Abstract
1. The influence of diethyldithiocarbamate (DETCA), that irreversibly inhibits Cu/Zn-containing superoxide dismutase, on the inability of 6-anilino-5,8-quinolinedione (LY83583), hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase, hydroquinone and hydroxocobalamin to reduce electrically-induced NANC relaxations in the rat gastric fundus was investigated. 2. Longitudinal muscle strips of the rat gastric fundus were mounted for auxotonic recording in the presence of atropine and guanethidine and tone was raised by administration of prostaglandin F2 alpha DETCA (3 x 10(-3) M) slightly reduced the short-lasting relaxations induced by 10(-5) M exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and transmural electrical stimulation for 10 s at 4 Hz but this effect was not influenced by 1000 u ml-1 superoxide dismutase (SOD). 3. DETCA (3 x 10(-5) -3 x 10(-3) M) concentration-dependently potentiated the inhibitory effect of LY83583 upon the electrically-induced relaxations, although this was less pronounced than the inhibition of the NO-induced relaxations. The inhibition of the electrically-induced non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) relaxations was not reversed by SOD while that of the NO-induced relaxations was partially reversed. 4. The inhibitory effect of hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase, hydroquinone and hydroxocobalamin on the electrically-induced NANC relaxations in the presence of DETCA (3 x 10(-3) M) was not different from the inhibitory effect of DETCA alone. 5. It was concluded that the differentiating effect of LY83583 between exogenous NO and the endogenous nitrergic neurotransmitter is partially related to protection of the endogenous nitrergic neurotransmitter by high levels of intracellular superoxide dismutase. This mechanism does not hold for hydroquinone and hydroxocobalamin, as they still discriminate between exogenous NO and the endogenous nitrergic neurotransmitter in the presence of DETCA. The possibility that the endogenous nitrergic neurotransmitter is not free NO in the rat gastric fundus therefore remains open.