Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1993 Feb;108(2):497–500. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1993.tb12831.x

Evidence against vasoactive intestinal polypeptide as the relaxant neurotransmitter in human cavernosal smooth muscle.

R S Pickard 1, P H Powell 1, M A Zar 1
PMCID: PMC1907995  PMID: 8095418

Abstract

1. The putative role of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) as the relaxant neurotransmitter in human cavernosal smooth muscle has been studied in isolated tissue preparations. 2. Consistent neurogenic relaxations were evoked by electrical field stimulation (EFS; 2-64 pulses/train, 0.8 ms pulse duration, 10 Hz). VIP (0.1-3 microM) relaxed cavernosal smooth muscle in a dose-dependent fashion. Relaxant responses to both EFS and VIP were reduced in tissue from impotent men. 3. Neurogenic relaxant responses were not diminished in the presence of the VIP-inactivating peptidase, alpha-chymotrypsin (alpha-CT, 2 units ml-1). In contrast VIP-induced relaxations were completely abolished. 4. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase by NG-nitro-L-arginine (30 microM), and of guanylate cyclase by methylene blue (50 microM) caused highly significant reductions of neurogenic relaxant responses whereas VIP-evoked relaxations were unaffected. 5. It is concluded that VIP-evoked relaxations are not mediated by the NO-guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) pathway and that VIP release is not essential for neurogenic relaxation of human cavernosal smooth muscle. VIP does not therefore act as the major relaxant neurotransmitter in this tissue.

Full text

PDF
497

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adaikan P. G., Kottegoda S. R., Ratnam S. S. Is vasoactive intestinal polypeptide the principal transmitter involved in human penile erection? J Urol. 1986 Mar;135(3):638–640. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)45767-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Angel F., Go V. L., Schmalz P. F., Szurszewski J. H. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide: a putative transmitter in the canine gastric muscularis mucosa. J Physiol. 1983 Aug;341:641–654. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1983.sp014830. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bell P. M., Stein R. B. A digital stimulator built on modular principles using integrated circuits. J Physiol. 1971 Oct;218 (Suppl):5P–5P. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burnett A. L., Lowenstein C. J., Bredt D. S., Chang T. S., Snyder S. H. Nitric oxide: a physiologic mediator of penile erection. Science. 1992 Jul 17;257(5068):401–403. doi: 10.1126/science.1378650. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ellis J. L., Farmer S. G. Effects of peptidases on non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory responses of tracheal smooth muscle: a comparison with effects on VIP- and PHI-induced relaxation. Br J Pharmacol. 1989 Mar;96(3):521–526. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1989.tb11848.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gaw A. J., Aberdeen J., Humphrey P. P., Wadsworth R. M., Burnstock G. Relaxation of sheep cerebral arteries by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and neurogenic stimulation: inhibition by L-NG-monomethyl arginine in endothelium-denuded vessels. Br J Pharmacol. 1991 Mar;102(3):567–572. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1991.tb12213.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gu J., Polak J. M., Lazarides M., Morgan R., Pryor J. P., Marangos P. J., Blank M. A., Bloom S. R. Decrease of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the penises from impotent men. Lancet. 1984 Aug 11;2(8398):315–318. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(84)92687-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Holmquist F., Hedlund H., Andersson K. E. Characterization of inhibitory neurotransmission in the isolated corpus cavernosum from rabbit and man. J Physiol. 1992 Apr;449:295–311. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1992.sp019087. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kiely E. A., Blank M. A., Bloom S. R., Williams G. Studies on intracavernosal VIP levels during pharmacologically induced penile erections. Br J Urol. 1987 Apr;59(4):334–339. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410x.1987.tb04644.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kim N., Azadzoi K. M., Goldstein I., Saenz de Tejada I. A nitric oxide-like factor mediates nonadrenergic-noncholinergic neurogenic relaxation of penile corpus cavernosum smooth muscle. J Clin Invest. 1991 Jul;88(1):112–118. doi: 10.1172/JCI115266. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Krane R. J., Goldstein I., Saenz de Tejada I. Impotence. N Engl J Med. 1989 Dec 14;321(24):1648–1659. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198912143212406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Li C. G., Rand M. J. Nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide mediate non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory transmission to smooth muscle of the rat gastric fundus. Eur J Pharmacol. 1990 Dec 4;191(3):303–309. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(90)94162-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lincoln J., Crowe R., Blacklay P. F., Pryor J. P., Lumley J. S., Burnstock G. Changes in the VIPergic, cholinergic and adrenergic innervation of human penile tissue in diabetic and non-diabetic impotent males. J Urol. 1987 May;137(5):1053–1059. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)44358-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ottesen B., Wagner G., Virag R., Fahrenkrug J. Penile erection: possible role for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide as a neurotransmitter. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Jan 7;288(6410):9–11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.288.6410.9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Pickard R. S., Powell P. H., Zar M. A. The effect of inhibitors of nitric oxide biosynthesis and cyclic GMP formation on nerve-evoked relaxation of human cavernosal smooth muscle. Br J Pharmacol. 1991 Nov;104(3):755–759. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1991.tb12500.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Polak J. M., Gu J., Mina S., Bloom S. R. Vipergic nerves in the penis. Lancet. 1981 Aug 1;2(8240):217–219. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(81)90471-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Rajfer J., Aronson W. J., Bush P. A., Dorey F. J., Ignarro L. J. Nitric oxide as a mediator of relaxation of the corpus cavernosum in response to nonadrenergic, noncholinergic neurotransmission. N Engl J Med. 1992 Jan 9;326(2):90–94. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199201093260203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Saenz de Tejada I., Blanco R., Goldstein I., Azadzoi K., de las Morenas A., Krane R. J., Cohen R. A. Cholinergic neurotransmission in human corpus cavernosum. I. Responses of isolated tissue. Am J Physiol. 1988 Mar;254(3 Pt 2):H459–H467. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.1988.254.3.H459. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sheng H., Schmidt H. H., Nakane M., Mitchell J. A., Pollock J. S., Föstermann U., Murad F. Characterization and localization of nitric oxide synthase in non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves from bovine retractor penis muscles. Br J Pharmacol. 1992 Aug;106(4):768–773. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1992.tb14411.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Willis E. A., Ottesen B., Wagner G., Sundler F., Fahrenkrug J. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) as a putative neurotransmitter in penile erection. Life Sci. 1983 Jul 25;33(4):383–391. doi: 10.1016/s0024-3205(83)80013-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of The British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES