Lack of gastrointestinal glucagon response to hypoglycaemia in depancreatized dogs

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Abstract
Fasting (24 h) normal dogs and depancreatized dogs were injected intravenously with highly purified porcine insulin (Actrapid) in the doses of 0.2 U/kg and 0.5 U/kg, respectively. Blood glucose decreased from 152±41 (SEM) mg/100 ml to 39±7 mg/100 ml in the depancreatized dog and from 95±3 mg/100 ml to 42±4 mg/100 ml in the normal animal. Using a specific antiserum for “pancreatic” glucagon, the circulating level of glucagon immunoreactivity did not rise from the basal value of 247±31 pg/ml in the depancreatized group whereas it rose significantly from 223±24 pg/ml to 321±41 pg/ml in the normal group. In contrast intravenous infusion of 7 g of arginine increased “pancreatic” glucagon immunoreactivity in both groups. Thus, extrapancreatic glucagon of the pancreatic type does not respond to hypoglycaemia but to arginine infusion.