Disordered motility is one of the most important pathogenic characteristics of functional dyspepsia (FD), although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Since the sympathetic system is important to the regulation of gastrointestinal motility, the present study aimed to investigate the role of norepinephrine (NE) and adrenoceptors in disordered gastric motility in a rat model with FD. The effect of exogenous NE on gastric motility in control and FD rats was measured through an organ bath study. The expression and distribution of beta-adrenoceptors were examined by real-time PCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The results showed that endogenous gastric NE was elevated in FD rats, and hyperreactivity of gastric smooth muscle to NE and delayed gastric emptying were observed in the rat model of FD. The mRNA levels of beta1-adrenoceptor and norepinephrine transporter (NET) and the protein levels of beta2-adrenoceptor and NET were increased significantly in the gastric corpus of FD rats. All three subtypes of beta-adrenoceptors were abundantly distributed in the gastric corpus of rats. In conclusion, the enhanced NE and beta-adrenoceptors and NETs may be contributed to the disordered gastric motility in FD rats.

• MeSH
• Receptors, Adrenergic, beta metabolism   MeSH
• Dyspepsia metabolism   physiopathology   MeSH
• Disease Models, Animal MeSH
• Norepinephrine metabolism   MeSH
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley MeSH
• Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins metabolism   MeSH
• Gastric Emptying * MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Male MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Receptors, Adrenergic, beta MeSH
• Norepinephrine MeSH
• Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins MeSH