Neural mediation of cholera toxin-induced mucin secretion in the rat small intestine.

We examined the role of enteric nerves in cholera toxin (CT)-induced mucin secretion in proximal and distal regions of rat small intestine. Stimulation of intestinal loops with 120 micrograms (1.5 mumol) CT using an in vitro open-loop model resulted in an approximately four-fold increase in luminal mucin content over unstimulated controls in both regions of the gut. Prior treatment of loops with tetrodotoxin had no effect on the amount of mucin released in response to CT. However, permanent destruction of primary sensory afferent nerves by neonatal treatment of rats with capsaicin reduced the mucin response to CT to baseline levels in both regions. In normal animals, atropine resulted in approximately 40% inhibition of mucin secretion in both the proximal and distal small intestine. The atropine-sensitive secretory response appears to be a component of the capsaicin-sensitive response. These results suggest that choleraic mucin secretion is mediated primarily by a capsaicin-sensitive neurogenic pathway involving local activation of sensory nerves, which may then elicit mucin secretion through interaction with cholinergic nerves.