Introduction: Calcium-sensitive receptor (CaSR) is expressed in the enteric nervous system of gastrointestinal tract. However, its role in the regulation of gastrointestinal motility has not yet been fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the effect of the CaSR agonist - R568 on gastric motility and its potential mechanism.
Methods: In vivo, R568 was given by gavage to explore gastric emptying with or without capsaicin which specifically blocks the function of vagal afferents; neurotransmitters synthetized in the myenteric plexus of the gastric corpus and antrum were analysed by ELISA and immunofluorescence staining; gastric muscle strips contraction recording and intracellular single unit firing recording were used to study the effect of R568 on muscle strips and myenteric interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) ex vitro.
Results: Gastric emptying was inhibited by R568 in Kunming male mice, and capsaicin weakened this effect. The expression of c-fos-positive neurons increased in the nucleus tractus solitarius when R568 was treated. R568 decreased the expression of cholinergic neurons and reduced the synthesis of acetylcholine. Conversely, R568 increased the expression of nitrogenic neurons and enhanced the synthesis of nitric oxide in the myenteric plexus. Ex vitro results showed that R568 inhibited the contraction of the gastric antral muscle strip and suppressed the spontaneous firing activity of pacemaker ICCs.
Conclusion: Activation of the gastrointestinal CaSR inhibited gastric motility in vivo and ex vitro. Transmitting nutrient signals to the brain through the vagal afferent nerve, modulating the cholinergic and nitrergic system in the enteric nervous system, and inhibiting activity of pacemaker ICCs in the myenteric plexus are involved in the mechanism of CaSR in gastric motility suppression.
Keywords: Calcium-sensitive receptor; ChAT; Gastric motility; Interstitial Cajal cells; Myenteric plexus; NOS; R568.
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