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In the present study, we examined stimulus-secretion coupling in pancreatic acini prepared from rats given synthetic protease inhibitor camostate at a dose of 200 mg/kg body wt by an orogastric tube once a day for 10 d. Camostate treatment significantly increased pancreatic weight, protein, DNA, and enzyme contents. In acini prepared from the camostate-treated rats, responsiveness to both CCK-8 and carbamylcholine was greatly decreased with no shift in the dose-response curves compared to control acini prepared from saline-treated rats. There were no major changes in the affinity for both high- and low-affinity sites of CCK receptors, but there was a significant reduction in the capacity of low-affinity site based on acinar protein. Responsiveness to secretin in the camostate-treated rat acini was also significantly reduced compared with that in the controls. However, amylase release from the camostate-treated rat acini in response to an increase in intracellular calcium levels induced by the calcium ionophores A23187 or to an increase in intracellular cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) levels caused by 8 bromo cyclic AMP was not significantly different from the control rat acini, suggesting that both Ca(2+)-dependent tyrosine kinase and nucleotide-activated kinases are not impaired. On the other hand, the responsiveness to phorbol ester TPA, which stimulates amylase secretion via a calcium-independent cascade by activating protein kinase C directly, was reduced in the camostate-treated rat acini compared with the controls. These results suggest the possibilities that the reduced amylase secretion in the camostate-treated rats is owing to alterations in both the transmembrane signal transduction and the phosphorylation of regulatory proteins by the Ca(2+)-independent, protein kinase C-dependent mechanisms.

Effects of an oral dose of the synthetic trypsin inhibitor camostat on pancreatic exocrine function were examined in rats that were either fasted from 12 h before feeding camostat to the end of experiments or fed ad libitum. Camostat (100 mg/kg body wt) caused significant increases in plasma cholecystokinin bioactivity (peak 13.4 +/- 2.0 pM at 30 min for fasted rats vs. 16.6 +/- 1.7 pM at 2 h for fed rats; not significant) and pancreatic exocrine secretion. In fed rats, but not in fasted rats, significant increases in pancreatic exocrine secretion were observed again at 12 h after a single oral dose of camostat (juice flow 10.3 +/- 0.4 microliters/20 min in fasted rats vs. 175.5 +/- 17.8 microliters/20 min in fed rats; P < 0.001), although pancreatic juice flow in fed and fasted control rats was nearly the same. When the pancreata from camostat-pretreated rats were isolated and perfused, the early effects of camostat on pancreatic exocrine secretion were abolished, whereas the late effects (12 h postfeeding) in fed rats were still observed (juice flow 33.7 +/- 3.4 microliters/20 min vs. control 2.8 +/- 0.4 microliters/20 min; P < 0.001). Thus, in addition to humoral and neural factors, persistent functional changes might have occurred in the pancreas of the fed camostat-pretreated rats. These present results indicate that oral camostat induces two different effects, immediate and delayed, on pancreatic exocrine secretory function. Camostat exerts its immediate effects in both fed and fasted rats, whereas delayed effects were induced only in fed rats.

In vitro effect of somatostatin analog, SMS 201-995 (SMS), on pancreatic exocrine secretion was investigated using isolated rat pancreatic acini. SMS had no effect on basal, cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8)- or secretin-stimulated amylase release. SMS inhibited pancreatic amylase release in response to simultaneous stimulation with secretin and CCK-8 in a dose-dependent manner. Significant inhibition was observed with 10 nM SMS and maximal inhibition with 0.1-1 microM SMS. Amylase release in response to the combination of 100 pM CCK-8, 1 nM secretin and 0.1-1 microM SMS was similar to that to 100 pM CCK-8 alone. Secretin significantly increased acinar cell cAMP content. SMS partially inhibited an increase in cAMP content induced by secretin. The present study has demonstrated, therefore, that SMS directly inhibits the potentiating effect of secretin on exocrine secretion in part by inhibiting an increase in secretin-induced cAMP accumulation in rat pancreatic acinar cells.

