Transport of Water and Electrolytes by Rotavirus-Infected Mouse Intestine: A Time Course Study

The movement of water and transport of Na and Cl by mid-small intestine (M-SI) of rotavirus-infected neonatal mice was investigated by an in vitro perfusion technique. The concentrations of Na, K, and Cl in the luminal contents of upper, middle, and lower small intestine and colon of infected mice were determined by flame photometry (Na, K) and an ion selective microelectrode (Cl). In M-SI, maximal disturbance of water transport occurred at 72 h postinfection (PI)Infected tissue exhibited net water secretion. Water transport was also impaired at 144 h PI. Net secretion of Cl occurred at 72 h PI, with some evidence of a second phase of reduced magnitude at 120–144 h PI. The magnitude and statistical significance of changes in Na transport were both less than those for Cl, but the pattern of change was similar to that for Cl. Luminal concentrations of Na were elevated between 48 and 144 h PI in the small intestine; this was particularly so in distal regions. Luminal Cl concentration was maximally elevated to a considerable degree at 72 h PI and remained high at 96 h PI throughout the small intestine; thereafter, Cl concentration returned to near normal. K concentration was unchanged in the small intestinal lumen; in the colon, however, K concentrations were depressed 72–168 h PI. In the light of previous data from this laboratory, the present data are interpreted as evidence for a secretory component in rotavirus-induced diarrhea.