Neuropeptide Y and norepinephrine cooperatively inhibit human tracheal gland cell secretion
Merten, M.D.; Figarella, C.
American Journal of Physiology 266(5 Pt 1): L513-L518
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9513 PMID: 8203544 Document Number: 427073
The effects of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and norepinephrine (NE) on the secretion of human tracheal gland (HTG) cells in culture were examined using the bronchial inhibitor (BrI) as a secretory marker. NPY by itself provoked no change in secretion, neither in intracellular Ca-2+ nor in adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels. NE induced transient intracellular Ca-2+ mobilization and an increase of intracellular cAMP and also, as previously described, a short-time concentration-dependent decrease of BrI secreted by HTG cells. When applied together on HTG cells, NPY and NE induced an increase of intracellular cAMP, a discrete sustained increase of basal intracellular Ca-2+, and a long-lasting inhibition of secretion. Our data suggest that NPY acts for human tracheal gland cells as a NE neuromodulator rather than as a neurotransmitter. Thus culture of HTG cells appears to be an interesting pharmacological support for studying inhibition of bronchial secretion and could be applied in the study of pathologies where hypersecretion is observed, such as cystic fibrosis.