Effect of natural peptide YY on blood flow and exocrine secretion of pancreas in dogs

Little is known regarding the mechanism by which peptide YY exerts an inhibitory effect on exocrine pancreatic secretion. The purpose of this study is to determine if peptide YY affects pancreatic blood flow with simultaneous measurement of exocrine pancreatic secretion in dogs. Pancreatic blood flow was measured by a laser Doppler flowmeter which allows continuous measurement of tissue blood flow. Natural peptide YY (0.1, 0.5, 1g/kg) was infused intravenously as a bolus under background infusion of secretin (1 unit/kg/hr) in combination with cholecystokinin-octapeptide (0.1g/kg/hr). Peptide YY caused a reduction of pancreatic blood flow in a dose-dependent manner as well as inhibition of pancreatic protein output, attaining the maximal reduction (28±4%) and inhibition (45±9%) at a dose of 1 g/kg, respectively. Simultaneous and continuous observation on tissue blood flow and exocrine secretion of the pancreas revealed that there was a highly significant correlation between the percent reduction of pancreatic blood flow and that of volume of pancreatic juice in response to peptide YY (r=0.849, P < 0.001). This study provides evidence that the mechanism of peptide YY-induced inhibition of exocrine pancreatic secretion is mediated, at least partly, through the decreased pancreatic blood flow.This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Japan (A,61440060).A portion of this work was presented at the American Gastroenterological Association Meeting in New York in May 1985.