Differential effects of GTP gamma S on acid and pepsinogen secretion by permeable gastric glands

Gastric glands isolated from rabbit stomach were permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin. Acid secretion by parietal cells, as measured by the accumulation of weak base, was inhibited by incubation with alpha-toxin but could be restored by addition of exogenous ATP (1 mM). The permeable glands were found to retain acid secretory responses to receptor-linked secretagogues, histamine and carbachol, as well as to intracellular mediators, forskolin and 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate, indicating the presence of intact, functional intracellular coupling mechanisms. Both basal and stimulated acid secretion by the permeable glands were blocked by the Mg2+ chelator, trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA; 5 mM), whereas CDTA had no effect on nonpermeabilized glands. These results are interpreted to show that alpha-toxin permeabilizes parietal cells to moderate sized molecules without causing a loss of critical intracellular components. The acid secretory responses to histamine and carbachol persisted in media containing low ( < 50 nM) levels of free Ca2+ buffered by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (0.5 mM), indicating that changes in bulk Ca2+ are not required for these responses. Inclusion of the nonhydrolyzable analogue of GTP, guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S; 100 microM), resulted in inhibition of spontaneous acid secretion, blocked responses to all agents tested, and inhibited stimulated acid secretion. GTP gamma S had no effect on nonpermeabilized glands. No effects on acid secretion by either permeable or nonpermeable glands were observed with GTP, guanosine diphosphate, or guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate). GTP gamma S had no effect on H+ gradient formation by gastric membrane vesicles, showing that it does not inhibit the gastric H(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase directly. These results are interpreted to show that GTP gamma S interacts at a postreceptor site to inhibit or reverse a critical step in stimulus-secretion coupling in parietal cells. In contrast to the effect on parietal cells, GTP gamma S was found to stimulate pepsinogen secretion by alpha-toxin-permeabilized chief cells. The differential effects of GTP gamma S on acid and pepsinogen secretions suggest unique roles for GTP binding proteins in these two secretory processes. The use of alpha-toxin-permeabilized gastric glands should prove useful in defining the stimulus-secretion coupling mechanisms involved in both acid and pepsinogen secretions.