Novel mechanisms of enteric purinergic signaling

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A number of GI symptoms and motility disorders, including idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), are linked, directly or indirectly, to defects in the neural control of the GI system. Neurogenic purines are central to gut motility by providing tonic inhibition in the colon and by influencing gut contractility and propulsion motility. In recent years we have determined that NAD+ and ADP-ribose, but not ATP, fulfill presynaptic and postsynaptic criteria for a motor inhibitory neurotransmitter in the colon. This project will build upon our findings and will pursue the mechanisms of release, metabolism and action of extracellular purines and metabolites with the goal to greatly improve our understanding of key mechanisms of purinergic signaling in the human gut. In Aim 1 we will investigate key mechanisms of extracellular metabolism of ATP, NAD+ and ADPR, intersecting pathways, and regional prevalence of purinergic metabolic pathways in the large intestine. In Aim 2 we will investigate the complexities of purinergic regulation in the colon and the postjunctional activities of purines and metabolites on muscle contractility and motility. In particular, we will investigate the involvment of P2X7 receptors and small conductance Ca2+-activated K-t- (SK) channels in PDGFRa+ cells in mediating responses to ATP and will examine purine-mediated Ca2+ desensitization mechanisms in colonic smooth muscle. In Aim 3 we will investigate how neuronal release, degradation and action of extracellular purine nucleotides and metabolites are affected in colitis. We will conduct our studies on colons from human and non-human primates, in mice with specific gene deletions, in reporter strains of mice with constitutive expression of green fluorescence proteins, and in animal models of colitis. We will examine constitutive and evoked overflow and extracellular biotransformation of purines using enhanced high performance liquid chromatography techniques along with immunohistochemistry, protein biochemistry, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, electrophysiology, and functional approaches to better understand mechanisms of purinergic signaling in the gut. This research has the potential to advance new concepts in regulatory purine-mediated mechanisms in the distal GI tract.