Morphological and functional discrepancies in endocrine pancreas after partial hepatectomy in dogs

To clarify the changes in pancreatic hormones and their role in the regeneration of the liver after partial hepatectomy, we measured the portal levels of insulin and pancreatic glucagon and their responses to a glucose load after about 40% hepatectomy in dogs. The changes in the A and B cells of the islets of Langerhans were examined histologically. In the early stages after hepatectomy portal insulin levels decreased significantly, and the response of portal insulin to a glucose load was lower than in the control sham-operated dogs. Both islet size and the number of B cells increased significantly after hepatectomy. Portal pancreatic glucagon levels increased significantly after hepatectomy, and the response of pancreatic glucagon to a glucose load was not suppressed. The number of A cells also increased significantly. Thus, there were differences between insulin and pancreatic glucagon in their morphological and functional effects after hepatectomy. Although this difference is not clearly understood, there is a possibility that insulin consumption is accelerated in the remnant liver after hepatectomy. Insulin and pancreatic glucagon appear to play important but different roles in the regenerating liver from the morphological point of view.