The effects of adrenergic antagonists on the serotonin levels of feline enterochromaffin cells after splanchnic nerve stimulation.

Cut splanchnic nerves were stimulated electrically at the preganglionic level in efferent direction in anesthetized cats with the adrenals ligated bilaterally. A significant decrease of the intracellular serotonin (5-HT) levels in populations (n = 20) of individual enterochromaffin cells (EC) in the mucosa from three different levels of the small intestine (distal duodenum, mid-jejunum and terminal ileum) was obtained. The intracellular 5-HT levels before and after stimulation were studied cytofluorimetrically in biopsies treated according to the Falck-Hillarp technique. One group of cats was pretreated with propranolol prior to stimulation. This prevented the decrease in fluorescence intensity effectively. Two other groups of cats were pretreated with phenoxybenzamine or phentolamine. These drugs also blocked the expected decrease in fluorescence intensity in 7 of 8 cats. In some biopsies there was an increased fluorescence intensity after nerve stimulation in cats given propranolol or phentolamine even though the drugs themselves had no intrinsic effects on the fluorescence intensity in control animals. It is concluded that efferent electrical stimulation of the splanchnic nerves can cause a release of 5-HT from gut EC by an adrenergic mechanism.