Factors Affecting the Bioassay of Gastrin in the Anesthetized Rat

The method of assaying gastric secretogogues, first described by Ghosh and Schild 1 was modified by Lai 2 for the assay of gastrin in extracts of gastric antrum and other tissues. This technique was subsequently employed by Sircus 3 and by Moore and his colleagues 4 for the detection of gastrin-like activity in the serum and gastric juice of patients with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. The last-named authors reported a high incidence of positive results and emphasized the reliability of the method in the preoperative diagnosis of such patients. Ellison and Wilson, 5 however, were unable, in several instances, to detect a gastric secretogogue in the serum of patients with proven ulcerogenic tumors of the pancreas. In establishing the bioassay method for gastrin in our laboratory, it was considered necessary to re-evaluate the factors affecting its sensitivity, range, and reliability, using the now available synthetic gastrin pentapeptide. This report is based