The effect of ethanol on pancreatic exocrine secretion was studied in isolated rat pancreatic acini. Ethanol caused a dose-dependent stimulation of amylase release, and a twofold increase of amylase release was observed with 600 mM ethanol. Ethanol inhibited cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8)- and carbamylcholine-stimulated amylase release and similarly inhibited binding of [125I]CCK-8 and [N-methyl-3H]scopolamine to isolated rat pancreatic acini in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect of ethanol was fully reversible with respect to CCK-8-induced amylase release. On the other hand, ethanol potentiated secretin- and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-stimulated amylase release. Ethanol induced a small but significant increase in Ca2+ efflux, whereas CCK-8 induced an immediate and large increase, but ethanol significantly inhibited CCK-8-stimulated Ca2+ efflux. The present study clearly demonstrates the dual effects of ethanol on pancreatic exocrine function: stimulation and inhibition. We suggest that mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ may be involved in the mechanism of ethanol's action on isolated rat pancreatic acini.

The effect of aclatonium napadisilate, a newly synthesized choline ester, on pancreatic exocrine function was compared with that of the muscarinic agonist carbamylcholine in isolated rat pancreatic acini. Both compounds increased amylase release and 45Ca2+ efflux in a dose-dependent fashion, and similarly decreased the binding of [N-methyl-3H]scopolamine to isolated rat pancreatic acini. While aclatonium napadisilate was 20-30 times less potent than carbamylcholine in stimulations of amylase release and 45Ca2+ efflux, the potency of aclatonium napadisilate in inhibiting [N-methyl-3H]scopolamine binding was nearly the same as that of carbamylcholine. These results indicate that aclatonium napadisilate stimulates pancreatic exocrine secretion via muscarinic receptors and Ca2+ mobilization, and its intrinsic activity is less than carbamylcholine in the isolated rat pancreatic acini. Since aclatonium napadisilate is known to increase motility and peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract, stimulatory effects of aclatonium napadisilate, shown in the present study, on digestive enzyme secretion from the pancreas may provide additional benefit of aclatonium napadisilate in the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders.

The effects of proglumide-related cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor antagonists CR 1409 and CR 1392 on CCK-octapeptide (CCK-8)-stimulated immunoreactive insulin (IRI) release and exocrine secretion were examined simultaneously in the isolated perfused rat pancreas. The CR 1409, at concentrations of 10-100 nM, significantly inhibited CCK-8 (100 pM) stimulation on IRI release but failed to inhibit the stimulatory effect of CCK-8 on both pancreatic juice flow and protein secretion. Increasing concentrations of CR 1409 inhibited both CCK-8-stimulated IRI release and exocrine secretion. Half-maximal inhibition was observed with approximately 2 nM for IRI release and 1 microM for protein secretion. When a higher dose (1 nM) of CCK-8 was used, the inhibitory effect of 10 nM CR 1409 on CCK-8-stimulated IRI release was abolished, whereas 10 microM CR 1409 retained significant inhibitory effect. Furthermore, 1 microM carbachol-induced IRI release was not altered by the addition of 10 microM CR 1409. The CR 1392 also had an inhibitory effect on both CCK-8-stimulated IRI release and exocrine secretion. The concentration of CR 1392 that caused half-maximal inhibition of CCK-8-stimulated IRI release was 300 times lower than that of exocrine secretion. In addition, 1 microM carbachol-stimulated IRI release was not altered by 100 microM CR 1392. Thus, the inhibitory effects of CR 1409 and CR 1392 on IRI release were mediated through the interaction at the CCK receptor and were more potent than those on juice and protein secretion. This study suggests, therefore, that CCK receptors on B cells might be different from those on acinar cells in terms of their relative affinities for antagonists.

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for human pancreatic amylase has been developed for the detection of human serum amylase content. Our monoclonal antibody is highly specific for human pancreatic amylase; it cross reacted negligibly with the salivary isoenzyme. We developed a solid phase enzyme immunoassay for determination of pancreatic amylase in human serum with this antibody. The assay required 20 microL of serum and the standard curve was linear to at least 1000 ng/mL of pancreatic amylase. Inter- and intra-assay CVs were less than 10%. The results obtained by the EIA correlated well with those determined by the conventional electrophoretic method. In normal subjects, the mean concentration of serum pancreatic amylase determined by the EIA was found to be 92.3 +/- 26.1 ng/mL (mean +/- SD). The EIA we describe is useful for directly determining pancreatic amylase in human serum. Specifically distinguishing pancreatic from salivary amylase may have considerable clinical value.

