ARTICLES

Effect of growth hormone on acute glucagon and insulin release

The aim was to clarify whether or not sudden spike concentrations of plasma growth hormone (GH) can affect the endocrine pancreas in vivo. The peaking of GH was reproduced by an injection (10 mg/kg iv) of bovine GH to anesthetized normal, pancreatectomized, and alloxan-diabetic dogs. In portal but not in peripheral blood, immunoreactive plasma glucagon (IRG), glucagon-like activity (GLI), and immunoreactive insulin (IRI), were significantly elevated within 10 min in normal and alloxan-diabetic dogs. In pancreatectomized dogs, GH did not affect either IRG or GLI. When a physiological dose of GH (6 microgram/kg) calculated to produce ambient peak plasma concentrations of 40 ng/ml was given to four conscious, normal dogs with indwelling portal catheters, a rise of IRG from 108 +/- 19 to 170 +/- 17 pg/ml and of IRI from 20 +/- 12 to 67 +/- 19 muU/ml (mean +/- SE) occurred within 2 min. GLI was not affected. Thus a sudden rise in GH concentration can stimulate the release of a) GLI in the presence but not in the absence of the pancreas, and b) pancreatic IRG and IRI but not extrapancreatic IRG.