A pharmacological study of oesophageal muscularis mucosae from the cat, dog and American opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

Strips of muscularis mucosae from the oesophagi of cat, dog and opossum have been studied to determine their responses to drugs to electrical field stimulation. All tissues were contracted by acetylcholine, histamine and, with the exception of strips of muscularis mucosae from the opossum proximal oesophagus, noradrenaline. The effects of acetylcholine and histamine were competitively antagonized by atropine (50 nM) and mepyramine (50 nM) and were abolished by atropine (1 microM) and mepyramine (1 microM) respectively. Contractile responses to noradrenaline were competitively antagonized by phentolamine (50 nM) but were converted to propranolol (50 nM)-sensitive relaxations by phentolamine (1 microM). Relaxations were abolished by propranolol (1 microM). Cholecystokinin octapeptide, gastrin 1 and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide were ineffective on any of the tissues examined. Substance P caused contractions in tissue from all three species. These effects were atropine and tetrodotoxin insensitive. All tissues gave atropine (50 nM)- and tetrodotoxin (100 nM)-sensitive contractions in response to electrical field stimulation. Contractions were not followed by relaxations and spontaneous mechanical activity was not suppressed between periods of stimulation. No evidence was obtained for the presence of non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory innervation of the oesophageal muscularis mucosae in any species. During electrical field stimulation noradrenaline always reduced the amplitude of evoked contractions and, with the exception of tissue from proximal opossum oesophagus, increased resting tension. In opossum distal oesophageal muscularis mucosae, the effects of noradrenaline during electrical field stimulation were abolished by a 30 min pretreatment of the tissue with phentolamine (1 microM) and propranolol (1 microM). To Achieve this in all other tissues, it was also necessary to use yohimbine (1 microM). 7 In all tissues where noradrenaline caused a phentolamine (1 microM)-and propranolol (1 microM)- resistant depression of electrically evoked responses, clonidine produced a yohimbine (1 microM)- sensitive depression. 8 Evidence was obtained for the presence of excitatory alpha 1-and inhibitory alpha 2- and beta-adrenoceptors. Inter-species differences in their distribution are discussed.