Cholinergic mechanisms in intestinal phase insulin secretion in rats

The present study was designed to examine the role of neural cholinergic mechanisms in intestinal phase insulin secretion during increasing intraduodenal instillation rates of the test meals. In groups of 12 anesthetized rats arterial insulin levels rose significantly in relation to the increase of the rate at which the liver extract/sucrose was instilled intraduodenally (0.15, 0.5 and 1.5 ml/min). The injection of atropine (10 micrograms/kg) 5 min prior to the intraduodenal infusion of the test meals abolished this rate-dependent augmentation of insulin levels completely. Similarly, no effect of increasing intraduodenal infusion rates of the meal was observed in islet-transplanted rats. These data demonstrate that neural - at least in part muscarinic cholinergic - mechanisms participate in intestinal phase insulin secretion of rats supporting previous observations about the importance of neural factors in the regulation of postprandial insulin release.