We examined the inhibitory effect of L-364,718, a nonpeptide cholecystokinin (CCK) antagonist, on CCK stimulation of pancreatic exocrine and endocrine secretion in both the isolated pancreatic acini and the isolated perfused pancreata of rats. In the isolated acini, L-364,718 inhibited CCK octapeptide (CCK-8)-stimulated amylase release and binding of 125I-CCK-8 in a dose-dependent manner without appreciable effects on the basal amylase secretion. L-364,718 also inhibited amylase release in response to caerulein and gastrin I, but had no effect on amylase release stimulated by other secretagogues or by agents bypassing receptors. Similarly, binding of N-methylscopolamine to pancreatic acini was not inhibited by L-364,718. In the isolated perfused pancreata, L-364,718 inhibited CCK-8-stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion and insulin release. The inhibitory effects of L-364,718 were more potent for insulin release than for exocrine secretion and persisted even after the removal of L-364,718 infusion. These results clearly demonstrate that L-364,718 is a specific, potent, and prolonged antagonist of CCK's stimulatory actions on pancreatic acinar and B cells.

The effect of a new proglumide derivative, loxiglumide (DL-4-(3,4-dichloro-benzoyl-amino)-5-(N-3-methoxy-propyl-pentylamino+ ++)-5-oxo-pentanic acid; CR 1505), on binding of 125I-CCK-8 and amylase release stimulated by CCK-8 was investigated in isolated rat pancreatic acini. Loxiglumide inhibited CCK-8-stimulated amylase release and binding of 125I-CCK-8 to rat pancreatic acini in a dose-dependent manner. Loxiglumide caused a concentration-dependent rightward shift of the dose-response curve for CCK-8-stimulated amylase release without altering the maximal response. Schild plots showed a slope of 0.82 and pA2 value of 7.05. The inhibitory effect of loxiglumide on amylase release was reversible. Loxiglumide significantly inhibited amylase release in response to CCK-8, caerulein and gastrin-I. However, loxiglumide had no effect on amylase release stimulated by other receptor secretagogues (bombesin, carbamylcholine, secretion and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) or by agents bypassing receptors (A23187 and TPA). These results indicate that loxiglumide acts as a potent, competitive and specific CCK antagonist on the pancreatic acini.

The effect of aclatonium napadisilate, a choline sulfonate derivative, on exocrine and endocrine pancreatic functions was compared with that of carbamylcholine in both isolated pancreatic acini and the isolated perfused pancreas of rats. In the isolated acini, aclatonium napadisilate and carbamylcholine stimulated amylase release. While the relative efficacy of aclatonium napadisilate was the same as that of carbamylcholine, aclatonium napadisilate was about 20-fold less potent. In the isolated perfused pancreas, 0.1 microM or higher concentrations of aclatonium napadisilate elicited a significant insulin release in the presence of 8.3 mM glucose, whereas an appreciable increase in pancreatic exocrine secretion was obtained with a 10 times higher concentration (1.0 microM). In contrast, carbamylcholine did not stimulate insulin release at a dose (0.1 microM) that stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion. The insulin-releasing effect of aclatonium napadisilate depended on the glucose concentration. These stimulatory effects of aclatonium napadisilate on endocrine and exocrine pancreatic secretion were inhibited by the muscarinic receptor antagonist pirenzepine but were not affected by the cholecystokinin receptor antagonist proglumide. These results indicate that aclatonium napadisilate stimulates both endocrine and exocrine pancreatic secretion via muscarinic receptors and that its action on B cells is more potent than on the exocrine pancreas.

