Inhalation of phosphoramidon, a neutral endopeptidase inhibitor, induces cough in awake guinea-pigs.

In the present study, we explored whether or not a neutral endopeptidase inhibitor provokes cough in awake guinea-pigs. Inhalation of phosphoramidon at a concentration of 10(-6) M did not cause cough, but increasing the concentration to 10(-5) M caused cough with a latency of about 10 to 12 min. Inhalation of enalapril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, did not cause cough, even at high concentrations of 10(-5) M and 10(-4) M. Pretreatment with phosphoramidon (10(-5) M) significantly increased the number of coughs caused by substance P and capsaicin. Capsaicin-induced coughs were more easily produced in bronchitic guinea-pigs than in normal guinea-pigs. However, there was no significant difference in the number of phosphoramidon-induced coughs between normal and bronchitic guinea-pigs. Phosphoramidon-induced coughs were significantly depressed by codeine (20 mg/kg, p.o.) and CP96345 (2 mg/kg, i.v.). The present results provide new evidence for the proposed idea that neutral endopeptidase may regulate the occurrence of cough.