Farrugia, Gianrico

Ano1 is a recently discovered Ca2+-activated Cl− channel expressed on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) that has been implicated in slow-wave activity in the gut. However, Ano1 is expressed on all classes of ICC, even those that do not contribute to generation of the slow wave, suggesting that Ano1 may have an alternate function in these cells. Ano1 is also highly expressed in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Mice lacking Ano1 had fewer proliferating ICC in whole mount preparations and in culture, raising the possibility that Ano1 is involved in proliferation. Cl− channel blockers decreased proliferation in cells expressing Ano1, including primary cultures of ICC and in the pancreatic cancer-derived cell line, CFPAC-1. Cl− channel blockers had a reduced effect on Ano1(−/−) cultures, confirming that the blockers are acting on Ano1. Ki67 immunoreactivity, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation, and cell-cycle analysis of cells grown in low-Cl− media showed fewer proliferating cells than in cultures grown in regular medium. We confirmed that mice lacking Ano1 had less phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein compared with controls. These data led us to conclude that Ano1 regulates proliferation at the G1/S transition of the cell cycle and may play a role in tumorigenesis.

Gastrointestinal (GI) functional and motility disorders are highly prevalent and responsible for long-term morbidity and sometimes mortality in the affected patients. It is estimated that one in three persons has a GI functional or motility disorder. However, diagnosis and treatment of these widespread conditions remains challenging. This partly stems from the multisystem pathophysiology, including processing abnormalities in the central and peripheral (enteric) nervous systems and motor dysfunction in the GI wall. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are central to the generation and propagation of the cyclical electrical activity and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are responsible for electromechanical coupling. In these and other excitable cells voltage-sensitive ion channels (VSICs) are the main molecular units that generate and regulate electrical activity. Thus, VSICs are potential targets for intervention in GI motility disorders. Research in this area has flourished with advances in the experimental methods in molecular and structural biology and electrophysiology. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for the complex and variable electrical behavior of ICCs and SMCs remains incomplete. In this review, we focus on the slow waves and action potentials in ICCs and SMCs. We describe the constituent VSICs, which include voltage-gated sodium (NaV), calcium (CaV), potassium (KV, KCa), chloride (Cl–) and nonselective ion channels (transient receptor potentials [TRPs]). VSICs have significant structural homology and common functional mechanisms. We outline the approaches and limitations and provide examples of targeting VSICs at the pores, voltage sensors and alternatively spliced sites. Rational drug design can come from an integrated view of the structure and mechanisms of gating and activation by voltage or mechanical stress.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is produced endogenously by l-cysteine metabolism. H2S modulates several ion channels with an unclear mechanism of action. A possible mechanism is through reduction-oxidation reactions attributable to the redox potential of the sulfur moiety. The aims of this study were to determine the effects of the H2S donor NaHS on NaV1.5, a voltage-dependent sodium channel expressed in the gastrointestinal tract in human jejunum smooth muscle cells and interstitial cells of Cajal, and to elucidate whether H2S acts on NaV1.5 by redox reactions. Whole cell Na+ currents were recorded in freshly dissociated human jejunum circular myocytes and NaV1.5-transfected human embryonic kidney-293 cells. RT-PCR amplified mRNA for H2S enzymes cystathionine β-synthase and cystathionine γ-lyase from the human jejunum. NaHS increased native Na+ peak currents and shifted the half-point ( V1/2) of steady-state activation and inactivation by +21 ± 2 mV and +15 ± 3 mV, respectively. Similar effects were seen on the heterologously expressed NaV1.5 α subunit with EC50s in the 10−4 to 10−3 M range. The reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT) mimicked in part the effects of NaHS by increasing peak current and positively shifting steady-state activation. DTT together with NaHS had an additive effect on steady-state activation but not on peak current, suggesting that the latter may be altered via reduction. Pretreatment with the Hg2+-conjugated oxidizer thimerosal or the alkylating agent N-ethylmaleimide inhibited or decreased NaHS induction of NaV1.5 peak current. These studies show that H2S activates the gastrointestinal Na+ channel, and the mechanism of action of H2S is partially redox independent.

