Unilateral vagal denervation suppresses omeprazole-induced trophic effects on the denervated side of the rat stomach.

In several experimental animals treatment with large doses of the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole leads to hypergastrinemia and with time to trophic effects in the acid-producing part of the stomach, most notably an increased density of the histamine-producing enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells. The trophic effects are thought to reflect the increase in circulating gastrin. In the present study unilateral vagal denervation in the rat partly suppressed the tropic effects seen in the denervated side of the stomach but not those in the intact side after treatment with omeprazole for 10 weeks. Unilateral vagal denervation significantly reduced the proliferative stimulus of omeprazole on the ECL cells in the denervated part of the stomach. Thus, an intact vagal innervation appears to be essential for the capacity of the oxyntic mucosa, including the ECL cells, to respond to elevations in serum gastrin. We suggest that gastrin and the vagus interact to maintain trophic control of the oxyntic glands.