. Distinct mechanisms of acidinduced HCO 3 Ϫ secretion in normal and slightly permeable stomachs. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 291: G464 -G471, 2006. First published May 18, 2006 doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00048.2006.-We investigated the regulatory mechanism of acid-induced HCO 3 Ϫ secretion in the slightly permeable rat stomach after an exposure to hyperosmolar NaCl. Under urethane anesthesia, a rat stomach was mounted on a chamber and perfused with saline, and the secretion of HCO 3 Ϫ was measured at pH 7.0 using a pH-stat method and by adding 2 mM HCl. Acidification of the normal stomach with 100 mM HCl increased HCO 3 Ϫ secretion, and this response was totally inhibited by pretreatment with indomethacin but not N G -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or chemical ablation of capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons. Exposure of the stomach to 0.5 M NaCl deranged the unstirred mucus gel layer without damaging the surface epithelial cells. The stomach responded to 0.5 M NaCl by secreting slightly more HCO 3 Ϫ , in an indomethacin-inhibitable manner, and responded to even 10 mM HCl with a marked rise in HCO 3 Ϫ secretion, although 10 mM HCl did not have an effect in the normal stomach. The acid-induced HCO 3 Ϫ response in the NaCl-treated stomach was significantly but partially attenuated by indomethacin, L-NAME, or sensory deafferentation and was totally abolished when these treatments were combined. These results suggest that gastric HCO 3 Ϫ secretion in response to acid is regulated by two independent mechanisms, one mediated by prostaglandins (PGs) and the other by sensory neurons and nitric oxide (NO). The acid-induced HCO 3 Ϫ secretion in the normal stomach is totally mediated by endogenous PGs, but, when the stomach is made slightly permeable to acid, the response is markedly facilitated by sensory neurons and NO.gastric HCO 3 Ϫ secretion; mucosal acidification; capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons; prostaglandin; nitric oxide; rat THE SECRETION of HCO 3 Ϫ plays a crucial role in the protection of the gastroduodenal mucosa from acid (5, 10). The secretion increases in response to mucosal acidification, and the process is mediated by multiple factors, including endogenous prostaglandins (PGs) and nitric oxide (NO) as well as neuronal pathways (12,22,29,30). Recently, we found that the mechanism underlying acid-induced HCO 3 Ϫ secretion in the stomach differed depending on the concentration of acid; the response caused by 100 mM HCl was mediated only by PGs, whereas that caused by 200 mM HCl was mediated by both capsaicinsensitive afferent neurons and NO in addition to PGs (1). It is assumed that 100 mM HCl applied topically to the stomach increases PG biosynthesis by itself but does not acidify the mucosa enough to activate afferent neurons, resulting in an increase of HCO 3 Ϫ secretion that is totally dependent on endogenous PGs but not afferent neurons or NO.Mucus adherent to the luminal surface of the mucosa provides a zone of low turbulence (unstirred layer), allowing the development of a gradient f...