Adrenergic influence on gastric mucosal blood flow in gastric fistula dogs

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of alpha-, beta- and dopaminergic receptors on gastric mucosal blood flow during "high", "normal", and "low" vagal conditions obtained by stimulation with bethanechol and pentagastrin and by parietal cell vagotomy respectively. During pentagastrin and bethanechol stimulation, a linear relationship between gastric acid secretion and mucosal blood flow was observed. During pentagastrin stimulation, dopamine (40 micrograms/kg/min) did not change the blood flow values while a decrease in acid secretion was found. During bethanechol stimulation dopamine (10 micrograms/kg/min) induced an increase in mucosal blood flow and a similar increase in acid secretion. If the dopamine infusion was preceded by alpha-receptor blockade, a pronounced increase in mucosal blood flow was observed without a similar increase in acid secretion. beta-adrenergic stimulation (isoprenaline) reduced the pentagastrin and bethanechol stimulated gastric acid secretion without a similar decrease in mucosal blood flow. beta-blockade (propranolol) increased the pentagastrin stimulated gastric acid secretion in parietal cell vagotomized dogs. This increase in acid output was preceded by an initial increase in mucosal blood flow and in the last two periods a decrease in blood flow. alpha-Blockade (phentolamine) reduced the pentagastrin stimulated gastric acid secretion and gastric mucosal blood flow but the ratio between blood flow and acid secretion was increased, indicating a relatively increasing effect on mucosal blood flow. One may conclude that blood flow and acid secretion are not unconditionally linked and that at least two different mechanisms are involved in blood flow changes in the stomach.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)