Effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on vasoactive intestinal peptide-induced relaxation of isolated guinea-pig trachea.

The relaxant effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was investigated in isolated guinea-pig trachea in the presence of the phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, papaverine and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), and the results were compared to those obtained with the cyclic AMP-dependent bronchodilators, isoproterenol and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The relaxant effect of VIP was greater when the magnitude of the leukotriene D4 (LTD4)-induced contraction was smaller. A similar effect was also observed for the relaxation induced by isoproterenol but not by PGE2. In the presence of papaverine (1 microM) and IBMX (3 microM), which reduced the 30 nM LTD4-induced contraction to the same extent, the relaxant effect of VIP was not changed, whereas the relaxant effects of isoproterenol and PGE2 were significantly potentiated. The potentiating effect of PDE inhibitors was also observed for the relaxation induced by the adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, but not for the relaxation induced by the guanylate cyclase activator, sodium nitroprusside. These results suggest that the relaxation induced by VIP is different from that induced by cyclic AMP-dependent bronchodilator in the guinea-pig trachea.