Effect of fedotozine on human distal colon.

Fedotozine was rested in colonic strips removed during surgery from patients suffering from different diseases of the colon; the effects were compared to those of morphine and of the selective opiate agonist U-69593. Fedotozine did not affect the spontaneous motility of human colonic strips, unless very high concentrations were used. Fedotozine (10(-6)-3 x 10(-4) M) induced a concentration-dependent reduction of the excitatory effect induced by field stimulation, an effect which was partially mimicked by compound U-69593 and by morphine but not inhibited by naloxone. The cumulative dose-response curve to exogenous acetylcholine was inhibited by fedotozine (3 x 10(-4) M), whereas morphine had no effect up to 3 x 10(-4) M. In colonic strips incubated with [3H]-choline, fedotozine (10(-5)-10(-4) M) induced an erratic decrease of acetylcholine-release induced by electric stimulation. In our experimental model, the inhibitory effect of fedotozine does not seem to be related to opioid receptor activation.