The mammalian gastric parietal cell in vitro.

To summarize the metabolic status of the parietal cell: There does not seem to be a close relationship between cellular ATP levels and acid secretion. Acid secretion is absolutely dependent on oxygen, and oxygen consumption will increase in direct proportion to the rate of acid secretion. However, the absolute rate of respiration is not closely related to the formation of acid in the subtissue systems. Acid formation can be driven directly by addition of ATP in permeabilized glands, even under apparent anoxic conditions. This correlates well with the presence of the gastric (H+, K+)-ATPase in the parietal cell. If ATP is the main source of energy for the acid secretion, it is quite possible that the relevant ATP pool is compartmentalized and that the content in this pool has a high turnover rate, whereas the ATP used for other cellular functions would be spared. A pure redox mechanism in the gastric mucosa is not possible. However, it remains to be shown that a redox component is not involved in the secretory process. The acid formation measured by AP accumulation in the gastric glands is not an indication of secretory rate. Thus even though ATP appears to restore acid formation in permeabilized glands, this effect has been mainly studied in nonstimulated systems. A detailed study over the energy requirement in the permeabilized resting cell remains to be done. In the mammals we only have information so far about the piglet and the rabbit in terms of substrate preference. The differences between the two could either be due to species or age difference. In both mammals and amphibia, there is no evidence to suggest that acid secretion results in an increase in oxygen consumption purely due to a state IV to III transition of mitochondrial respiration. Rather, increased Krebs-cycle activity would appear to be the major metabolic result of stimulation.