Effect of oral pancreatic enzymes on the course of cholera in protein-deficient vervet monkeys

The effect of pancreatic extract on the course of cholera infection in protein-deficient vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) was studied. Eleven animals were made protein deficient by diet. Their intestinal pancreatic enzyme concentration decreased as they became protein depleted. These animals were then challenged with Vibriocholerae. Four control animals given a standard diet were similarly challenged. Immediately after challenge, 6 of the protein-deficient monkeys were given a highly purified pancreatic extract at a dose of 500 mg per day, and the other 5 protein-deficient animals received heat-inactivated pancreatic extract. Pancreatic extract significantly reduced the severity and duration of diarrhea in the treated animals so that they resembled the controls. The period of fecal excretion of vibrios was prolonged in the group of monkeys which received inactivated pancreatic extract. In addition, the response of intestinal antibody titers to cholera toxin was also significantly lower in this latter group. These observations suggest that exocrine pancreatic secretion is involved in the local defense mechanism against cholera during protein deficiency.