Tachykinin-induced phosphoinositide breakdown in airway smooth muscle and epithelium: relationship to contraction

We have studied the contractile response and phosphoinositide hydrolysis induced by substance P (SP), neurokinin A (NKA), neurokinin B (NKB), and Alp-Phe-Phe(R)-Gly[ANC-2]-Leu-Met-NH2 (L 363851), a selective NK2-receptor agonist, in guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle. The four tachykinins elicited a concentration-dependent contraction in tracheal smooth muscle devoid of epithelium, with the following order of potency: NKA greater than L 363851 greater than NKB greater than SP, (EC50 1.0 x 10(-9) M, 3.2 x 10(-9) M, 7.5 x 10(-9) M and 1.2 x 10(-7) M, respectively), which suggests that NK2 receptors predominate in airway smooth muscle. In the presence of epithelium, the sensitivity of airway smooth muscle to tachykinins was decreased, and the concentration response curves to tachykinins were shifted rightward by 30-fold for SP, 9-fold for NKA, and 5-fold for NKB. The concentration response curve to L 363851 was not significantly shifted in the presence of epithelium. This suggests that epithelium may release a relaxant factor in response to tachykinins via an NK1 receptor. In airway smooth muscle, we found that tachykinins elicited phosphoinositide breakdown with an order of potency similar to that for contractile response (EC50 2.2 x 10(-5) M, 3.6 x 10(-5) M, 4.4 x 10(-5) M, and 5.9 x 10(-5) M). In epithelium, SP alone elicited a significant phosphoinositide breakdown, suggesting that epithelial receptors to tachykinins may be of the NK1 subtype. Since it is established that phosphoinositide derivatives can elicit mobilization of intracellular calcium, our results suggest that phosphoinositide breakdown is the coupling mechanism for tachykinin-induced contraction of airway smooth muscle.