Background: Abnormality in chloride transport across epithelial tissues is a basic defect in cystic fibrosis (CF). Our aim was to compare the induced chloride secretion in duodenum in CF patients with different mutations.
Methods: Duodenal biopsies from 9 patients were investigated in a modified Ussing chamber and the secretory response to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and acetylcholine (ACh) were measured.
Results: PGE2 and ACh induced no changes in chloride secretion in the AF508 homozygotes. In heterozygotes the induced change in chloride secretion corresponded to the severity of the known mutations.
Conclusion: The secretory response in duodenum in CF is influenced by the patients genotype and mainly related to sweat chloride secretion.