Functional significance of histologic alterations induced by Escherichia coli pig-specific, mouse-negative, heat-stable enterotoxin (STb).

In contrast to cholera enterotoxin and other Escherichia coli enterotoxins, a pig-specific, heat-stable E. coli enterotoxin (STb) causes morphologic lesions (loss of villous epithelial cells and partial villous atrophy). These lesions reflect a loss of absorptive cells and thus suggest that STb causes impaired absorption as well as inducing net secretion. The present studies assess functional significance of morphologic changes induced by STb. Net fluid movement, mucosal surface area, sucrase activity and the electrical response induced by alanine were measured in swine jejunal loops exposed to E. coli culture filtrates with and without STb. Net fluid secretion (-11.1 +/- 1.1 ml) occurred in some STb loops (secretors) and net absorption (2.7 +/- 0.3 ml) in others (nonsecretors), but net absorption occurred in all control loops (4.9 +/- 0.2 ml). The mucosal surface area of STb loops was about 20% less than that of controls (P less than 0.01). Sucrase activity was also lower (about 15%) in STb loops than in control loops (P less than 0.01). The electrical response induced by alanine in mucosa from nonsecreting STb loops did not differ from that induced in mucosa from control loops. However, the response to alanine in mucosa from secreting STb loops was reduced about 70% from that in mucosa from nonsecreting STb loops or from control loops (P less than 0.05). It is concluded that reduced sucrase activity is a functional correlate to villous atrophy induced by STb, that STb impairs alanine absorption in some loops (secretors), and that the impaired alanine absorption is independent of the decreased surface area caused by STb. Because the impaired alanine absorption occurred independent of the decreases in surface area, it is suggested that the secretory response to STb is associated with an impairment of active absorption of alanine.