Response of canine Thiry-Vella jejunal loops to cholera exotoxin and its modification by ethacrynic acid.

Abstract

A series of recent studies has demonstrated that the loss of gut electrolytes in cholera is caused by an exotoxin produced by Vibrio cholerae which have colonized the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract [1, 2].1 Canine Thiry-Vella jejunal loops consistently respond to intraluminal challenge with crude cholera exotoxin by production of isotonic fluid for an 18-24-hr period [3, 4]. The canine Thiry-Vella jejunal loop may thus serve as an assay for preparations of cholera exotoxin and provide a system in which the effect of pharmacologic agents on the response to exotoxin may be investigated. The current series of studies was designed (a) to delineate more precisely the response of ThiryVella jejunal loops to intraluminal challenge with cholera exotoxin, and (b) to study the effect of both intraluminal and intravenous ethacrynic acid on the response of the gut to cholera exotoxin.