Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) stimulates exocrine pancreas in conscious preruminating calves.

The effects of new hypothalamic peptides, PACAP-27 and PACAP-38, and secretin and VIP on the interdigestive pancreatic secretion and duodenal myoelectric activity during the asecretory phase of the pancreatic interdigestive cycle, compared with the milk ingestion phase, were examined in five calves. Peptides were infused for 5 min into the external jugular vein (0, 3, 10, 30 and 100 pmol/kg body wt during the asecretory phase of the pancreatic interdigestive cycle, and the pancreatic secretory response was compared with that obtained during milk ingestion. Intravenous infusion of PACAP-27 caused dose-related stimulation of pancreatic juice flow and bicarbonate and protein output; this effect was identical to infusion of secretin. The effect of PACAP-38 was less pronounced, and that of VIP was the weakest. Pancreatic juice volume and bicarbonate responses during milk ingestion were similar to responses obtained with the highest doses of hypothalamic peptides and secretin, whereas postprandial protein secretion was much greater than the secretion stimulated with peptides. It was concluded that PACAP from the VIP/secretin family may stimulate pancreatic exocrine secretion in conscious calves and a part of the pancreatic response to food intake can be mediated by PACAP.