Elevation of intraluminal pressure and cyclooxygenase inhibitors increases duodenal alkaline secretion

Our aim was to study the effects of intraluminal hydrostatic pressure on duodenal mucosal alkaline secretion (DMAS) and permeability in anesthetized rats. A segment of proximal duodenum was perfused with saline and the rate of DMAS determined by backtitration. Mucosal permeability was assessed by measuring the clearance of 51Cr-EDTA (ED-C1) from blood to lumen. Raising the intraluminal hydrostatic pressure 6 mmHg above basal for 40 min induced a 75% increase in DMAS and a transient increase in ED-C1. This stimulation of DMAS was not affected by pretreatment with the muscarinergic receptor antagonist atropine (0.5 mg/kg i.v.), or the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (15 micrograms/kg i.v.) but was strongly reduced by stripping the nerves around the carotid arteries and abolished by the ganglion blocker hexamethonium (10 mg/kg i.v.). When the distension was prolonged to 90 min, the net increase in DMAS decreased with time, indicating an adaptive mechanism. The cyclooxygenase inhibitors indomethacin (5 mg/kg i.v.) and meclofenamate (5 mg/kg i.v.) induced intermittent elevations of intraluminal pressure and increased DMAS by > 100%. This was associated with a transient increase in ED-C1. Indomethacin increased DMAS in a dose-related fashion, and the rise in both intraluminal pressure and DMAS was abolished by hexamethonium but not affected by stripping the nerves around the carotid arteries. Elevation of intraluminal pressure did not augment the rise in DMAS induced by indomethacin. It is concluded that luminal distension and cyclooxygenase inhibition increase DMAS by a similar, but not identical, neural mechanism involving nicotinergic receptors. It is speculated that the indomethacin-induced rise in DMAS is mediated via induction of duodenal motility.