Histamine Liberation by Gastric Mucosa of Pylorus-Ligated Rats Damaged by Acetic or Salicylic Acids.

Abstract

Summary The stomachs of anesthetized, pylorus-ligated rats were filled with 154 mM NaCl, 100 mM HCl, 100 mM acetic acid or 20 mM salicylic acid in 100 mM HCl. After 90 min the fluids were removed, and they as well as the oxyntic gland area of the stomachs were analyzed for histamine. There was a rise in the frequency with which histamine could be detected in the acetic and salicylic acid solutions as compared with NaCl or HCl, and its mean concentration also increased. Gastric tissue exposed to acetic acid or salicylic acid contained about two-thirds as much histamine as did tissue exposed to NaCl or HCl. We infer that during damage histamine is present in the mucosal interstitial fluid where it can exert its characteristic physiological effects.