The response of the pancreas of the anaesthetized cat to secretin before, during and after reversible vagal blockade

• Published in: The Journal of physiology Vol. 342; no. 1; pp. 517 - 526
• Main Authors: Grundy, D, Hutson, D, Scratcherd, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford The Physiological Society 01-09-1983; Blackwell
• Subjects: Acid-Base Equilibrium; Animals; Atropine - pharmacology; Autonomic Nerve Block; Biological and medical sciences; Cats; Cold Temperature; Electric Conductivity; Exocrine pancreas; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Pancreas - blood supply; Pancreas - metabolism; Pancreatic Juice - metabolism; Potassium - metabolism; Proteins - metabolism; Secretin - pharmacology; Secretory Rate - drug effects; Sodium - metabolism; Vagus Nerve - physiology; Vasodilation; Vertebrates: digestive system; Fissipedia; Carnivora; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Cat; Peptide hormone; Electrophysiology; Vagus nerve; Exocrine secretion; Pancreas; Secretine; Parasympathic nervous system
• ISSN: 0022-3751; 1469-7793
• DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.1983.sp014866

Cooling the cervical vagi of the anaesthetized splanchnectomized cat to 2 degrees C caused a 54.4 +/- 8.8% inhibition of pancreatic
electrolyte secretion stimulated submaximally with pure secretin. On rewarming the vagi there was a prolonged increase in
secretion rate over and above the control rate which existed before cooling. The increase lasted about 90 min. There were
no changes in acid/base status due to interference of the lung inflation reflex which could account for the inhibition of
secretion and the subsequent rebound. Cold block of the cervical vagi increased the transpancreatic electrical conductance,
indicating that vasodilation had occurred and therefore eliminated a vasomotor cause for the inhibition. Electrolyte secretion
was also inhibited by bilateral vagal section. Atropine only partially prevented the inhibitory response to vagal cooling.
A cholinergic mechanism, therefore, accounted for some but not all of the response to vagal cooling. It is concluded that
even in the fasted, anaesthetized animal vagal impulses facilitate the action of secretin on the pancreas. This facilitation
is only partially cholinergic; the major part of the response is due to some non-cholinergic transmitter substance. Such a
mechanism may be necessary to potentiate the action of the very small amounts of secretin which appear to be released during
a meal.