Inhibitory effect of somatostatin on cholera toxin-induced diarrhea and glycoenzyme secretion in rat intestine.

The effects of somatostatin on cholera toxin-induced secretory diarrhea and the appearance of glycoenzymes in the intestinal lumen and intestinal lymph were investigated in rat small intestine. After exposure to cholera toxin, marked fluid accumulation in the small intestinal tract and elevation of the jejunal mucosal cyclic AMP (cAMP) concentration were observed. The activity of alkaline phosphatase, aminopeptidase and sucrase increased in the intestinal lumen after toxin exposure. In intestinal lymph, alkaline phosphatase activity was increased after cholera toxin administration, while aminopeptidase activity remained unchanged. Somatostatin suppressed cholera toxin-induced secretory diarrhea, but it did not affect the elevated mucosal cAMP concentration. This peptide also inhibited the appearance of glycoenzymes in the intestinal lumen and lymph induced by cholera toxin administration. These results suggest that somatostatin exerts its inhibitory effects on cholera toxin-induced secretory diarrhea and on the appearance of glycoenzymes in the intestinal lumen and lymph by affecting processes beyond cAMP formation.