Altered calcium-handling properties of jejunal smooth muscle from the nematode-infected rat

We examined changes in contractility of jejunal longitudinal muscle from rats infected 8 days previously with the enteric parasite Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. In uninfected control rats, carbachol-induced contraction was maximal at 1 microM carbachol. In muscle from infected rats, there was no change in ED50 for carbachol, but contraction induced by 1 microM carbachol was increased greater than 75% over that in control rats. No significant …