[Effect of atropine on the mechanisms of intestinoinsular interaction]

The effect of atropine on insulin secretion stimulated by glucose administration in the duodenum was studied in chronic experiments on dogs prior to and following supradiaphragmatic vagotomy. The control experiments on 10 dogs have demonstrated that in the first 10 min. after glucose administration in the duodenum pancreatic islet B-cells show a raised sensitivity to glucose expressed in a higher value of the insulinogenic index at this time than in later periods. After vagotomy no significant differences in insulin secretion and glucose tolerance in animals were found as compared to preoperative values. However the experiments with atropine administration have shown that the blockade of M-choline receptors results in considerable weakening of insulin secretion and glucose tolerance in animals irrespective of the integrity of the nerves vagus. It has been assumed that an important role in the mechanisms of the intestinoinsular axis is played by the nervous connections of the duodenum with the pancreas through interaction of the intraorganic neurons of these organs.