THE EFFECT OF VASOPRESSIN INFUSION ON GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN MAN

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Studies on intact aminals and isolated rat hepatocytes have shown that arginine vasopression (AVP) stimulates glycogen phosphorylase to break down glycogen and raise plasma glucose concentrations. Since no similar work was performed on healthy human adults, the effect of moderate (25 pmol/min) and high (75 pmol/min) dose AVP infusion on plasma glucose, intermediary metabolites, glucose kinetics and circulating glucagon and insulin concentrations was investigated. After AVP infusion, plasma glucose rose from 4.9 .+-. 0.1 to a peak of 5.7 .+-. 0.2 mmol/l (P < 0.001), but no changes in blood lactate, pyruvate, alanine, glycerol or 3-hydroxybutyrate concentrations were observed. The glucose rise was accounted for entirely by an increase in the rate of appearance of glucose from 11.19 .+-. 0.43 to 13.38 .+-. 0.63 .mu.mol/kg/min (P < 0.001). Infusion of AVP also increased plasma glucagon concentrations from 38 .+-. 8 to 79 .+-. 20 pg/l (P < 0.01). The hyperglycemic effect of AVP may be mediated solely by stimulation of glucagon release, but we cannot exclude direct stimulation of glycogen phosphorylase activity.