The effects of hydrocortisone treatment on the secretory abilities of pancreatic acini to various secretagogues were studied. Rats were given subcutaneous injections of hydrocortisone at doses of 1.25, 2.5, or 5.0 mg/kg body wt once daily for 7 days. Hydrocortisone led to a small dose-dependent increase in pancreatic wet weight per 100 g body wt, which was associated with an increase in both total protein and DNA contents. In acini prepared from hydrocortisone-treated rats, both the responsiveness and the sensitivity to cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was increased. The concentration dependence of cellular Ca2+ mobilization in response to CCK-8 was also shifted to lower concentrations in acini from hydrocortisone-treated rats compared with control rat acini. In vivo administration of hydrocortisone caused a significant increase in the affinity of 125I-CCK-8 binding to high-affinity receptors. The secretory responsiveness to carbamylcholine and bombesin, but not to secretin, was also increased but without any change in the sensitivity. Moreover, the hydrocortisone treatment increased the secretory responsiveness of acini to the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 and the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate but did not to an adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate analogue, 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. The present observations suggest that in vivo glucocorticoid administration affects both the CCK receptors and a postreceptor loci.

The acute and chronic effects of hydrocortisone on insulin secretion were examined in the isolated perfused rat pancreas. In the first part of this study, the chronic effects of hydrocortisone on insulin release were examined using isolated perfused pancreas prepared from rats that had been given subcutaneous injections of hydrocortisone at doses of 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/kg body weight once daily for 7 days. Hydrocortisone treatment led to a dose-dependent increase in insulin secretion in response to 8.3 mM glucose. The insulin response to 100 pM cholecystokinin (CCK-8) was also significantly higher in the hydrocortisone-treated rats than in the control group. However, the increment of insulin level over the value before CCK-8 addition in rats treated with hydrocortisone was not significantly different from that in the control rats. In the second part, the acute effects of hydrocortisone on insulin release were studied. Hydrocortisone (17-hydroxycorticosterone) at a concentration of 100 microM caused significant inhibition of the stimulatory effect of CCK-8 on insulin secretion. The inhibition started within 1 min of the beginning of hydrocortisone administration and ceased immediately after the termination of its infusion. We have demonstrated in this study a dual effect of hydrocortisone on insulin release: first, the potentiation of the insulin secretion stimulated by glucose but not by CCK-8 and, second, the inhibition of CCK-8-stimulated insulin secretion.

We have examined the effects of Bt2cGMP on cholecystokinin stimulation of pancreatic exocrine secretion in the isolated perfused rat pancreas. Bt2cGMP produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of the stimulatory effects of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8, 100 pM) on both pancreatic juice flow and enzyme secretion. Adding 1 mM Bt2cGMP rapidly and completely abolished CCK-8-stimulated pancreatic juice and enzyme secretion. Adding 500 microM Bt2cGMP for 10 min at the termination of 1 nM of CCK-8 infusion caused an immediate and persistent inhibition of the residual response. In contrast, treatment with C-terminal CCK antiserum I had no influence on the residual response. To account for the ability of Bt2cGMP to function as a competitive antagonist of the action of CCK and the ability of the nucleotide to inhibit the residual stimulation caused by CCK, we feel that Bt2cGMP hindered the binding of CCK not only by reducing the association rate constant for hormone binding but also accelerating the dissociation rate.

D,L-4-(3,4-dichlorobenzoylamino)-5-(N-3-methoxypropyl-pentylami no)-5- oxopentanoic acid (CR 1505; loxiglumide) is a newly developed analog of proglumide. We examined the inhibitory effects of loxiglumide on pancreatic exocrine function in the isolated pancreatic acini and the isolated perfused pancreata of rats. Loxiglumide inhibited cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8)-stimulated amylase release and, similarly, binding of [125I]CCK-8 to isolated rat pancreatic acini. Loxiglumide was about 3000 times more potent than the reference substance proglumide, but was about 1000 times less potent than L-364,718, another new CCK antagonist having benzodiazepine ring, in inhibiting CCK-8-stimulated amylase release. The inhibitory effect of loxiglumide displayed competitive kinetics and was specific for CCK in that the effects of other receptor secretagogues or agents bypassing receptors were not altered. The inhibitory effect of loxiglumide was fully reversible in isolated acini. However, the pancreata perfused with 10 microM loxiglumide for 20 min did not respond to CCK-8 for more than 20 min even after the removal of loxiglumide infusion. In contrast, an immediate increase in pancreatic exocrine secretion was observed after proglumide removal. Loxiglumide appeared to be bound to the receptors on acinar cells in a slowly dissociating state. These results indicate that loxiglumide acts as a potent, competitive, and specific CCK antagonist on the exocrine pancreas and, because of its prolonged inhibitory action, may be useful as a therapeutic agent in pancreatic disease.