Background—Flufenamic acid, a fenamate, has been shown to alter markedly the membrane potential of small intestinal smooth muscle and increase intracellular calcium in single cells. Aims—To determine the effects of flufenamic acid on myoelectrical motor activity and gastrointestinal transit in the intact animal. Methods—Myoelectrical motor activity was recorded via seromuscular platinum electrodes sutured at regular intervals in the stomach and throughout the small intestine. Fasted and fed gastrointestinal transit was assessed using technetium-99m (99mTc) as the radioactive marker linked to 1 mm amberlite pellets or added to the meal. Results—Flufenamic acid (600 mg, intravenously) induced intense spike activity in the small intestine. The mean duration of irregular spike activity was 250 (7) minutes. Spike activity was more pronounced in the lower small intestine. Flufenamic acid also accelerated initial gastric emptying and markedly shortened transit time in the small intestine. In the fasted state the 50% transit time in the small intestine was 54 (8) minutes with infusion of flufenamic acid compared with 105 (10) minutes in the control group; in the fed state 99mTc first reached the colon at 220 (10) minutes compared with 270 (12) minutes in the control group. Conclusions—Flufenamic acid had marked effects on both myoelectrical motor complex activity and small intestinal transit in the dog. The observed effects suggest that flufenamic acid may be of potential use as a prokinetic agent.

ABSTRACT Gastric and small intestinal circular smooth muscle layers have a transwall resting membrane potential (RMP) gradient that is dependent on release of carbon monoxide (CO) from interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs). Our aim was to determine whether a RMP gradient exists in the mouse colon and whether the gradient is CO dependent. Microelectrodes were used to record RMPs from muscle cells at different depths of the circular muscle layer from wild‐type and heme oxygenase‐2‐knockout (HO‐2‐KO) mice. A transwall RMP gradient was present in wild‐type mice. The CO scavenger oxyhemoglobin (20 µM) and the heme oxygenase inhibitor chromium mesoporphyrin IX (CrMP, 5 µM) abolished the transwall gradient. The gradient was absent in HO‐2‐KO mice. Tetrodotoxin (1 µM) caused a significant depolarization in circular smooth muscle cells throughout the circular muscle layer and abolished the transwall gradient. Removal of the submucosal neurons abolished the gradient. The majority of submucosal neurons contained HO‐2 immunoreactivity (HO‐2‐IR), while ICCs did not. These data show for the first time that a transwall gradient exists across the circular smooth muscle layer of the mouse colon, that the gradient is due to CO, and that the source of CO is the submucosal neurons.—Sha, L., Farrugia, G., Linden, D. R., Szurszewski, J. H. The transwall gradient across the mouse colonic circular muscle layer is carbon monoxide dependent. FASEB J. 24, 3840–3849 (2010). www.fasebj.org

Diabetic gastroparesis is associated with increased oxidative stress attributable to loss of upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO1), with resultant damage to interstitial cells of Cajal and delayed gastric emptying. These changes can be reversed by induction of HO1. HO1 catalyzes the breakdown of heme into iron, biliverdin and, carbon monoxide (CO). The aim of this study was to determine whether inhalation of CO can mimic the protective effects of HO1. Nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice with delayed gastric emptying were treated with CO inhalation. Serum malondialdehyde was measured as a marker of oxidative stress. Gastric emptying of solids was measured using a [13C]octanoic acid breath test. Kit expression levels were determined in immunoblots of protein extracted from the external muscle layers of the gastric body and antrum. The effect of CO on oxidative stress and gastric emptying was also determined in the presence of HO activity inhibitor chromium mesoporphyrin. CO inhalation reduced oxidative stress, restored Kit expression and reversed delayed gastric emptying in diabetic NOD mice with delayed gastric emptying. CO inhalation maintained this effect in the presence of the HO activity inhibitor, chromium mesoporphyrin, also resulting in restoration of the delay in gastric emptying. CO inhalation mimics the protective effect of upregulation of HO1 and decreased oxidative stress, increased Kit expression, and restored delay in gastric emptying. This effect of CO was independent of HO activity, suggesting that its effects were downstream of HO1. CO represents a potential therapeutic option for treatment of diabetic gastroparesis.

