Luminal calcium in regulation of nitric oxide release and acid secretion in rat stomachs after damage.

We investigated the role of luminal Ca2+ in the regulation of nitric oxide (NO) release and acid secretion in the rat stomach following damage by sodium taurocholate (TC). Under urethane anesthesia, a rat stomach was mounted in an ex vivo chamber, perfused with saline, and transmucosal potential difference (PD), luminal pH, acid secretion, and luminal contents of Ca2+ and NO were measured before and after exposure to 20 mM TC for 30 min, with or without coapplication of EGTA (5 mM) and/or CaCl2 (10 mM). Mucosal exposure to TC caused a reduction in PD and a decrease of acid secretion, with a concomitant increase of NO as well as Ca2+ content in the gastric lumen. The increase of NO release as well as the reduced acid response were attenuated by pretreatment with L-NAME or coapplication of EGTA, and the latter inhibited the luminal increase of Ca2+. The changes caused by L-NAME were antagonized by coadministration of L-arginine, while those induced by EGTA were partially antagonized by coinstillation of CaCl2. Neither treatment tested had any effect on gastric PD responses to TC. These results suggest that: (1) damage in the stomach increases the release of Ca2+ as well as NO in the lumen; (2) acid secretion decreases in response to damage by both an NO- and Ca2+-dependent mechanism; and (3) the increase of luminal Ca2+ is an adaptive response of the stomach to damage and may play an important role in increasing NO production and hence in regulating acid secretion.