Download PDF
Horm Metab Res 1978; 10(4): 290-294
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1093417
Originals

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

The Effect of Altered Autonomic Tone on Alanine Induced Insulin Secretion

M.  Conway , J.  Freidrich , D.  Schade , M.  Buckman , R. P. Eaton
  • Departments of Medicine, Lovelace-Bataan Medical Center and
    The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
23 December 2008 (online)

Also available at
  PDF Download  Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

The effect of pharmacologically induced altered autonomic tone upon alanine stimulated insulin release was examined in adult mongrel dogs. In control studies, intravenous administration of alanine, 1 gm/kg body weight resulted in a mean rise in plasma insulin concentration from basal levels of 7.4 (± 2) µU/ml to a maximum of 24.5 (±6) µU/ml by 10 minutes after injection. In paired studies, epinephrine infusion or atropine administration had no significant effect on the insulin rise in response to the alanine stimulus. This data indicates that in contrast to a glucose stimulus, the insulin response to the amino acid alanine is not influenced by epinephrine or cholinergic blockade. These studies provide further evidence that alanine acts through alternate pathways, different from those utilized by glucose to effect insulin secretion.

Key words

Autonomic Tone - Epinephrine - Alanine - Cholinergic Blockade - Insulin Release