Jejunal responses to absorptive and secretory stimuli in the neurally isolated jejunum in vivo

Background. Our aim was to assess changes in transport of water and electrolytes under basal, proabsorptive, and prosecretory conditions after an in situ neural isolation of the jejunoileum. Methods. Eight dogs underwent intraoperative perfusion of 50 cm of jejunum with a balanced electrolyte solution during sham operation and after neural isolation of the jejunoileum. Jejunal perfusion studies were later conducted in seven conscious dogs with a triple-lumen technique before and 2 and 8 weeks after neural isolation of the jejunoileum during intravenous infusion of 150 mmol/L sodium chloride (basal conditions), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP conditions), 500 pmol/kg per hour (prosecretory conditions), and the α₂-adrenergic agonist α- methylnorepinephrine (MNE), 900 nmol/kg per hour (proabsorptive conditions). Results. Neural isolation decreased intraoperative net absorption of water (4.4 ± 0.9 vs 2.2 ± 0.5 μl/cm/min; p < 0.05) and electrolytes (sodium, chloride, bicarbonate, potassium). In conscious dogs during basal conditions, net absorptive flux was decreased (p < 0.05) at 2 but not at 8 weeks. VIP produced similar absolute decreases in net absorptive flux at all three time points. MNE increased net absorption before and at 8 weeks, but not at 2 weeks after autotransplantation. Conclusions. In situ neural isolation of the jejunoileum decreased net basal jejunal absorption of water and electrolytes immediately and for at least 2 weeks. Proabsorptive responses to MNE but not prosecretory responses to VIP were altered at 2 weeks. Jejunal adaptation allowed absorptive function to return to near normal by 8 weeks.