Intravenous infusion of synthetic secretin for periods up to 24 h in conscious rats was combined with in-vitro amino acid incorporation in isolated pancreatic lobules and high-resolution separation of individual enzyme proteins by two-dimensional isoelectric focusing and SDS gel electrophoresis. With this method persistent changes in the biosynthesis of ten enzyme and isoenzyme proteins can be studied as a result of prolonged secretin stimulation. Three major patterns of response were observed: progressive increases in the synthetic rates were found in six out of ten enzyme proteins with most pronounced changes in the synthetic rates of lipase (4.10-fold increase), two forms of proelastase (2.80-fold increase, respectively), the two acidic forms of trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen (2.60- and 2.40-fold increase, respectively), and of ribonuclease (2.30-fold increase). Only moderate changes (1.30- to 1.90-fold increase) occurred in the synthetic rates of four isoenzymatic forms of procarboxypeptidase and the basic forms of chymotrypsinogen and trypsinogen, respectively. No absolute change in the rate of synthesis was observed in both forms of amylase. These data obtained after secretin stimulation differ significantly from previous results after caerulein stimulation, but it is not clear so far whether this is due to differential effects of the two second messengers released by each of the hormones on the level of transcription or translation.