Effects of dopamine on exocrine secretion and cyclic nucleotide concentration in the dog pancreas

The effects of intravenous injection of dopamine on pancreatic exocrine secretion and on pancreatic cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP concentrations of mongrel dogs were compared with the effects of secretin and pancreozymin. Dopamine (1--10 micrograms/kg), secretin (0.03--0.3 units/kg) and pancreozymin (0.1--1 units/kg) increased exocrine secretion dose dependently, Sulpiride (0.3--1 mg/kg) and yohimbine (0.3--1 mg/kg), D2-receptor antagonists, inhibited the dopamine-induced exocrine secretion dose-dependently but did not inhibit the secretin- or pancreozymin-induced secretion. Secretin (0.3 units/kg) increased cyclic AMp concentration by about 50% but did not affect cyclic GMP concentration. Pancreozymin (1 unit/kg) slightly increased cyclic AMp concentration but markedly increased cyclic GMP concentration by about 50%. However, dopamine (10 micrograms/kg) increased neither cyclic AMP nor cyclic GMP concentration. These results suggest that dopamine causes exocrine secretion from the dog pancreas through D2-receptors which are not linked to adenylate cyclase.