Receptors for substance P. III. Classification by competitive antagonists

Abstract

A series of ten octa- and five undecapeptide antagonists of SP have been tested in four isolated smooth muscle preparations in order to characterise the receptors mediating the SP-induced contractions of the guinea pig ileum (G.P.I.), the guinea pig trachea (G.P.T.) and the rabbit mesenteric vein (R.M.V.) and the relaxation of the dog carotid artery (D.C.A.). It has been shown that: (a) Indirect effects by substance P and related peptides, mediated by acetylcholine or prostaglandins reduce the affinity of [pro4,trp7,9,10]SP (4-11) (an SP-antagonist) only in the G.P.I. (b) Octapeptide antagonists are specific for SP, have no agonistic activities and exert a competitive antagonism against SP, its homologues and fragments. (c) Undecapeptide antagonists are weaker than the octapeptides in the G.P.I. and G.P.T. and slightly stronger in the D.C.A. and R.M.V. However these compounds still have variable degrees of agonistic activity in some tissues. Affinity of octapeptide antagonists bearing the basic structure [pro4,trp7,9]SP-(4-11) is increased by the additional replacement of Leu10 with trp, Met11 with Leu, Nle or Phe, but it is slightly reduced by substituting Phe8 with Val. Antagonists containing aliphatic residues at the C-terminal end, for instance [pro4,trp7,9,Nle11]SP-(4-11) are more potent than others in the R.M.V., while those with aromatic residues, for instance [pro4,trp7,9,10]SP-(4-11) are weak on the R.M.V. but fairly active on the G.P.T. These antagonists do not show any selectivity on the G.P.I. and the D.C.A. Comparison of antagonists affinities for receptor characterisation suggest the existence of three different functional sites for SP-related peptides. The site of the G.P.I. and D.C.A., which accepts both the antagonists containing aromatic or aliphatic groups at the C-terminal end; the site of the G.P.T. which prefers the aromatic and that of the R.M.V. which shows high affinity for aliphatic residues. The receptor classification emerging from data obtained with antagonists is compared with the classifications of the literature and with those based on the order of potencies of SP homologues and fragments.