The effects of proglumide analogue. CR 1392, on pancreatic exocrine secretion were studied in the isolated pancreatic acini and the isolated perfused pancreata of rats. In the isolated acini, CR 1392 caused a parallel rightward shift of the dose-response curve for amylase secretion stimulated by cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8). CR 1392 inhibited maximally stimulated amylase release by CCK-8 (100 pM) in a concentration-dependent manner, with a half maximal inhibition (ID50) at 8.0 +/- 0.6 microM. CR 1409, another proglumide analogue, also caused a concentration-dependent inhibition (ID50: 3.2 +/- 0.4 microM). Although CR 1409 was about 2.5-fold more potent than CR 1392 in inhibiting the stimulated amylase release, 1 mM CR 1409 caused 107.4 +/- 0.9% increase in amylase release, suggesting acinar cell damage. CR 1392 (1 mM) also caused 19.9 +/- 2.3% increase in amylase release, but was less toxic than CR 1409. The antagonism produced by CR 1392 was selective for CCK and had no effect on amylase release stimulated by other receptor secretagogues or by agents bypassing receptors. CR 1392 added 20 min after the CCK-8 stimulation rapidly abolished pancreatic exocrine secretion in both isolated acini and isolated perfused pancreas. Although the inhibitory effect of CR 1392 was fully reversible in the isolated acini, the pancreata perfused with 100 microM CR 1392 for 20 min did not respond to the subsequent stimulation with CCK-8 for more than 20 min. These results indicate that CR 1392 is a potent, competitive, specific and long acting antagonist of CCK in rat pancreas.

Exocrine secretory function in response to 10 pM to 10 nM synthetic secretin was evaluated in perfused pancreas isolated from control, streptozocin-induced diabetic (STZ-D), alloxan-induced diabetic (ALX-D), and insulin-treated STZ-D rats. In STZ-D rats, the basal rate of pancreatic juice flow was significantly increased (10.3 +/- 1.0 microliters/20 min) compared with control rats (4.4 +/- 0.2 microliters/20 min). The basal rate of amylase output as well as pancreatic amylase content were significantly decreased to less than 5% of control values. The basal rates of protein and trypsinogen outputs were similar in both groups. In both control and diabetic rats, secretin caused a dose-dependent increase in exocrine secretion. Secretin (10 pM to 10 nM) induced 1.1- to 11.7-fold increases in exocrine secretion in STZ-D rats. These increases were significantly lower than the 2.1- to 20.8-fold increases in control rats. Furthermore, there was no significant increase in exocrine secretion from STZ-D rats in response to 10 pM secretin, although this concentration of secretin caused a significant increase in control rats. Secretin-induced exocrine secretion in ALX-D rats was similar to that in STZ-D rats. In insulin-treated STZ-D rats, the basal rates of pancreatic secretion were not significantly different from those of control rats. These results suggest that insulin resistance in this patient was due to a circulating factor of low molecular weight that uncoupled insulin stimulation of glucose transport from receptor binding and phosphorylation. The factor appears to increase the binding activity of the alpha-subunit of the insulin receptor without affecting the kinase activity of the beta-subunit.

