The effect of adrenergic agonists and antagonists on the secretion of gastric somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) and gastrin was investigated in an isolated, vascularly perfused rat stomach preparation. Two- to six-fold increases in SLI secretion induced by isoproterenol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine were completely abolished by propranolol but were not influenced by phentolamine. Propranolol did not alter glucagon- and DB-cAMP-induced stimulation of SLI release. Experiments in which the beta 2-agonist salbutamol and the beta 1- and beta 2-blockers practolol and H35/25 were used showed that both subtypes of beta receptors are involved. Gastrin secretion revealed only minor changes in dose-response studies with a wide range of isoproterenol concentrations (2 X 10(-8) to 1.5 X 10(-4) M). The results obtained in this study suggest that in rats 1) the SLI response to adrenergic agonism is predominantly mediated by beta receptors; 2) both beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors are involved; 3) under in vitro conditions, adrenergic agonism is a weak stimulus for gastrin secretion.