Endogenous serotonin in the control of gastric acid secretion.

In three dogs with Heidenhain pouches (HP), gastric fistulas (GF), and duodenal cannulas, acidification of the duodenum with 0.1N HC1 (5 ml/minute) resulted in significant inhibition of GF output (preacidification, 8.66+/-0.58 mEq/30 minutes; postacidification, 5.47+/-0.66 mEq/30 minutes) and elevated peripheral venous blood levels of serotonin (basal, 226+/-64 ng/ml; peak, 521+/-168 ng/ml). Infusion of exogenous serotonin to comparable blood levels (basal, 208+/-38 ng/ml; mean postacidification, 571+/-153 ng/ml) resulted in similar GF inhibition (preacidification, 9.17+/-0.92 mEq/30 minutes; postacidification, 6.49+/-0.56 mEq/30 minutes). Per increment in peripheral blood serotonin of 1 ng/ml, endogenous serotonin inhibited 54.59+/-12.99 muEq/hour and exogenous serotonin inhibited 46.54+/-10.39 muEq/hour, p greater than 0.05. Neither endogenously released nor exogenous serotonin inhibited HP acid output. Using mesenteric venous infusions of serotonin, significant amounts of immunoreactive serotonin were found to escape hepatic inactivation; basal peripheral venous levels of serotonin, 233+/-103 ng/ml, increased to 455+/-127 ng/ml at 10 minutes. During release of endogenous serotonin, 92+/-21% of portal venous serotonin was bound to platelets; in contrast, during intraportal serotonin infusion, only 59+/-18% of serotonin was platelet bound.