In the progress of experiments aimed at evaluating the role of tachykinins as enteric nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) transmitters, we noted that certain tachykinin receptor antagonists produce a relaxation of circular muscle strips in the rat small intestine. This study aimed to assess the nature of this response and to determine the receptor type involved. The majority of the experiments were performed in capsaicin- (10 microM for 15 min) pretreated mucosa-free circular muscle strips from the rat small intestine, in the presence of atropine (1 microM), guanethidine (3 microM) and indomethacin (10 microM). 2. Under isometric recording of mechanical activity, the tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonist SR 140,333 (0.1 microM) had no effect on resting tone or spontaneous activity in duodenal or ileal circular muscle strips. The NK2 receptor antagonists, MEN 10,627 (0.1 microM) and GR 94,800 (0.1 microM) produced, after a delay of 10-15 min, a relaxation which averaged 61 +/- 3 and 57 +/- 6% (n = 6 and 4, respectively) of the maximal response (Emax) to isoprenaline (1 microM). The effect of maximal concentrations of MEN 10,627 and GR 94,800 when applied together was non-additive. The relaxant effect of MEN 10,627 (0.1 microM) was similar in the absence and presence of apamin (0.3 microM) and L-nitroarginine (100 microM). 3. Under isotonic recording of mechanical activity, MEN 10,627 (10 nM-1 microM) produced a concentration- and time-related relaxation of duodenal strips. The maximal relaxation averaged 72 +/- 4 and 69 +/- 4% (n = 5 each) of Emax to isoprenaline (1 microM) and was achieved 15-20 or 20-30 min after application of 1.0 or 0.1 microM MEN 10,627, respectively. 4. Duodenal strips were relaxed by other NK2 receptor selective antagonists (values in parentheses are % of Emax to isoprenaline at the given concentration of antagonist) GR 94,800 (69 +/- 3% at 1 microM, n = 4), SR 48,968 (60 +/- 3% at 1 microM, n = 4) and MDL 29,913 (66 +/- 4% at 1 microM, n = 4). SR 48,965 (1 microM), the inactive enantiomer of SR 48,968, was without effect. The NK1 receptor selective antagonists, SR 140,333 (0.1 microM), FK 888 (10 microM) RP 67,580 (1 microM) and GR 82,334 (10 microM) were also without effect (n = 4-5). 5. A cocktail of peptidase inhibitors, thiorphan, bestatin and captopril (1 microM each) had no significant effect on tone or spontaneous activity of duodenal strips. In the presence of peptidase inhibitors, MEN 10,627 (1 microM) produced a relaxation of duodenal strips (72 +/- 6% of Emax to isoprenaline, n = 5), whilst GR 82,334 (10 microM, n = 6) had no significant effect. 6. The relaxant response to MEN 10,627 was preserved in mucosa-free strips not pre-exposed to capsaicin. Tetrodotoxin (1 microM), saxitoxin (1 microM), hexamethonium (100 microM) and omega-conotoxin (0.1 microM) had no significant effect on the resting tone of duodenal strips nor did they affect the relaxation to MEN 10,627. L-Nitroarginine (100 microM) increased the tone of the strips but did not affect the response to MEN 10,627. Nifedipine (1 microM) relaxed the strips by 62 +/- 4% (n = 4), but in its presence a small relaxant effect to MEN 10,627 (26 +/- 5%, n = 4) was still evident. 7. Under isotonic recording of mechanical activity along the longitudinal axis, MEN 10,627 (1 microM) produced a slowly developing relaxation (39 +/- 3% of Emax to isoprenaline; n = 6) of whole segments of rat duodenum. When similar experiments were performed on whole segments of rat proximal colon MEN 10,627 had no effect. 8. The present findings document the observation that tachykinin NK2 receptors contribute to the maintenance of resting tone of the rat isolated small intestine. We found no evidence to suggest that this effect follows the blockade of the contractile effect of spontaneously released endogenous tachykinins. The present findings raise the possibility that constitutively active NK2 receptors account for the relaxant effect produced by NK2 receptor ant
