[Nature of non-adrenergic inhibition in the smooth muscles of the human intestine].

Electrical responses of longitudinal and circular smooth muscles of human small intestine and colon to ATP, alpha, beta-methylene-ATP, beta, gamma-methylene-ATP and adenosine were studied by the sucrose-gap method. In most cases ATP induced the effect similar to that of stimulation of the nonadrenergic inhibitory nerves. Desensitization of the purinergic receptors by alpha, beta-methylene-ATP selectively decreased the amplitude of inhibitory junction potentials. The results confirm the purinergic hypothesis of the nonadrenergic inhibition in human intestine.