DAMGO, loperamide, or morphine exhibited relatively low activities in inhibiting ON and OFF contractions. Using primary antisera directed toward cloned opioid receptors, delta-OR immunoreactivity was observed to be localized alone or in combination with kappa-OR immunoreactivity in myenteric neurons; mu-OR immunoreactivity was absent. The results suggest that myenteric delta- and kappa-opioid receptors mediate the antitransit effects of opioids in the porcine small intestine. These receptors may be functionally coupled in a subpopulation of myenteric neurons.

delta-opioid receptors inhibit neurogenic intestinal secretion evoked by mast cell degranulation and type I hypersensitivity.

Histamine and the mast cell degranulator, compound 48/80 produced elevations in short-circuit current, an electrical measure of active anion secretion, across porcine ileal mucosa sheets mounted in Ussing chambers. Luminally-applied beta-lactoglobulin produced similar effects in mucosal sheets from cow's milk-sensitized pigs. Their secretory effects were attenuated by blockers of H(1)-histamine receptors, neuronal conduction or epithelial Na(+)/K(+)/Cl(-) cotransport. The delta-opioid agonist [D-Pen(2), D-Pen(5)]enkephalin suppressed mucosal responses to these substances in a naltrindole-reversible manner. Furthermore, submucosal mast cells and delta-opioid receptor-immunoreactive nerve fibers were observed in close juxtaposition. Intestinal neural pathways linking immediate hypersensitivity to secretory host defense appear to express inhibitory delta-opioid receptors.

Potentiation of anaphylaxis in guinea pig ileal mucosa by a selective delta-opioid receptor agonist.

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions in the intestinal mucosa evoke active chloride secretion which enhances the elimination of luminal antigens. The prosecretory actions of histamine and other soluble mediators of anaphylaxis are mediated by submucosal neurons, as are the antisecretory actions of opioid antidiarrheal medications. We tested the hypothesis that the selective delta-opioid receptor agonist [D-Pen2, D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE) alters anaphylaxis-associated ileal anion secretion in vitro. Sheets of ileal mucosa with attached submucosa from guinea pigs sensitized to cow's milk were mounted in Ussing chambers under short-circuit conditions. Mucosal sheets responded to the serosal application of the milk protein, beta-lactoglobulin, with a rapid rise in transepithelial short-circuit current (Isc); in contrast, the egg protein, ovalbumin, was without effect. Pretreatment of tissues with the neuronal conduction blocker, saxitoxin, or the H1 histamine receptor antagonist, diphenhydramine, but not the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, significantly reduced mucosal responses to antigen. [D-Pen-2, D-Pen5]enkephalin (0.1 microM, serosal addition) decreased baseline Isc, but potentiated mucosal responses to antigen; its effects were abolished in tissues pretreated with naloxone. These results suggest that immediate hypersensitivity reactions in the guinea pig ileal mucosa are mediated by submucosal neural circuits that are phasically modulated by both mast cell products and opioids.

Delta-opioid receptor mRNA expression and immunohistochemical localization in porcine ileum.

Opiates have potent antidiarrheal actions that are mediated in part by delta-opioid receptors (DOR). We examined DOR localization within subregions of porcine ileum, a tissue analogous to human small bowel. A partial cDNA sequence for porcine DOR was obtained after reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction cloning of forebrain RNA; it encoded the end of transmembrane domain 1 through the beginning of transmembrane domain 7 and exhibited 93% nucleotide identity with human DOR. Positive signals for DOR mRNA were found in all subregions of the porcine ileal wall. With an antiserum recognizing an N-terminal epitope in murine DOR, DOR-like immunoreactivity was localized in neurons within myenteric and submucous ganglia, longitudinal and circular smooth muscle, and villous lamina propria. The DOR agonist [D-Ser2, Leu5, Thr6]enkephalin (DSLET) attenuated circular smooth muscle contractions in porcine ileum that were evoked by electrical stimulation of myenteric cholinergic neurons. These results are consistent with previous reports of the DOR-mediated neuromodulation that underlies the antipropulsive and antisecretory effects of opioids in the intestinal tract.