Mucus secretagogue activity in cecal contents of rabbits with mucoid enteropathy

Cecal filtrates from rabbits with cecal ligation-induced mucoid enteropathy have been reported to cause goblet cell hyperplasia in intestinal explants. This study was performed to see whether such filtrates would stimulate mucus secretion from intestinal explants. Filtrates were prepared from cecal contents of five control rabbits, five rabbits that had undergone cecal ligation, and five rabbits that had had the distal branch of the ileocecocolic vessels and nerve incorporated into the cecal ligature. After incubation of each with ileal and colonic explants from five healthy rabbits, the amount of mucus in the media/filtrate solution was measured with an enzyme-linked lectin assay. Significantly (P < 0.05) more mucus was secreted by colonic explants in the presence of cecal filtrates from either of the cecal ligation groups compared with controls. With pooled filtrates from each group, these results were confirmed by measuring secretion of radiolabeled mucus from explants that had been preincubated with [3H]glucosamine. The secretagogue activity was found to be precipitable by 85% ammonium sulfate and destroyed by heat treatment (100 degrees C for 30 min) or acid treatment (pH 1.0 for 30 min). Very little, if any, secretagogue activity was present in cecal vein serum. The results support the hypothesis that the cecal contents of rabbits with cecal ligation-induced mucoid enteropathy stimulate mucus secretion from colonic explants taken from healthy rabbits.