Antisecretory effect of splanchnic nerve stimulation on choleratoxin-induced secretion in the cat, an effect mediated at the crypts.

The experiments were performed on cats anaesthetized with alpha-chloralose. Segments of the small intestine were perfused with sodium-free hypotonic choline-mannitol solution and intestinal net fluid transport was recorded with a volumetric technique. The content of sodium and chloride in the lamina propria of the small intestinal villus was measured with an electron microprobe in freeze-dried paraffin embedded tissue. In absorbing control intestine, there was an even distribution of electrolytes along the villi. Sympathetic nerve stimulation (5 Hz, 5 ms, 5 V) did not significantly affect electrolyte distribution and net fluid transport. Intestinal secretion was elicited by pretreatment of the intestine with cholera toxin. The concentration of sodium and chloride was elevated in the apical third of the villi in intestines during the secretion since secreted sodium from the crypts was reabsorbed into the villi. Sympathetic nerve stimulation decreased the cholera secretion significantly in intestines pretreated with cholera-toxin. Furthermore, the apical gradients of sodium and chloride in the villi, caused by the reabsorbed sodium and chloride, disappeared during sympathetic nerve stimulation. It is concluded that, in the used experimental model, the antisecretory effect of sympathetic nerve stimulation was caused by inhibition of crypt secretion and not by augmented villus absorption.