Selective presence of opiate receptors on intestinal circular muscle cells.

Smooth muscle cells isolated separately from the longitudinal and circular muscle layers of guinea pig and human intestine exhibited a unique pattern of response to derivatives of proenkephalin and prodynorphin present in the myenteric plexus. Receptors for other myenteric transmitters (acetylcholine, the octapeptide of cholecystokinin and substance P) capable of mediating contraction, were present on both circular and longitudinal muscle cells, whereas opiate receptors were present on circular muscle cells and selectively absent from longitudinal muscle cells in both species. The opiate myoreceptors belonged to the three main subclasses (kappa, delta and mu) and exhibited a rank order of sensitivity similar to that of opiate neuroreceptors. The distribution of these receptors parallels the distribution of opioid nerve fibers and appears to reflect the role of opioids in the regulation of neuromuscular activity.