Gastric mucosal electrical potential difference and blood flow during high FFA/albumin ratios in anaesthetized Göttingen mini-pigs.

The gastric blood flow and the gastric mucosal potential difference (p.d.) was studied in anaesthetized Göttingen mini-pigs under normal conditions and during increased FFA/albumin ratios. The antrum mucosal p.d. was measured continuously with a newly developed intragastric microelectrode principle. The gastric blood flow was measured with the radioactive microsphere technique: at basal conditions, during high FFA/albumin ratios, and after normalization of the plasma lipids. The antrum p.d., expressed with gastric lumen negative, decreased during the increased FFA/albumin ratios; from -25 +/- 3 mV to -17 +/- 4 mV, (P less than 0.05). A further reduction to -12 +/- 3 mV (P less than 0.05) was observed during the normalization of the FFA/albumin ratios. The antrum and corpus mucosal blood flow values were reduced by 37 and 26% during the increased FFA/albumin ratios, and the gastric mucosal blood flow returned to initial values after normalization of the plasma lipids. The p.d. reduction during and after the increased FFA/albumin ratios could reflect a reduced active ion transport across the mucosa caused by a changed gastric mucosal metabolism.