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G J Dockray

Publications and source records attributed to G J Dockray.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Gastrin biosynthesis in the antrum of patients with pernicious anemia.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The gastrin precursor progastrin produces multiple alternative active products, but the pathways of posttranslational processing in human antral mucosa have not yet been studied directly. The aim of this study was to investigate the biosynthetic relationships and release kinetics of newly synthesized progastrin-derived peptides in the antrum of patients with pernicious anemia. METHODS: Antral mucosal explants were incubated with [35S]sulfate and [3H]tyrosine to label progastrin and its derivatives, which were detected by online scintillation counting after immunoprecipitation and high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: [35S]- and [3H]progastrin were detected within 2.5 hours, and labeled G34Gly and G34 were readily detected after 5-hour incubation. Pulse-chase studies indicated conversion of progastrin to G17 via G34Gly and G34. Secretion of newly synthesized G34, but not G34Gly, was routinely detected; G17Gly was present only in trace quantities in cell extracts and media. In control samples, progastrin synthesis was about 10 times lower than in pernicious anemia samples, although the proportions of different labeled amidated gastrins after 5-hour incubation were similar. CONCLUSIONS: In the antrum of patients with pernicious anemia, Gly-gastrins, particularly G34Gly, are biosynthetic intermediates and not major secretory products. Some G34 is secreted preferentially under basal conditions.

Aged↗

Relation between cholecystokinin and antral innervation in the control of gastric emptying in the rat.

BACKGROUND: Antral motility and the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) are major determinants of the rate of gastric emptying. The relation between CCK and antral neurons in regulating gastric emptying is uncertain. Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) causes selective lesions in gut myenteric neurons after serosal application. AIM: To develop a model of antral denervation using BAC to enable the study of the relation between CCK and antral neurons in regulating gastric emptying. METHODS: BAC, vehicle or the afferent neurotoxin capsaicin were applied to the serosal surface of the rat antrum or corpus; neurochemical markers of intrinsic and afferent neurons were detected by using immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay. Gastric retention of solids was determined after fasting, and emptying of liquids was measured in rats with gastric fistulae. RESULTS: In BAC treated rats radioimmunoassay of tissue extracts revealed a dose related specific loss of gastrin releasing peptide, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide immunoreactivities from the treated region, and immunohistochemistry revealed loss of the neuronal marker PGP 9.5 and the afferent neuropeptide calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP). Adjacent untreated regions were unaffected by BAC, with the exception that CGRP was depleted in both corpus and antrum after antral treatment. After antral BAC treatment fasted rats retained solids for over 48 hours. Moreover, in antrally denervated rats with gastric fistulae, the emptying of saline, acid and peptone was delayed substantially. The CCK dependent inhibition of gastric emptying of peptone was preserved after antral treatment with BAC. CONCLUSIONS: Serosal BAC causes lesions in the innervation of the treated region of the stomach. The innervation of the antrum is essential for normal emptying of both liquids and solids, but the inhibition of gastric emptying produced by CCK is not dependent on antral neurons.

Animals↗

Processing and proliferative effects of human progastrin in transgenic mice.

Incompletely processed gastrins have been postulated to play a role in growth of the gastrointestinal tract, but few studies have examined the effects of progastrin on mucosal proliferation in vivo. Human gastrin gene expression and progastrin processing were therefore studied in transgenic mice containing a human gastrin (hGAS) minigene, and compared to processing in mice bearing an insulin gastrin (INS-GAS) transgene that overexpresses amidated gastrin. Progastrin processing was studied using region-specific antisera and radioimmunoassays, biosynthetic labeling, immunoprecipitation, and HPLC. Proliferative effects due to overexpression of processed and unprocessed gastrin in INS-GAS and hGAS mice, respectively, were determined using routine histology and BrdU incorporation. The pancreatic islets of INS-GAS mice were able to produce carboxyamidated G-17, resulting in a twofold elevation of serum amidated gastrin, marked thickening of the oxyntic mucosa, and an increased BrdU labeling index (LI) of the gastric body. In contrast, livers of adult hGAS mice expressed abundant human gastrin mRNA and human progastrin but were unable to process this peptide to the mature amidated form, resulting in markedly elevated serum progastrin levels and normal amidated gastrin levels. Nevertheless, there was a marked increase in the BrdU labeling index of the colon in hGAS mice (LI 7.46+/-1.90%), as well as in INS-GAS mice (LI 6.16+/-1.17%), compared to age-matched, wild type control mice (LI 4.01+/-0.98%, P < 0.05). These studies suggest that incompletely processed gastrin precursors may contribute to colonic mucosal proliferation in vivo.

Animals↗

Discrimination between constitutive secretion and basal secretion from the regulated secretory pathway in GH3 cells.

