Few decades ago by a number of cross-adaptation studies [58,59] (see also [53]). More recently, a goldfish OR tuned to basic amino acids has been characterized in a study by Speca and coworkers [15]. In Xenopus, an olfactory receptor preferentially responding 
to basic amino acids has been described by Mezler and coworker [16], while ORNs with exclusive sensitivity to L-arginine have been reported in a previous study of our group [6]. The latter study revealed about 5 of all amino acid-sensitive ORNs to be exclusively sensitive to Larginine. Together, the data presented here clearly show that amino acids rather than small peptides are the adequate stimuli of a subgroup of ORs of larval Xenopus laevis. Future studies will be necessary to validate this conclusion for other aquatic species. The presentOlfactory Responses to Amino Acids and Peptidesstudy also suggests that the amino acid-specific ORs of Xenopus might be well-suited to investigate binding properties of odorants at ORs with identified response profiles.Author ContributionsConceived and designed the experiments: TH DS IM. Performed the experiments: TH LPP IM. Analyzed the data: TH IM. Wrote the paper: TH DS IM.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Acute pancreatitis (AP), especially severe AP, is a potentially lethal inflammatory disease of pancreas which often leads to extrapancreatic complications, even multiple systemic organ dysfunctions. It has been reported that 52 of patients with acute pancreatitis develop acute gastrointestinal mucosal lesion (AGML) or stress ulcer [1,2]. Although the endoscopic observation shows that the majority of subjects merely have multiple shallow erosions in the gastrointestinal tract, the optimal pharmacological intervention continues to be a matter of debate, and the pathogenesis of AGML remains unclear. Some investigators report that the stressful condition with acute pancreatitis causes the diminished blood supply or hypoperfusion in the gastric mucosa, and the counter-diffusion of gastric hydrogen ion (H+) is an important factor for AGML as well [3,4]. Other investigations discovered that the serum and ascitic fluid from AP patients and experimental animals contained a large amount of toxic substances, such as pancreatic enzymes, endotoxins, inflammatory mediators [5,6], which may contribute to the multiple organ dysfunctions in acute pancreatitis [7,8]. For centuries, Cannabis plant and its extracts have been 1326631 used to alleviate 256373-96-3 web symptoms of gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases. It has been established that D9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive 3397-23-7 biological activity component of Cannabis, exerts its primary cellularactions though two G protein-coupled receptors, cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptors [9?1]. Since then, these two receptors have been recognized as the major regulators of physiological and pathological processes [12]. Cannabinoids can reduce gastrointestinal secretion [13], and the activation of CB1 receptor exhibits protective role against stress-induced AGML [14,15], but the mechanisms of their action remain elusive. The aim of the present work was to explore, by both in vivo and in vitro experiments, the changes in the serum components, the alterations of gastric endocrine and exocrine functions in rat AP model, and the possible contributions of these alterations in the pathogenesis of AGML. Also probed were the interventional effects of.Few decades ago by a number of cross-adaptation studies [58,59] (see also [53]). More recently, a goldfish OR tuned to basic amino acids has been characterized in a study by Speca and coworkers [15]. In Xenopus, an olfactory receptor preferentially responding to basic amino acids has been described by Mezler and coworker [16], while ORNs with exclusive sensitivity to L-arginine have been reported in a previous study of our group [6]. The latter study revealed about 5 of all amino acid-sensitive ORNs to be exclusively sensitive to Larginine. Together, the data presented here clearly show that amino acids rather than small peptides are the adequate stimuli of a 
subgroup of ORs of larval Xenopus laevis. Future studies will be necessary to validate this conclusion for other aquatic species. The presentOlfactory Responses to Amino Acids and Peptidesstudy also suggests that the amino acid-specific ORs of Xenopus might be well-suited to investigate binding properties of odorants at ORs with identified response profiles.Author ContributionsConceived and designed the experiments: TH DS IM. Performed the experiments: TH LPP IM. Analyzed the data: TH IM. Wrote the paper: TH DS IM.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Acute pancreatitis (AP), especially severe AP, is a potentially lethal inflammatory disease of pancreas which often leads to extrapancreatic complications, even multiple systemic organ dysfunctions. It has been reported that 52 of patients with acute pancreatitis develop acute gastrointestinal mucosal lesion (AGML) or stress ulcer [1,2]. Although the endoscopic observation shows that the majority of subjects merely have multiple shallow erosions in the gastrointestinal tract, the optimal pharmacological intervention continues to be a matter of debate, and the pathogenesis of AGML remains unclear. Some investigators report that the stressful condition with acute pancreatitis causes the diminished blood supply or hypoperfusion in the gastric mucosa, and the counter-diffusion of gastric hydrogen ion (H+) is an important factor for AGML as well [3,4]. Other investigations discovered that the serum and ascitic fluid from AP patients and experimental animals contained a large amount of toxic substances, such as pancreatic enzymes, endotoxins, inflammatory mediators [5,6], which may contribute to the multiple organ dysfunctions in acute pancreatitis [7,8]. For centuries, Cannabis plant and its extracts have been 1326631 used to alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases. It has been established that D9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive component of Cannabis, exerts its primary cellularactions though two G protein-coupled receptors, cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptors [9?1]. Since then, these two receptors have been recognized as the major regulators of physiological and pathological processes [12]. Cannabinoids can reduce gastrointestinal secretion [13], and the activation of CB1 receptor exhibits protective role against stress-induced AGML [14,15], but the mechanisms of their action remain elusive. The aim of the present work was to explore, by both in vivo and in vitro experiments, the changes in the serum components, the alterations of gastric endocrine and exocrine functions in rat AP model, and the possible contributions of these alterations in the pathogenesis of AGML. Also probed were the interventional effects of.