Effects of trimoprostil, a prostaglandin E2 analogue, on human gastric acid secretion and soluble mucin output.

We have studied the effects of Trimoprostil, a prostaglandin E2 analogue, on gastric acid and soluble mucus output using human subjects. This compound caused anti-secretory effects on both basal as well as histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion in a dose-dependent manner. There was a simultaneous increase in total mucus output. When the secreted mucus was fractionated by Sepharose CL-2B gel chromatography, most of the basal gastric mucin was shown to be in the polymeric form (mol wt 2 X 10(6)), whereas after histamine stimulation the mucin was mostly in the subunit form (mol wt 0.5 X 10(6)). The gastric mucin, after stimulation using low doses of prostaglandin, was mainly in the polymeric form; but after higher doses, the subunit form predominated. These observations are important in the understanding of physiological and pharmacological control of gastric mucus output with regard to its chemical composition and molecular heterogeneity, and provide further insight into the rational clinical use of the prostaglandins for gastroduodenal diseases.