Effects of glucosamine on insulin and glucagon secretion in dogs and ducks

The effects of infusion of glucosamine on immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) and insulin (IRI) secretion were studied in dogs and ducks. During systemic infusion of glucosamine, hyperglycemia developed and insulin secretion was inhibited in both species. An immediate and sustained elevation of peripheral IRG levels was induced in ducks but a transient rise, detectable only in the pancreatic vein blood, was provoked in dogs. Suppression of insulin release and stimulation of glucagon release may be mediated by the inhibition of glucose utilization in beta- and alpha-cells. The very prompt response of IRG in ducks may imply that glucosamine has a specific stimulating effect on the alpha-cells of ducks. Intrapancreatic administration of glucosamine in dogs, however, failed to elicit the rise of IRG, although insulin secretion was inhibited. Thus, it is suggested that the systemic administration of glucosamine in dogs may stimulate IRG secretion by some indirect effect. In one dog, however, a sustained rise of the pancreatic vein IRG was observed. Thus, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the difference in IRG response to glucosamine in dogs and ducks is quantitative rather than qualitative. Glucagon release by glucosamine may provide an additional factor to the hyperglycemic effect of glucosamine, in addition to its effect to suppress insulin release as well as its direct inhibitory effect on glucose utilization in tissues.