The present experiments were undertaken to characterize basal release from vesicles of the regulated secretory pathway. In transfected GH3 cells, progastrin was released by the constitutive route, and mature, bioactive, amidated gastrin by the regulated secretory pathway. Studies using brefeldin A and bafilomycin A1 which inhibit progression through the Golgi complex suggested that both basal and stimulated release of amidated gastrin originated from mature secretory granules. Basal, but not stimulated, secretion of amidated gastrin was strongly inhibited at 22 degrees C. Mature secretory vesicles therefore support both basal and evoked secretion although the mechanisms underlying the two processes differ in their temperature sensitivity.

Amides↗

Characterization of novel peptoid agonists for the CCK-A receptor.

The successful design of peptoid CCK-B receptor antagonists using rational approaches suggested that it might be feasible to develop similar non-peptide small molecule agonists with potential therapeutic applications. We now report the characterization of such a compound with full agonist activity at CCK-A receptors on rat exocrine pancreatic acinar cells. The compound, PD149164, stimulated a similar maximal response to CCK8 from the exocrine pancreas in anaesthetized rats in vivo, and from isolated pancreatic acini in vitro it also generated intracellular Ca2+ oscillations similar to those evoked by CCK8. These effects were inhibited by the CCK-A antagonist L-364,718. Interestingly, the enantiomer of PD149164, PD151932, was a CCK-A antagonist and blocked PD149164 stimulated effects on the exocrine pancreas. The data indicate that it is possible to develop both agonist and antagonist activities in enantiomers of small non-peptide molecules.

Adamantane↗

Inhibitory effects of gastrin releasing peptide on gastric emptying in rats.

Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) has a wide range of biological actions, including stimulation of the frequency of antral contractions and delaying gastric emptying. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of GRP in the control of gastric emptying of liquid test meals in the rat. The emptying of methyl cellulose given by gavage to fasted rats, or of saline given via the fistula to conscious gastric fistula rats was not influenced by the GRP antagonists, NC-8-89 (Leu13-psi-(CH2NH)-Leu14-bombesin) and 2258U89 ((de-NH2)Phe19, D-Ala24, D-Pro26 psi (CH2NH)Phe27(-GRP (19-27)), at 2 mg/kg, s.c. However, both antagonists (0.02, 0.2 and 2 mg/kg) reversed the inhibitory effect of HCI on gastric emptying in gastric fistula rats (P < 0.05-0.001). When peptone was administered after a preload, but not otherwise, the inhibition of emptying was also partly reversed by both antagonists at all doses used (P < 0.05-0.001). Interestingly, the delay in the emptying of hyperosmolal saline compared to saline, was enhanced at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg of both antagonists (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). Food intake did not change significantly with the two lower doses of antagonists, but was decreased by the highest dose of NC 8-89. We conclude that GRP specifically inhibits gastric emptying of acid and peptone solutions in the conscious rat.

Animals↗

Control of preprogastrin messenger RNA translation by gastric acid in the rat.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Plasma gastrin and tissue preprogastrin messenger RNA (mRNA) increase in rats treated with the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole, but changes in mRNA alone cannot account for calculated changes in gastrin synthesis. The possibility that there is control of preprogastrin mRNA translation rates was investigated. METHODS: Preprogastrin mRNA translation was assessed by incorporation of [3H]tyrosine into progastrin in rat antral mucosa in vitro at 22 degrees C; preprogastrin mRNA was determined by Northern blot analysis. RESULTS: During incubation, incorporation of [3H]tyrosine into progastrin was linear up to 4 hours, and preprogastrin mRNA was unchanged. Fasting (24 hours) decreased plasma gastrin levels by 75% and progastrin translation by 40%, but preprogastrin mRNA was unchanged. Conversely, omeprazole increased plasma gastrin levels 8-fold, preprogastrin mRNA 2-3-fold, and progastrin translation 6-fold. In a cell-free translation system, preprogastrin was increased in samples from omeprazole-treated rats in direct proportion to the increase in preprogastrin mRNA abundance. CONCLUSIONS: Stimulation of gastrin cells by achlorhydria or inhibition by fasting lead, respectively, to increased and decreased preprogastrin translation rates that are more pronounced than changes in mRNA abundance. Therefore, luminal acid controls preprogastrin mRNA translation independently of changes in mRNA abundance or gastrin release.

Animals↗

Physiological regulation of gaba uptake by rat pyloric antral mucosa.

Endocrine cells of the pyloric antral mucosa are known to take up gamma-amino-n-butyric acid (GABA), but the functional significance of this is uncertain. We now report that specific uptake of [3H]GABA by rat antral, but not corpus, mucosa is enhanced after fasting for 48 h. Decreased extracellular GABA in fasted rats could account for known changes in antral endocrine cell function.

