Prostaglandin E in cholera toxin-induced intestinal secretion. Lack of an intermediary role.

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and cholera enterotoxin stimulate small-intestine mucosal adenylate cyclase and intestinal secretion of water and electrolytes. The previous suggestion that PGE may mediate cholera-toxin effects was explored in these studies. Closed rabbit jejunal loops were injected in vivo with cholera toxin and compared to similar loops in the same animal injected with buffer. Loop mucosal homogenates and intestinal secretions were analyzed by radioimmunoassay for cAMP and PGE concentrations. Cholera toxin produced significant increases in mucosal and intestinal fluid cAMP; however, there were no significant increases in PGE in the toxin-treated loops when compared to the control loops. In addition, there was no correlation between cAMP and PGE in the same samples. These studies indicate that cholera toxin stimulates intestinal cAMP anc secretion independent of PGE synthesis and provide evidence against a specific role for PGE in mediating cholera-toxin effects.