Prostacyclin acts in rat gastric (fundic) mucosa via the intracellular 'second messenger system'.

Using a specific radioimmunoassay technique it seems that Prostacyclin (PG-I2) has a strong effect on the cyclic nucleotide content of the rat gastric (fundic) mucosa. 1 min after an intragastric application of 100 micrograms/kg PG-I2 the cAMP-content and in the 5th min the cGMP-content showed a highly significant decrease. It seems that the basic mechanism of action of PG-I2 is a typical 'hit and run' effect, acting on the intracellular 'second messenger system'.