Glutamate stimulation of acetylcholine release from myenteric plexus is mediated by endogenous nitric oxide.

Glutamate was found to be an excitatory neurotransmitter in the enteric nervous system. Although several lines of evidence indicate a role of glutamate in the regulation of gut motility and secretion the physiological significance of glutamatergic transmission is not clear yet. We studied the effect of glutamate on [3H]acetylcholine release and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase staining in longitudinal muscle strips with attached myenteric plexus of guinea pig ileum.