The relationship among plasma cholecystokinin (CCK), pancreatic growth, and food intake was studied in rats over a 2-wk period of adaptation from a very low-protein to a very high-protein diet. Rats adapted to a control diet (5% casein) were killed at 0900 (without fasting) at 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 7 days, or 14 days after transfer to a high-protein diet (75% casein). CCK was measured by bioassay using isolated pancreatic acini. Plasma CCK in high protein-fed rats was increased approximately threefold in the first 24 h, but returned to control (approximately 2.5 pM) values by day 7. Pancreatic weight, DNA, protein, and chymotrypsin(ogen) significantly increased to maximal values by day 7 in high protein-fed rats. Food intake in high protein-fed rats was inhibited by 47% after 24 h but returned to control values by day 7. The results indicate that high-protein diets initially increase CCK release and increase pancreatic protease secretory capacity and that, when pancreatic protease secretion is sufficient to match protein digestive requirements, the stimulus for CCK secretion is reduced and plasma CCK returns to normal. The pronounced but transient inhibition of food intake in high protein-fed rats is consistent with a role for CCK in regulation of food intake.

Page G70: Gary M. Green, Van H. Levan, and Roger A. Liddle. “Plasma cholecystokinin and pancreatic growth during adaptation to dietary protein.” Page G70: sentence beginning on line 7, second column, should read “Therefore we hypothesized that increased dietary protein would raise plasma CCK levels only transiently, the levels returning to normal when pancreatic synthesis and secretion of proteases increased sufficiently to inhibit CCK release”.

The effect of atropine on the exocrine pancreatic secretory response to intestinally infused trypsin inhibitor and protein in conscious rats was investigated. Bile and pancreatic juice were collected and continuously returned to the intestine throughout all experiments. Ovomucoid trypsin inhibitor (OMTI) was infused at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 30 mg/h id, simultaneously with intravenously infused atropine (100 micrograms X kg-1 X h-1) or 0.15 M NaCl. Casein was infused at 300 mg/h id with or without intravenous atropine. Atropine inhibited basal pancreatic protein and fluid secretion 65.7 and 24.7%, respectively. Atropine had no effect on incremental (above basal) pancreatic protein and fluid output during infusion of maximally effective doses of OMTI (12 and 30 mg/h) and increased the incremental responses to submaximal doses of OMTI and to casein. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that cholecystokinin mediates negative feedback regulation by luminal proteases and that cholinergic mechanisms are not directly involved in this regulatory mechanism.

No abstract

SUMMARYThe effect of jejunal bypass on pancreatic growth and plasma cholecystokinin (CCK) was investigated in rats. Rats underwent bypass of jejunum or sham operation. Rats with jejunal bypass were further divided into three groups; one group received a continuous infusion of a partially hydrolysed liquid diet (Vital) into the bypassed jejunum; a second group received the nutrient solution mixed with trypsin and infused into the bypassed jejunum; the third bypass group did not receive infusion of nutrient or trypsin into the jejunum. Jejunal bypass alone did not significantly stimulate pancreatic growth or DNA content at one or two weeks postoperative. Infusion of nutrient solution into the bypassed jejunum stimulated pancreatic growth and DNA content, with maximal increases of 185 % and 181 % for pancreatic weight and DNA content, respectively, at two weeks. This coincided with significant increases in postabsorptive plasma CCK concentrations. Infusion of pancreatic proteases into the bypassed jejunum partially reversed the effects of nutrient infusion. These results suggest that exclusion of bile-pancreatic juice or pancreatic proteases from the jejunum does not lead to maximal release of CCK unless the jejunum receives luminal nutrients. It is proposed that CCK release from rat jejunum occurs spontaneously in the absence of pancreatic proteases, and that luminal nutrients in bypassed jejunum increase plasma CCK and stimulate pancreatic growth by maintaining synthesis of CCK.Exclusion of bile-pancreatic juice (BPJ) from the proximal small intestine stimulates pancreatic secretion and growth,' and increases plasma cholecystokinin (CCK) in the rat.23 These phenomena are attributed to loss of feedback inhibition of CCK release by luminal pancreatic proteases.45 Transposition of the duodenum to lie between the jejunum and ileum also stimulates pancreatic growth in the rat.6 We suggested that this was caused by the consequent diversion of BPJ from the jejunum to the ileum, resulting in loss of protease induced inhibition of CCK release from the jejunum.I The results of this latter study6 indicated that the jejunum may be the major site of feedback control of CCK release in the proximal small intestine in the rat, because in that model BPJ was diverted from the jejunum, but not