Extrahepatic portal hypertensive gastropathy in Wistar rats: modulation of acid secretion in isolated parietal cells.

Stimulated acid secretion in portal hypertensive gastropathy is blunted and could be due to defective signal transduction in the parietal cell. Therefore, an attempt was made to study the levels of second messengers in parietal cells in experimental extrahepatic portal hypertensive gastropathy. Our aim was to measure acid secretion, intracellular free calcium, calcium transport, cyclic AMP, and ATP levels in the parietal cells isolated from the gastric mucosa of portal hypertensive rats. Acid secretion using acridine orange, intracellular free calcium using Fura-2/AM, calcium influx and efflux by 45CaCl2 and cyclic AMP by RIA kits were measured in unstimulated and histamine- and carbachol-stimulated isolated parietal cells in rats with partial portal vein ligation and sham operation. ATP was measured by HPLC. In portal hypertensive gastropathy, stimulated acid secretion was blunted, and there was a decrease in basal intracellular free calcium. Calcium influx and efflux were at a higher level, and there was a decrease in elevation of intracellular free calcium and cyclic AMP levels with secretagogues. There was also a decrease in ATP. In conclusion, there exists a low energy state in addition to multiple aberrations at the second messenger level in parietal cells in portal hypertensive gastropathy.