The hypocalcemic activity of pancreatic tissue homogenate in the dog

Glucagon and the pancreatic homogenate preparations to be tested for hypocalcemic effects were injected either intravenously or intraperitoneally in thyroparathyroid intact dogs and in dogs after thyroparathyroidectomy, respectively. Evidence has been presented that, in thyroparathyroid intact dogs, pancreatic tissue homogenate and the residue of such homogenate demonstrated a maximal hypocalcemic effect and that, in the thyroparathyroid intact dog, glucagon produced a hypocalcemic effect but did not produce a significant effect on dogs after acute thyroparathyroidectomy. On the other hand, the hypocalcemic effect of residue was equally effective both in dogs after thyroparathyroidectomy and in thyroparathyroid intact dogs; there was evidence that intravenous infusion of the residue resulted in a more rapid decrease in serum calcium levels compared with the intraperitoneal infusion after thyroparathyroidectomy of dogs being maintained four to five days with parathormone. Although final conclusions are not justifiable, the results suggest that a pancreatic factor other than glucagon has hypocalcemic effects and might explain the hypocalcemia observed during acute pancreatitis.