ENKEPHALINS INHIBIT INTESTINAL MOTILITY - MODE OF ACTION

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • review article
    • Vol. 24  (2) , 119-120
Abstract
In the guinea pig isolated terminal ileum the opioid pentapeptides, methionine-enkephalin and leucine-enkephalin, dose-dependently inhibited contractile responses induced by electrical field stimulation releasing endogenous acetylcholine and by specific noncholinergic compounds including histamine, BaCl and .beta.-acetyl-digoxin. Tissue levels of c[cyclic]AMP and cGMP remain unchanged. Enkephalins exerted their effects by a direct action at or within the muscle cell and may play a physiological role in the local control of the gut smooth muscle motility.

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