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Protease‐activated receptor‐2 (PAR‐2) in the rat gastric mucosa: immunolocalization and facilitation of pepsin/pepsinogen secretion
Author(s) -
Kawao Naoyuki,
Sakaguchi Yuriko,
Tagome Ai,
Kuroda Ryotaro,
Nishida Shozo,
Irimajiri Kiyohiro,
Nishikawa Hiroyuki,
Kawai Kenzo,
Hollenberg Morley D,
Kawabata Atsufumi
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1038/sj.bjp.0704562
Subject(s) - pepsin , gastric chief cell , secretion , medicine , endocrinology , gastric mucosa , mucus , stomach , gastric acid , receptor , capsaicin , chemistry , agonist , biology , biochemistry , enzyme , ecology
Agonists of protease‐activated receptor‐2 (PAR‐2) trigger neurally mediated mucus secretion accompanied by mucosal cytoprotection in the stomach. The present study immunolocalized PAR‐2 in the rat gastric mucosa and examined if PAR‐2 could modulate pepsin/pepsinogen secretion in rats. PAR‐2‐like immunoreactivity was abundant in the deep regions of gastric mucosa, especially in chief cells. The PAR‐2 agonist SLIGRL‐NH 2 , but not the control peptide LSIGRL‐NH 2 , administered i.v. repeatedly at 0.3 – 1 μmol kg −1 , four times in total, significantly facilitated gastric pepsin secretion, although a single dose produced no significant effect. The PAR‐2‐mediated gastric pepsin secretion was resistant to omeprazole, N G ‐nitro‐ L ‐arginine methyl ester ( L ‐NAME) or atropine, and also to ablation of sensory neurons by capsaicin. Our study thus provides novel evidence that PAR‐2 is localized in mucosal chief cells and facilitates gastric pepsin secretion in the rats, most probably by a direct mechanism.British Journal of Pharmacology (2002) 135 , 1292–1296; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0704562