AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 269, Issue 4 476-G480, Copyright © 1995 by American Physiological Society
Gender influences sphincter of Oddi response to cholecystokinin in the prairie dog
S. Tierney, Z. Qian, B. Yung, P. A. Lipsett, H. A. Pitt, S. Sostre and K. D. Lillemoe
Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-4603, USA.
Although gallstones and disorders of biliary tract motility are both more
common in women than men, sphincter of Oddi motility has not previously
been compared between the sexes. In this study, cholescintigraphy (under
ketamine and diazepam anesthesia) was used to determine gallbladder
emptying rate and ejection fraction in response to cholecystokinin (CCK) in
eight male and six female prairie dogs fed a nonlithogenic diet. Ten days
later, under alpha-chloralose anesthesia, sphincter of Oddi phasic wave
activity was monitored for 10-min intervals before (control), during 20 min
of CCK infusion, and for 20 min after infusion. Gallbladder emptying rate
and ejection fraction and baseline sphincter of Oddi frequency, amplitude,
and motility index (= frequency x amplitude) did not differ significantly
between the sexes. Sphincter of Oddi phasic wave frequency was increased
during CCK infusion in both males and females, but the change in amplitude
was significantly greater in females, than males. We conclude that the
increased incidence of biliary tract disease in women may be due to altered
sphincter of Oddi hormonal response.
