Evaluation of a new and potent cholecystokinin antagonist on motor responses of the guinea‐pig intestine

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Abstract
The potency and selectivity of d,l‐4‐(3,4‐dichloro‐benzoyl‐amino)‐5‐(dipentyl‐amino)‐5‐oxo‐pentanoic acid (CR 1409) as a cholecystokinin (CCK) antagonist was investigated on motor responses of the longitudinal and circular muscles of the guinea‐pig isolated ileum. CR 1409 was further used to examine whether nerve‐mediated motor responses to electrical field stimulation or distension of the gut wall may involve the release of CCK‐like peptides CR 1409 (0.06‐2.1 μm) antagonized longitudinal muscle responses to ceruletide (caerulein, a CCK‐related decapeptide) in a concentration dependent and competitive manner (pA2 7.77); responses to CCK‐octapeptide (CCK‐8) were antagonized with a similar potency. Contractions of the circular muscle evoked by ceruletide were also blocked by CR 1409 (0.2‐0.4 μm). Longitudinal muscle contractions in response to dimethylphenylpiperazinium, bethanechol, histamine, substance P, or 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT), and circular muscle contractions evoked by acetylcholine, 5‐HT, substance P, or substance K were not altered by CR 1409 (0.4 μm). Longitudinal muscle contractions induced by electrical field stimulation (with pulses delivered at 0.05 and 1 Hz in the absence, and at 5 Hz in the presence of atropine) were not or only slightly reduced by CR 1409 (0.4 μm). Longitudinal contractions due to activation of extrinsic nerves by capsaicin remained unaltered in the presence of CR 1409 (0.4 μm). Reflex contractions of the circular muscle, induced by balloon distension and recorded orally to the site of distension, and peristaltic activity elicited by intraluminal infusion of Tyrode solution remained unaffected by CR 1409 (0.4 μm). These findings indicate that CR 1409 is a potent and selective antagonist of CCK‐like peptides in the guinea‐pig ileum. The results do not provide any evidence that CCK‐like peptides, released from extrinsic or intrinsic neurones, are involved in nerve‐mediated contractions of intestinal muscle and in the peristaltic reflex.