On the Mechanism for the Stimulating Action of Reserpine on Acid Secretion in Gastric Fistula Cats

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Abstract
Emås, S.On the mechanism for the stimulating action of reserpine on acid secretion in gastric fistula cats.Acta physiol. scand. 1965.64. 224–237. –A single intravenous infusion of reserpine, insufficient to reduce antral gastrin activity significantly, elicited acid secretion in nonanesthetized cats with innervated and sympathetically denervated stomachs. Atropine or vagotomy reduced the acid response by 55 to 84 per cent. In vagotomized cats atropine produced a smaller but significant reduction. It was concluded that the vagal and sympathetic nerves are not necessary for reserpine to elicit acid secretion, but that intact vagi and – to a lesser extent – the postganglionic cholinergic neurons of the vagotomized cats enhance the effect of reserpine. Reserpine treatment has previously been shown to sensitize the parietal cells to gastrin, and to cause a transient reduction in antral gastrin activity in nonvagotomized but not in vagotomized cats. In the present study, reserpine treatment reduced the secretory response to intravenous reserpine in nonvagotomized cats and abolished the response in vagotomized cats. A single intravenous infusion of reserpine elicited acid secretion in anesthetized cats after vagotomy and resection of the regions known or suspected to contain gastrin. The results suggest a secretagogue action of reserpine which is not mediated by the vagi and by gastrin.