Effect of the histamine (H2) inhibitor metiamide on histamine-stimulated bile flow in dogs

The effects of the histamine H2-receptor inhibitor metiamide on histamine-stimulated canine bile flow and gastric hydrogen ion output were evaluated. Histamine was found to stimulate bile volume in doses comparable to those that stimulated gastric hydrogen ion output; both responses appeared to have the same maximal response dose, 150 mug/kg per h. Metiamide alone did not alter hepatic bile flow. Administration of metiamide, 2 mg/kg per h, along with various doses of histamine demonstrated that the H2-receptor antagonist decreased bile volume and gastric hydrogen ion output from values obtained with histamine administration alone. The D50 of histamine for bile flow was 16.3 mug/kg per h and the D50 for hydrogen ion output was 44.2 mug/kg per h, Kinetic analysis suggests that the decrease in histamine-stimulated hydrogen ion output produced by metiamide is the result of competitive inhibition; the decrease in histamine-stimulated bile volume by metiamide which is different from the hydrogen ion inhibition, suggests noncompetitive inhibition. These data indicate that the mechanism of histamine choleresis is different from the mechanism of histamine-stimulated gastric acid output and that histamine-stimulated bile flow may not be the result of direct hormone-receptor interaction.