Fluctuations in basal plasma levels of pancreatic polypeptide in monkeys and humans

We reported that significant rapid oscillations occur in basal plasma levels of insulin, glucagon, and glucose in rhesus monkeys and humans. We searched for evidence for similar spontaneous fluctuations also in plasma levels of pancreatic polypeptide (PP). Mean +/- SE basal plasma levels of PP were 236 +/- 15 pg/ml in 11 monkeys, 64 +/- 12 in nine normal-weight human subjects, and 74 +/- 10 in nine obese human subjects. 1) PP levels fluctuated with periods of 6-26 min. The fluctuations in PP were less regular than and did not temporally correlate with the fluctuations in plasma levels of insulin, glucagon, or glucose (usual periods 8-12 min). 2) In human subjects the concentration but not the periodicity of PP was related to obesity. 3) Comparisons of simultaneously determined levels of PP in portal and central venous plasma of monkeys suggested that PP may be extracted to varying degrees by the liver, even under basal well-controlled conditions, and that neither the size of the PP portal-central gradient nor the period and amplitude of fluctuations was associated with PP concentration. We conclude that plasma PP levels fluctuate with such a large amplitude that these fluctuations must be considered in the interpretation of experimental results based on limited numbers of samples.