EFFECT OF ADRENALECTOMY UPON THE URINARY EXCRETION OF GLUCOSE AND NONPROTEIN NITROGEN IN THE PARTIALLY DEPANCREATIZED, FORCE-FED RAT

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Abstract
Partially depancreatized rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain were force-fed a medium carbohydrate diet and were given a 1% soln. of NaCl to drink throughout the expt. They excreted an avg. of 3.5-4.0 g. of glucose/day and the N loss was greater than normal. Following adrenal-ectomy there was a sharp increase in N loss by the 3d day, which coincided with a fall in the level of urinary glucose. The glycosuria disappeared and the urinary nitrogen gradually fell to normal values, but not below, during the 14 days that the animals were maintained without cortical extract. During the admin. of 1 ml. and 2 ml. of beef adrenal extract/ day the avg. level of urinary N fell below the normal avg., although glycosuria was reestablished. When the amt. of cortical extract was increased to 4 ml./day the values for both urinary N and glucose were elevated to pre-adrenalectomy levels and above. A decrease in gluconeogenesis from protein, as evidenced by the change in urinary N, could account for less glucose than the actual decrease of 3500 mg./day of urinary glucose. Adrenalectomy either caused a decrease in gluconeogenesis from fat or the animals regained the ability to utilize the dietary carbohydrate.