Chymotrypsin, ileal chloride transport, and neurotransmitters

Electrical field stimulation (EFS) depolarizes nerves and causes chloride secretion by mucosa of rabbit ileum mounted in a flux chamber. To test the hypothesis that the transmitter is a peptide, we determined whether the EFS response was prevented by the endopeptidase chymotrypsin (CT). Serosal, but not mucosal, addition of CT (200 micrograms/ml) reduced the short-circuit current (Isc) response to EFS by 90% or more. CT also reduced Cl absorption by decreasing the mucosal-to-serosal flux, but it did not affect net Na absorption. CT prevented the response to vasoactive intestinal polypeptides, but the response returned when CT activity was eliminated. The response to EFS did not return, however, implying that CT damaged cells that released transmitter or epithelial target cells. CT reduced the Isc response to serotonin by 69% and to A23187 by 10% and did not affect the theophylline response. We conclude that 1) the effects of CT on cell function limit its usefulness in identifying peptide neurotransmitters in epithelium, 2) CT irreversibly inhibits ion transport responses to EFS and to serotonin, and 3) CT reduces absorption of Cl probably by affecting a calcium pathway that modifies Cl transport.