GROWTH HORMONE-INDUCED REDUCTION OF GLYCOSURIA AND PARTIAL REPAIR OF THE ISLETS OF LANGERHANS IN PARTIALLY PANCREATECTOMIZED DIABETIC RATS1

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Abstract
SINCE it was demonstrated that administration of an extract of the anterior hypophysis results in permanent diabetes in several animal species, opinions have differed both as to which hypophyseal hormones affected the Islets of Langerhans and as to the mechanisms involved. With the advent of relatively pure preparations of the pituitary hormones, it has been shown that growth hormone (GH) is diabetogenic (1, 2, 3, 4) and is the only one of the highly purified hormones which will produce permanent diabetes in the intact animal (5). Although it has been pointed out that ACTH in small amounts will potentiate the effect of GH (6), ACTH alone in quite high dosage will not cause permanent diabetes. The permanent diabetes produced by GH is associated with anatomical abnormalities in the Islets of Langerhans and inability on the part of the pancreas to secrete insulin.