Animals↗

Identification and expression of prohormone-converting enzymes in the rat stomach.

The conversion of regulatory peptide precursors to their active forms usually involves limited proteolysis that may be mediated by subtilisin-like prohormone convertases (PC). We have examined the representation of this enzyme family in rat gastric mucosa. With the use of polymerase chain reaction, employing primers to conserved sequences, we identified from rat antrum clones corresponding to PC1/3, PC2, PC5, and furin. Northern blots indicated that the mRNAs for PC1/3 and PC2 were substantially more abundant in mucosa compared with muscle, and that there were differences in expression in antrum and corpus. In the antrum a PC1/3 probe identified hands of 3 and 4.5 kb that were of equal intensity and were both increased in fasted rats; in corpus, the latter mRNA species predominated and did not change with fasting. In rats treated with omeprazole, there was a preferential increase in the antral 3-kb band. In both antrum and corpus, a PC2 probe hybridized with a band of 2.8 kb that increased in omeprazole-treated rats. The data suggest that 1) PC1/3 and PC2 are expressed in antral mucosa and so are candidates for gastric regulatory peptide processing, 2) there is selective processing of the mRNAs encoding prohormone convertases in different gastric cell populations, and 3) the expression of these enzymes is physiologically regulated.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Gastric endocrine cells: gene expression, processing, and targeting of active products.

Endocrine cells of the gastric epithelium secrete biologically active peptides and small messenger molecules such as histamine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. The secretory products may act locally (paracrine or autocrine effects) or at distant targets after delivery in the circulation (hormonal effects). the contents of the gastric lumen control both secretion of gastric endocrine cells and the expression of genes involved in the synthesis of their active secretory products; in some cases, gene regulation may occur over periods as short as that required for digestion of a single meal. The conversion of inactive peptide precursors to their active forms takes place during transit along the secretory pathway and is only completed after sequestration in secretory granules. the processing of the gastrin precursor provides a useful model for studying prohormone processing. Generation of the well-known amidated gastrins requires prohormone cleavage and COOH-terminal amidation; the products stimulate acid secretion and mucosal growth. However, recent work indicates that biosynthetic intermediates that do not stimulate acid secretion may nevertheless act at a novel receptor to stimulate growth, so that control of prohormone processing determines which of two alternative types of biologically active peptide is released by gastrin cells. Gastric endocrine cells also have the capacity to accumulate small messenger molecules in secretory vesicles, via proton exchangers. Recent work indicates physiological regulation of the expression of genes encoding cytosolic enzymes such as histidine decarboxylase, which converts histidine to histamine, and of secretory granule transporters such as vesicular monoamine transporter type 2, which concentrates amines in secretory vesicles. Together these findings suggest that modulation of regulatory peptide and amine biosynthesis in gastric endocrine cells constitutes a primary response of the stomach to the arrival of a meal.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The regulation of gastrin secretion in the chicken.

Chicken gastrin has a C-terminal sequence resembling mammalian cholecystokinin, but its biological properties resemble mammalian gastrin. The mechanisms controlling chicken gastrin release are poorly understood. We have investigated the factors which influence chicken gastrin secretion in vivo. Plasma gastrin concentration was decreased within 12 h of fasting, but tissue gastrin concentrations were not significantly changed even after 24 h of food deprivation. In birds fasted for 24 h and treated with the H+/K(+)-ATPase inhibitor, omeprazole, plasma gastrin concentration was greatly enhanced indicating the importance of acid inhibition of the gastrin cell. It is well established that amino acids (particularly aromatics like Phe and Trp) and peptides stimulate gastrin release in mammals. In chicken, however, Met, His and Arg were the strongest stimulant amongst the essential amino acids investigated. Of these three amino acids, Met rapidly stimulated gastrin release. The GRP antagonist M216140 did not suppress the Met-induced gastrin release, suggesting that Met did not stimulate GRP release. Aromatic amino acids did not strongly influence gastrin release. Medium chain triacylglycerol, which is rapidly hydrolyzed to fatty acids in the lumen, strongly stimulated gastrin secretion but long chain triacylglycerol had no effect. The data suggest that amino acids (Met, Arg and His) and fatty acids, but not triacylglycerol, are gastrin releasing factors in birds while acid inhibits secretion: there are therefore both similarities and differences between birds and mammals in the control of gastrin release.

Animals↗

Pathways of processing of the gastrin precursor in rat antral mucosa.