Antispasmodics are used clinically to treat a variety of gastrointestinal disorders by inhibition of smooth muscle contraction. The main pathway for smooth muscle Ca2+entry is through L-type channels; however, there is increasing evidence that T-type Ca2+channels also play a role in regulating contractility. Otilonium bromide, an antispasmodic, has previously been shown to inhibit L-type Ca2+channels and colonic contractile activity. The objective of this study was to determine whether otilonium bromide also inhibits T-type Ca2+channels. Whole cell currents were recorded by patch-clamp technique from HEK293 cells transfected with cDNAs encoding the T-type Ca2+channels, CaV3.1 (α1G), CaV3.2 (α1H), or CaV3.3 (α1I) alpha subunits. Extracellular solution was exchanged with otilonium bromide (10−8to 10−5M). Otilonium bromide reversibly blocked all T-type Ca2+channels with a significantly greater affinity for CaV3.3 than CaV3.1 or CaV3.2. Additionally, the drug slowed inactivation in CaV3.1 and CaV3.3. Inhibition of T-type Ca2+channels may contribute to inhibition of contractility by otilonium bromide. This may represent a new mechanism of action for antispasmodics and may contribute to the observed increased clinical effectiveness of antispasmodics compared with selective L-type Ca2+channel blockers.

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) has long been associated with the gastrointestinal tract, especially the bacteria-derived H 2 S present in flatus. Along with evidence from other organ systems, the finding that gastrointestinal tissues are capable of endogenous production of H 2 S has led to the hypothesis that H 2 S is an endogenous gaseous signaling molecule. In this review, the criteria of gasotransmitters are reexamined, and evidence from the literature regarding H 2 S as a gaseous signaling molecule is discussed. H 2 S is produced enzymatically by gastrointestinal tissues, but evidence is lacking on whether H 2 S production is regulated. H 2 S causes well-defined physiologic effects in gastrointestinal tissues, but evidence for a receptor for H 2 S is lacking. H 2 S is inactivated through enzymatic oxidation, but evidence is lacking on whether manipulating H 2 S oxidation alters endogenous cell signaling. Remaining questions regarding the role of H 2 S as a gaseous signaling molecule in the gastrointestinal tract suggest that H 2 S currently remains a molecule in search of a physiologic function. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 12, 1135–1146.

Mutations in 11 genes that encode ion channels or their associated proteins cause inherited long QT syndrome (LQTS) and account for ≈75–80% of cases (LQT1–11). Direct sequencing of SNTA1 , the gene encoding α1-syntrophin, was performed in a cohort of LQTS patients that were negative for mutations in the 11 known LQTS-susceptibility genes. A missense mutation (A390V-SNTA1) was found in a patient with recurrent syncope and markedly prolonged QT interval (QTc, 530 ms). SNTA1 links neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) to the nNOS inhibitor plasma membrane Ca-ATPase subtype 4b (PMCA4b); SNTA1 also is known to associate with the cardiac sodium channel SCN5A. By using a GST-fusion protein of the C terminus of SCN5A, we showed that WT-SNTA1 interacted with SCN5A, nNOS, and PMCA4b. In contrast, A390V-SNTA1 selectively disrupted association of PMCA4b with this complex and increased direct nitrosylation of SCN5A. A390V-SNTA1 expressed with SCN5A, nNOS, and PMCA4b in heterologous cells increased peak and late sodium current compared with WT-SNTA1, and the increase was partially inhibited by NOS blockers. Expression of A390V-SNTA1 in cardiac myocytes also increased late sodium current. We conclude that the A390V mutation disrupted binding with PMCA4b, released inhibition of nNOS, caused S -nitrosylation of SCN5A, and was associated with increased late sodium current, which is the characteristic biophysical dysfunction for sodium-channel-mediated LQTS (LQT3). These results establish an SNTA1-based nNOS complex attached to SCN5A as a key regulator of sodium current and suggest that SNTA1 be considered a rare LQTS-susceptibility gene.