Pirenzepine-sensitive muscarinic receptors regulate gastric somatostatin and gastrin.

Pirenzepine, a newly described antagonist of selective muscarinic receptors (M1), has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of acid secretion. To determine whether this property of pirenzepine can be explained in part by its actions on hormones regulating acid secretion, we examined pirenzepine's effects on gastrin and somatostatinlike immunoreactivity (SLI) secretion from the isolated, perfused rat stomach. Carbachol at a dose of 10(-6) M inhibited SLI and stimulated gastrin secretion. Both atropine and pirenzepine reversed these effects in a dose-dependent fashion with D50 values of 1 X 10(-9) and 1 X 10(-7) M, respectively, against gastrin stimulation and 1 X 10(-8) and 1 X 10(-7) M, respectively, against SLI inhibition. Pirenzepine caused a progressive parallel rightward shift in the dose-response curves for SLI inhibition and gastrin stimulation by carbachol, suggesting competitive inhibition. The apparent inhibitory constant (ki) was calculated to be approximately 2 X 10(-9) M. These results indicate that gastrin and SLI release from the stomach is governed by high-affinity muscarinic receptors that are sensitive to pirenzepine. Pirenzepine's action as an acid secretory inhibitor, and possibly as an ulcer therapy drug, may be explained in part by these effects on gastric hormone regulation.