Altered smooth muscle contraction and sodium pump activity in the inflamed rat intestine

We examined changes in membrane function underlying the increased contractility of jejunal longitudinal muscle to carbachol in rats infected 6 days previously with Trichinella spiralis. Muscarinic receptor characteristics were examined in particulate fractions using [N-methyl-3H]scopolamine (NMS). There was a significant reduction in the total number of binding sites on muscle from infected rats, but the affinity for NMS was unchanged. …