This study examined whether capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves regulate intestinal ion transport using both Ussing chamber and intracellular recording techniques in in vitro submucosal preparations from the guinea pig ileum. In Ussing chamber studies, serosal application of capsaicin (20 nM-20 microM) evoked a biphasic dose-dependent increase in short-circuit current (Isc) (maximal effective concentration 200 nM and 2 microM, respectively). In chloride-free buffer, capsaicin responses were significantly reduced. Capsaicin evoked little or no response when extrinsic sensory nerve fibers had been surgically removed and tetrodotoxin and low-calcium and high-magnesium solutions blocked responses to capsaicin. In epithelial preparations devoid of submucosal neurons, capsaicin had virtually no effect, suggesting that responses evoked by capsaicin-sensitive nerves result from activation of submucosal secretomotor neurons. Intracellular recordings from single submucosal neurons demonstrated that superfusion with capsaicin (2 microM) depolarized neurons with an associated decreased conductance. Depolarizations were completely desensitized when capsaicin was reapplied, but synaptic inputs were unaffected. This study suggests that capsaicin-sensitive nerves can regulate ion transport in the gastrointestinal tract by release of neurotransmitter(s) that activate submucosal secretomotor neurons.