Abstract
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. 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. 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. The secretory response in duodenum in CF is influenced by the patients genotype and mainly related to sweat chloride secretion.