Neuromedin B and neuromedin C are novel decapeptides that have recently been isolated from porcine spinal cord and canine intestinal mucosa and show striking sequence homology with bombesin and gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP-27) at the carboxyl-terminal region. The effects of synthetic neuromedin B and C on exocrine pancreatic function and insulin release have been compared with bombesin and GRP-27 in isolated pancreatic acini and isolated perfused pancreas in rat. Neuromedin B and C as well as bombesin and GRP-27 were able to cause stimulation of amylase release. The relative efficacy of neuromedin B, C, bombesin, and GRP-27 was the same as that of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8). Bombesin and GRP-27 were equipotent, and both were approximately 15-fold less potent than CCK-8. Neuromedin C was approximately 2-fold more potent, whereas neuromedin B as approximately 10-fold less potent than bombesin and GRP-27. All of these peptides stimulated insulin release that was limited to the first 3 min of a 20-min perfusion. However, GRP-27 and its related peptides were weak stimulants of insulin release compared with their abilities to stimulate exocrine pancreatic secretion. Bombesin and neuromedin B id not stimulate insulin release at doses stimulating pancreatic exocrine secretion. Neuromedin B was also approximately 10-fold less potent than neuromedin C, bombesin, and GRP-27 in eliciting insulin secretion. Because bombesin-like immunoreactivity is found to be present in nerves in the pancreas, neuromedin B and C may be neurotransmitters or neuromodulators and exert a direct local neurocrine action on enzyme secretion by acinar cells and insulin secretion by the islets.

Neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C are novel decapeptides which have recently been isolated from porcine spinal cord and canine intestinal muscle, and show striking sequence homology with gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP-27) at the carboxyl-terminal region. The effects of synthetic neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C on exocrine pancreatic function were examined using isolated rat pancreatic acini. Neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C were able to cause full stimulation of amylase release. The relative efficacy of neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C was the same as that of GRP-27. Neuromedin-C was about twofold more potent, whereas, neuromedin-B was about 10-fold less potent than GRP-27. Both neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C potentiated the stimulation of amylase release caused by vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin, or forskolin. Potentiation of amylase secretion did not occur with neuromedin-B or neuromedin-C plus cholecystokinin (CCK), carbamylcholine, or Ca2+ ionophore A23187. The effects of neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C on enzyme secretion were inhibited neither by dibutyryl cyclic GMP, nor atropine. The present study suggests that neuromedin-B and neuromedin-C act on different receptors than CCK and cholinergic agents, but appear to activate a common intracellular mechanism.

Effects of pirenzepine, a newly developed anticholinergic drug, on exocrine and endocrine pancreatic functions stimulated by cholecystokinin octapeptide and secretin were studied in both isolated pancreatic acini and the isolated perfused pancreas of rats. In the isolated acini, pirenzepine did not have any significant effect on cholecystokinin-induced amylase release but caused an inhibition of amylase secretion initiated by secretin and shifted the dose-response curve for amylase secretion to the right. In the isolated perfused pancreas stimulated with 100 pM cholecystokinin octapeptide, addition of 10 microM pirenzepine before as well as after 20 min of perfusion significantly inhibited pancreatic juice flow but not enzyme output. In contrast, pirenzepine caused an inhibition of secretin-stimulated enzyme secretion, but not pancreatic juice flow. The stimulatory effect of both cholecystokinin octapeptide and secretin on insulin secretion was also inhibited by pirenzepine. The present data indicate that pirenzepine may have an influence on pancreatic exocrine and endocrine function by inhibiting endogenous cholinergic activity of the pancreas when a large dose is given.

Isolated rat pancreatic acini were most sensitive and responsive when stimulated directly with cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) without preincubation. Both the responsiveness and sensitivity of acini to CCK-8 decreased time dependently with prolonged preincubation. When acini were stimulated with CCK-8 following pulse labeling with radioactive leucine, old protein was discharged together with newly synthesized (labeled) protein. However, the sensitivity and responsiveness of these acini for release of labeled protein were primarily reduced with preincubation, indicating that newly synthesized protein was contributing to the time-dependent loss of sensitivity and responsiveness. Then isolated acini were treated with 300 microM cycloheximide for 2 h. This treatment prevented the decreases in the sensitivity and responsiveness of amylase release to CCK-8 stimulation and made these alterations in one series of experiments negligible. Using these acini, a sensitive and specific bioassay for the measurement of CCK in human and rat plasma was developed.