The precursor of the acid-stimulating hormone gastrin gives rise to multiple peptides differing markedly in biological activity, but the relevant biosynthetic pathways are poorly understood. We have used antibodies to amidated gastrins, gastrins with COOH-terminal glycine (Gly) gastrins with COOH-terminal hydroxyglycine (GlyOH) and to the COOH terminus of progastrin, to immunoprecipitate peptides labeled with [35S]sulfate or [3H]tyrosine during incubation of rat antral mucosa in vitro. Labeled progastrin was detectable after 30 min of continuous incubation with isotopic precursors, G34 and G34-Gly after 60 min, and G17 and G17-Gly after 120 min. Pulse chase experiments indicated that progastrin is converted to G34-Gly which then follows one of two pathways: (a) hydroxylation of COOH-terminal Gly and conversion to G34 followed by cleavage yielding G17, or (b) cleavage to G17-Gly. The kinetics of G17-Gly and G17 labeling were similar, suggesting that G17-Gly is a product in its own right, and not simply an intermediate in G17 synthesis. Since the two peptides are reported to have distinct biological activities, they appear to be alternative mature products of progastrin processing.

Animals↗

Discrimination between temperature- and brefeldin A-sensitive steps in the sulfation, phosphorylation, and cleavage of progastrin and its derivatives.

Maturation of the acid-stimulating hormone gastrin involves precursor cleavage, tyrosine sulfation, serine phosphorylation, and COOH-terminal amidation. We have used brefeldin A and incubation at 22 degrees C to determine where and when these modifications occur. Immunogold studies of gastrin cells incubated at 22 degrees C revealed swollen Golgi cisternae, the terminal regions of which were associated with an accumulation of progastrin immunoreactivity. At 22 degrees C, [3H]tyrosine and [35S]sulfate were incorporated into progastrin, but Arg94-Arg95 cleavage, and Ser96 phosphorylation, were inhibited. When pulse labeling at 22 degrees C for 120 min was followed by a chase at 37 degrees C, [35S]progastrin was cleaved at Arg94-Arg95 with a t1/2 of about 10 min, compared with about 20 min for [3H]progastrin. Approximately 60% of the COOH-terminal cleavage fragment was phosphorylated, but there was little or no incorporation of [32P]phosphate into progastrin. Addition of brefeldin A during the chase substantially inhibited cleavage of [3H]progastrin, but not [35S]progastrin. However, when pulse labeling was limited to 20 min at 22 degrees C, the presence of brefeldin A in a subsequent chase at 37 degrees C completely inhibited cleavage of [35S]progastrin. The data indicate that progastrin sulfation occurs in the trans-Golgi network, exit from which involves passage through first a brefeldin A-sensitive and then a temperature-sensitive step. Cleavage at Arg94-Arg95 and Ser phosphorylation are closely linked, occur distal to the temperature-sensitive step, and are followed by amidation in secretory granules. It is known that mature secretory granules do not phosphorylate progastrin-derived peptides, and so phosphorylation appears to coincides with, and may provide a marker for, delivery of peptide from trans-Golgi work to immature secretory granules in gastrin cells.

Amides↗

Stimulation of gastric somatostatin mRNA abundance by substance P in capsaicin-treated rats.

The spinal afferent neurons serving the stomach influence a variety of different gastric functions that together can be considered protective; it is not known whether the stomach can adapt to the loss of these neurons. We now report that in conscious rats pretreated with capsaicin to lesion small-diameter afferents, but not in control rats, i.v. infusion of substance P for 6 h increased the abundance of mRNA encoding somatostatin in antrum; there was no change in a reference mRNA, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase. Substance P had no effect on somatostatin mRNA in the gastric corpus in either control or capsaicin-treated rats. An increased sensitivity of antral somatostatin cells to substance P may be one of the adaptive changes that occurs in the stomach of capsaicin-treated rats.

Animals↗

The mechanism of action of gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) in stimulating avian gastric acid secretion.

The mechanisms of action of gastrin and gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) in stimulating gastric acid secretion were examined in the anaesthetized turkey. Gastrin and GRP produced dose-dependent increases in acid secretion that were inhibited by the gastrin/CCK-B antagonist CI988. The antagonist did not affect the acid secretory responses to histamine or carbachol. A GRP antagonist (M216140) inhibited the acid response to GRP, but not gastrin. The results suggest that in birds, GRP stimulates acid secretion by release of gastrin, which acts in turn on classical gastrin/CCK-B receptors in the proventriculus.

Analysis of Variance↗

Neurochemical basis of reflex relaxation in gastric corpus.

Three general propositions are set forth: (1) that different test meals delay gastric emptying by different mechanisms, so mixed meals of differing composition are likely to influence gastric emptying by characteristic constellations of mechanisms; (2) that a particular nutrient can delay gastric emptying by more than one pathway; and (3) that a given pathway can use more than one neurotransmitter. The progress made in recent years suggests that it should now be possible to characterize the chemical mediators activated by different nutrients to delay gastric emptying.

Afferent Pathways↗