An overview of species differences in the effects of a water extract of cotton bract on isolated airway smooth muscle, and effects of E. coli lipopolysaccharide.

Our laboratory has been comparing the activity of a water extract of cotton bract (CBE) with the isolated trachealis smooth muscle of the dog, guinea pig, and cat. CBE induced contractions that were not mediated by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), histamine, or muscarinic receptors. The active agent(s) in CBE was dialyzable (less than 14,000 molecular weight), and substantial activity was retained after low-temperature ashing. CBE potentiated contractions of dog trachealis to histamine and 5-HT and relaxation responses to isoproterenol, whereas it had no effect on responses to methacholine and KCl. In the guinea pig trachealis, CBE reduced responsiveness to KCl, potentiated relaxations to adenosine and ATP, and did not alter the responses to the remaining agents. Responses of cat trachealis to KCl and isoproterenol were potentiated by CBE, while those to 5-HT were unaffected. Neurogenic cholinergic contractile responses were potentiated by CBE in the trachealis of the dog, but not of the guinea pig, while neurogenic relaxations were potentiated by CBE in guinea pig trachealis but not in the dog trachealis. There are thus marked species differences in the acute effects of CBE on airway smooth muscle. Due to recent interest in the possible involvement of bacterial endotoxins in the etiology of byssinosis, we examined the effects of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in guinea pig trachealis. An initial examination revealed that LPS potentiated responses to histamine, but not those to methacholine and isoproterenol. This effect vanished upon a second appraisal with a different batch of LPS. The effect of LPS in airway smooth muscle is thus, at present, equivocal.