Calcium/calcimimetic via calcium-sensing receptor ameliorates cholera toxin-induced secretory diarrhea in mice

Figure 3 Adding calcium to oral rehydration solution rescues cholera toxin-induced intestinal Cl^- loss and stool consistency, and promotes the rate of rehydration. A: Experimental protocol; B: Changes in fecal Cl^-; C: Changes in stool consistency score; D: Changes in % initial weight. At day 0, all animals were intragastrically gavaged with 20 μg/mouse of cholera toxin (CTX) to induce diarrhea. Ninety minutes later, they were allowed to drink oral rehydration solution (ORS), or ORS supplemented with 5 mmol/L calcium (ORS + Ca). Changes in fecal Cl^- (B), stool consistency score (C) and % initial weight (D) were monitored. Shown are means ± standard errors. n = 5-6 for each data point. No significant differences between groups were noted in initial body weights (in grams): Control:ORS vs ORS + Ca: 19.1 ± 0.6 vs 19.1 ± 0.6; CTX:ORS vs ORS + Ca: 19.9 ± 0.6 vs 19.5 ± 0.4. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs no cholera toxin controls; ^cP < 0.05 vs oral rehydration solution control. ORS: Oral rehydration solution; CTX: Cholera toxin.