title: Mechanism of action of bombesin on amylase secretion. Evidence for a Ca2+-independent pathway.
abstract: The mode of action of bombesin on amylase secretion was investigated in rat pancreatic acini. Bombesin induced a dose-dependent increase in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and cytosolic free Ca2+. The threshold concentration capable of inducing both effects was 0.1 nM and the half-maximal dose of the peptide for Ca2+ mobilization was approximately 0.6 nM. By contrast, amylase release was approximately 30 times more sensitive than inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate production and Ca2+ mobilization to bombesin action, with 1 pM being the first stimulatory concentration and a half-maximal effect at approximately 20 pM. The ability of low bombesin doses to trigger enzyme secretion was unaffected by chelation of extracellular Ca2+ with EGTA. In order to test whether the stimulation of amylase release was truly a Ca2+-independent response, the intracellular Ca2+ stores were depleted by pretreating acini with EGTA plus ionomycin, the Ca2+ ionophore. Under these conditions bombesin was still capable of eliciting a significant twofold enhancement of the secretory activity. These results indicate that bombesin, an agonist thought to activate secretion mainly through mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores, elicits amylase release at low concentrations, independently of a concomitant rise in cytosolic free Ca2+. The relevance of these findings to the physiological regulation of pancreatic exocrine secretion is discussed.
authors: Institut de Biochimie clinique, University of Geneva.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Bruzzone
mesh_terms: D000681:Amylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001839:Bombesin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007295:Inositol Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010179:Pancreas / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D007295:Inositol Phosphates; D000681:Amylases; D001839:Bombesin; D002118:Calcium