Adapter-modified Ussing chamber enables evaluation of endoscopically-obtained colonic biopsy samples from cats and dogs.

Abstract

Adapter-modified Ussing chambers have been used for assessment of endoscopically obtained intestinal biopsies in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of an adapter-modified Ussing chamber for assessment of intestinal transport physiology in endoscopically-obtained colonic biopsies from cats and dogs. Fifteen colonic biopsies from four cats and 13 colonic biopsies from four dogs were transferred into a modified Ussing chamber and sequentially exposed to several compounds. Baseline mean±SD conductance was measured. Changes of short circuit current (ΔIsc) were observed after exposure to glucose (number of feline biopsies that responded=0/number of canine biopsies that responded=4), phloridzin (n=0/n=7), histamine (n=5/n=12), serotonin (n=7/n=12), prostaglandin (n=5/n=7), forskolin (n=7/n=7), and ouabain (n=9/n=7). The adapter-modified Ussing chamber studied here enables investigation of transport physiology of endoscopically-obtained colonic biopsies from companion animals. However, we observed a large variability of results, suggesting that clinical use of this method is limited.