Abstract
Summary
We studied gastric mucosal potential difference (PD) in in vivo rat gastric acid-secreting mucosa (corpus) and rat forestomach pouches containing squamous epithelial mucosa. Gastric PD was almost identical in the rat gastric corpus and forestomach pouch. Pentagastrin (100 μg/kg body wt, iv) produced a similar reduction in PD in both sites. In the gastric corpus the drop in PD preceded detectable secretion of gastric acid, but recovery of PD coincided with the onset of acid secretion. Recovery of PD did not occur in the forestomach pouch separated from gastric acid. Intragastric instillation of HCl into the nonstimulated gastric corpus was associated with a steady rise in PD. Injection of pentagastrin now caused the same significant fall in PD as in the absence of intragastric acid. These findings indicate that liquid-junction potential between secreted acid and luminal contents is not the major factor in the fall in PD after pentagastrin.
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