[Correlation between gastric emptying time and both plasma gastrin and pancreatic polypeptide in streptozotocin...

Correlation between gastric emptying time and both plasma gastrin and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) levels after meal was studied in 9 normal and 5 streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic dogs. Moreover, the effects of exogenous insulin at doses of 0.2 and 0.4 U/kg on gastric emptying and plasma hormone levels were also studied in STZ diabetic dogs. The time required to reach the peak of plasma acetaminophen level, which is the indirect indicator of gastric emptying rate, was significantly delayed in STZ diabetic dogs than in control dogs. Plasma gastrin response was delayed slightly in STZ diabetic dogs, but the plasma levels were not significantly different between the two groups. Plasma PP levels both in the basal and after postprandial state were significantly higher in STZ dogs than in normal dogs. Infusion of insulin did not affect plasma levels of acetaminophen and gastrin, while it produced a dose-dependent suppression of postprandial PP rise in STZ diabetic dogs. The foregoing data indicate that high level of plasma PP observed in STZ dogs did not correlate with gastric emptying but with insulin deficiency.