Comparison of Glucagon and Epinephrine Effects in the Dog

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Abstract
Intravenous injection of 1-2 [mu]g/kg of glucagon produced greater and more persistent effects on liver glycogen and blood glucose of dogs than 10-50 [mu]g/kg of epinephrine. When administration was by portal vein infusion, glucagon appeared to be more than 100 times as potent a glycogenolytic agent as epinephrine. Epinephrine produced greater effects via the femoral vein than when infused into the portal vein. It is concluded that in the dog, as well as in the rat, only glucagon can serve as a physiologic hepatic glycogenolytic agent, and that the effect of moderate doses of epinephrine on the liver is an indirect one, possibly mediated through stimulation of glucagon secretion.