ISSN:
1432-0428
Keywords:
Eviscerated rat
;
immunoreactive glucagon (IRG)
;
immunoreactive insulin (IRI)
;
gel filtration
;
submaxillary glands
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary Eviscerated rats (animals without gastrointestinal tract or pancreas, but with intact liver and kidneys) are diabetic with blood glucose levels of 287 ± 10 mg% (n = 35) 24 h after surgery. Immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) persisted in these animals at plasma levels of 36 ± 4 μU/ml and 0.29 ± 0.02 ng/ml, respectively. Twenty-four h fasted sham-operated controls, on the other hand, had blood glucose levels of 101 ± 3mg%, plasma IRI levels of 62 ± 8 μU/ml and plasma IRG levels of 0.38 ± 0.05 ng/ml (n = 21). IRG levels were not increased in eviscerated animals by surgical stress, fasting, arginine infusion, or insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, nor did they decrease following somatostatin infusion. IRI levels were similarly unresponsive. An unexplained decrease in IRG followed arginine infusion. Gel filtration studies showed plasma IRI and IRG to consist mainly of the larger molecular weight components with little of the smaller “native hormone” species. The disappearance rates of injected 125I-insulin and 125I-glucagon did not differ from sham-operated controls. Removal of the submaxillary glands from eviscerated animals had no effect on the circulating levels of IRG. Bilateral nephrectomy doubled plasma IRG. It is suggested that persistent IRG and IRI in eviscerated rats represents retained immunoreactive materials with slow rates of degradation, although an unresponsive extravisceral source of IRG can not be ruled out.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00429778
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