Pepsinogen secretion from dispersed glands from rabbit stomach.

In dispersed glands from rabbit stomach, pepsinogen secretion was stimulated by carbamylcholine, the C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin (CCK-8), and structurally related peptides physalaemin and A23187 but not by bombesin or histamine. Reducing the incubation temperature from 37 degrees to 4 degrees C or adding carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone reduced basal as well as stimulated pepsinogen secretion. Dibutyryl cGMP inhibited the stimulation of pepsinogen secretion caused by cholecystokinin but not that caused by carbamylcholine; atropine inhibited the stimulation of pepsinogen secretion caused by carbamylcholine but not that caused by cholecystokinin. Each cholecystokinin-related peptide had the same efficacy for stimulating pepsinogen secretion. In terms of the concentration that caused half-maximal stimulation of pepsinogen secretion, the relative potencies of cholecystokinin-related peptides were caerulein greater than CCK-8 greater than [desSO3]CCK-8 greater than gastrin. Removing extracellular calcium did not alter basal or cholecystokinin-stimulated pepsinogen secretion. These results illustrate that dispersed glands from rabbit stomach constitute a suitable preparation for examining the actions of various agents on pepsinogen secretion in vitro.