Colonic mucin discharge by a cholinergic agonist, prostaglandins, and peptide YY in the isolated vascularly perfused rat colon

Abstract

The model of the isolated, vascularly perfused rat colon was assessed in the present study to investigate the nervous, hormonal, and local/paracrine pathways involved in colonic mucin secretion. A colonic loop was perfused via the superior mesenteric artery with a Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing 25% washed bovine erythrocytes at a rate of 2.5 ml/min. After a 10-min control period, each compound to be tested was infused intra-arterially for 30 min. Tissue samples from the proximal and midsegments of the perfused rat colon were then fixed and stained for mucus cell count. Intra-arterial administration of bethanechol evoked a concentration-dependent decrease in the number of stained mucus cells per crypt section over the range 2 x 10(-6) to 2 x 10(-4) M: 16.6 +/- 1.4 stained mucus cells per crypt in the midportion of the perfused rat colon (n = 5) with bethanechol 2 x 10(-4) M versus 28.8 +/- 1.5 for controls (n = 6). After infusion of 1.25 and 2.5 microM 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 (dmPGE2), the number of stained mucus cells per crypt section was significantly reduced: 21.6 +/- 0.6 (n = 6) and 20.6 +/- 1.4 (n = 7), respectively. An increase in the number of cavitated mucus cells was also observed (22.1 +/- 6.7 and 38.5 +/- 4.1% of cavitated mucus cells in the midsegment of the perfused rat colon with 1.25 and 2.5 microM dmPGE2, respectively, vs. 12.3 +/- 4.1% for controls). In contrast, prostaglandin F2alpha did not significantly affect mucus discharge from colonic cells. Peptide YY (10(-10), 10(-9) and 10(-8) M) induced a dose-dependent increase in the percentage of cavitated mucus cells (16.7 +/- 2.8, 23.1 +/- 4.2, and 31.2 +/- 3.4% of cavitated mucus cells in the midsegment, respectively). The proximal and midsegments of the perfused rat colon were equally sensitive to each secretagogue.

Conclusion: In the isolated, vascularly perfused rat colon, mucus cells strongly respond to the well-known mucin secretagogues, bethanechol and dmPGE2. This approach has already led to the identification of a novel stimulant of mucin secretion: peptide YY. Our ex vivo model, in which goblet cells are submitted to well-defined luminal and blood-borne stimuli is, therefore, reliable to investigate the nervous, hormonal, and local/paracrine pathways involved in the colonic mucin secretion.