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Role of temporary intestinal brush border dysfunction inCampylobacter jejuni diarrhea

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Abstract

The pathophysiologic effects ofCampylobacterjejuni on weanling ferrets were investigated by assessing jejunal disaccharidase activities, glucose and theophylline stimulation of jejunal mucosal ion transport, fecal levels of reducing sugars, and histologic appearance of the gut. Compared with uninoculated controls, ferrets at the peak ofCampylobacter-induced watery diarrhea exhibited two- to threefold reductions in sucrase, maltase, and lactase activity, a sixfold lower short-circuit current response to glucose stimulation, and a twofold higher response to theophylline stimulation, plus a striking increase in fecal levels of reducing sugars. These physiologic alterations rapidly returned to normal as diarrhea subsided. Jejunal epithelial cells of all diarrheic animals appeared morphologically normal by light microscopy. Passively immunized kits, heavily colonized but not diarrheic, were indistinguishable from controls in every assessment. These observations suggest that (i)Campylobacterjejuni exerts its pathophysiologic effect primarily by inducing a transient depression of intestinal brush border function and (ii) such effects can be prevented by humoral antibodies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Judith A. Bell &  Dean D. Manning

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53706, Madison, WI, USA

    Judith A. Bell &  Dean D. Manning

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  1. Judith A. Bell
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  2. Dean D. Manning
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Bell, J.A., Manning, D.D. Role of temporary intestinal brush border dysfunction inCampylobacter jejuni diarrhea. Current Microbiology 21, 355–359 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02199437

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