A Stomach Hormone That Inhibits Food Intake

To determine whether extrinsic nerves of the stomach play a role in the short-term inhibition of food intake, 4 inbred Lewis rats received a supernumerary transplant of the stomach, duodenum, proximal jejunum and pancreas. When 4 or 8 cc of liquid diet was infused into the transplanted stomach, the rats showed a compensatory reduction of food intake whether food was allowed to empty into the intestines or whether it was retained in the stomach by a pyloric clamp. Since absorption of nutrients from the stomach is small, these results suggest that a hormone released by the stomach into the general circulation inhibits food intake. The transplanted upper digestive tract showed normal absorption of radioactive glucose from a mixed meal. A sensitive conditioned aversion test repeated 6 times did not reveal any aversion to the infusion of food into the transplanted stomach. Thus, the transplant appeared to function normally and did not cause discomfort to the rat. The release of the stomach hormone depends upon both distension of the stomach wall and chemical stimulation of the gastric mucosa. Two separate models for release of the hormone are proposed.