title: Glucagon secretory response to hypoglycaemia, adrenaline and carbachol in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.
abstract: Glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia is impared in diabetes, but the mechanism is not established. Pancreatic A cell hyporesponsiveness to adrenergic or cholinergic stimulation could contribute to the impairment. We therefore compared the plasma glucagon responses to intravenous infusion of adrenaline (1200 ng kg(-1) min(-1) for 20 min) or to intravenous injection of the cholinergic agonist carbachol (50 micrograms kg(-1)) in chloral hydrate-anaesthetized rats made diabetic with the use of streptozotocin (80 mg kg(-1) subcutaneously) 6 weeks before and in anaesthetized control rats. Insulin was infused intravenously to reduce plasma glucose levels to below 1.8 mmol L(-1). As expected, the plasma glucagon response was reduced by approximately 45% in streptozotocin-diabetic rats compared with controls (P = 0.045). During adrenaline infusion, plasma glucagon levels increased by 277 +/- 92 pg mL(-1) in controls (P = 0.009) and by 570 +/- 137 pg mL(-1) in the diabetic rats (P = 0.002). Thus, the plasma glucagon response to adrenaline was approximately doubled in the diabetic rats (P = 0.045). Following carbachol injection, plasma glucagon levels were raised by 1211 +/- 208 pg mL(-1) (P < 0.001) in controls but only by 555 +/- 242 pg mL(-1) in the diabetic rats (P = 0.049). Thus, the plasma glucagon response to carbachol was impared by approximately 58% in the diabetic rats (P = 0.028). We conclude that carbachol-stimulated glucagon secretion is impared concomitantly with the impared glucagon response to hypoglycaemia in streptozotocin-diabetic rats, whereas adrenaline-induced glucagon secretion is exaggerated. We suggest that a reduced pancreatic A cell responsiveness to cholinergic stimulation could contribute to the impairment of the glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia in diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahrén
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Gingerich
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Curry
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Havel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism*; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005934:Glucagon / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D002217:Carbachol; D005934:Glucagon; D004837:Epinephrine