Effect of a protein meal in stomach and jejunum on gastric secretory response to pentagastrin in cats.

A humoral gastrin potentiating mechanism was previously demonstrated in the upper intestine of cats. The present study was carried out on 10 cats with a gastric fistula (GF) and a Heidenhain pouch (HP). In five of the cats the duodenum and proximal jejunum were excluded as a Roux-en-Y loop, and the other cats were provided with an isolated jejunal Thirty-Vella loop. In the Roux-en-Y loop cats, a protein-rich oral meal augmented the maximal HP acid response to pentagastrin but not the pepsin response. Protein-rich food in the Thirty-Vella loop did not stimulate acid secretion, nor did it augment the maximal GF or HP acid response to pentagastrin. Previous and present results suggest that an unknown humoral gastrin-potentiating mechanism is activated by a protein-rich meal in the stomach and the duodenum but not in the jejunum. The mechanism potentiates pentagastrin-induced acid, but not pepsin, secretion.