Glucose, growth hormone, somatomedin, cortisol and ACTH changes in the plasma of unanaesthetised pig foetuses following intravenous insulin administration in utero

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Insulin tolerance tests were carried out in chronically catheterized fetal pigs. The experiment was carried out 7 days after catheterization. The fetuses were, therefore, considered to be free from the effects of anesthetics and stress. Under these conditions growth hormone levels were high compared with post-natal growth hormone levels but, under the favorable conditions in this study, both growth hormone and ACTH levels were lower than those found in anesthetised or stressed fetuses. By contrast, cortisol levels were somewhat higher than those mentioned in previous reports. Somatomedin activity measured by post-natal cartilage bioassay was low. Following i.v. insulin administration there was a marked depression in plasma glucose (P < 0.01), an elevation in growth hormone (P 0.05) and an increase in ACTH (P < 0.01). Levels of cortisol and somatomedins did not change significantly. Insulin is a hypoglycemic fator in the fetal pig and for the most part fetal pig pituitary responds to an insulin challenge in a similar way to the post-natal pig.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: