The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute stable hyperglycemia on gallbladder motility, plasma cholecystokinin level and pancreatic polypeptide secretion. Gallbladder emptying in response to modified sham feeding and regular feeding was determined in six healthy subjects on two separate occasions during normoglycemia (serum glucose = 5 mmol/L) and during hyperglycemia (serum glucose = 15 mmol/L). Pancreatic polypeptide secretion was determined as an indirect measure of cholinergic tone. Gallbladder contraction in response to sham feeding during hyperglycemia (9% +/- 2%) was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced compared with that in normoglycemia (22% +/- 1%). During hyperglycemia, gallbladder emptying after meal ingestion (29% +/- 9%) was significantly (p < 0.05) less than that in normoglycemia (60% +/- 10%). Sham feeding did not affect plasma cholecystokinin levels. Regular feeding induced significant (p < 0.05) increases in plasma cholecystokinin levels in both experiments. However, integrated postprandial plasma cholecystokinin secretion was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced during hyperglycemia compared with that in normoglycemia (29 +/- 5 pmol.60 min vs. 58 +/- 10 pmol.60 min). Modified sham feeding-and feeding-stimulated pancreatic polypeptide secretion during hyperglycemia (235 +/- 95 pmol.90 min and 1,035 +/- 267 pmol.60 min, respectively) were significantly (p < 0.05) less than levels seen in normoglycemia (434 +/- 71 pmol.90 min and 1,961 +/- 219 pmol.60 min, respectively). This study indicates that gallbladder emptying and plasma hormone secretion in response to sham feeding and regular feeding are affected by blood glucose levels.