A sexually dimorphic effect of cholera toxin: rapid changes in colonic motility mediated via a 5‐HT 3 receptor‐dependent pathway in female C57Bl/6 mice

• Published in: The Journal of physiology 2016-08, Vol.594 (15), p.4325-4338
• Main Authors: Balasuriya, Gayathri K., Hill‐Yardin, Elisa L., Gershon, Michael D., Bornstein, Joel C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-3751; 1469-7793
• DOI: 10.1113/JP272071

Cholera causes more than 100,000 deaths each year as a result of severe diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration due to the actions of cholera toxin; more females than males are affected. Cholera toxin induces hypersecretion via release of mucosal serotonin and over‐activation of enteric neurons, but its effects on gastrointestinal motility are not well characterized. We found that cholera toxin rapidly and reversibly reduces colonic motility in female mice in oestrus, but not in males or females in prooestrus, an effect mediated by 5‐HT in the colonic mucosa and by 5‐HT 3 receptors. We show that the number of mucosal enterochromaffin cells containing 5‐HT changes with the oestrous cycle in mice. These findings indicate that cholera toxin's effects on motility are rapid and depend on the oestrous cycle and therefore can help us better understand differences in responses in males and female patients.