Effects of parathyroid hormone on glucose production by the liver

The present studies demonstrate a stimulatory effect of intact parathyroid hormone on hepatic glucose production in vivo. This increased glucose production was accompanied by augmented alanine uptake by the liver. In addition, PTH increased the conversion of 14C-alanine to 14C-glucose. These results suggest that the increased hepatic release of glucose produced by PTH is mediated in part by increased gluconeogenesis. On the other hand, the synthetic 1-34 amino terminal fragment of PTH, which is not extracted by the liver, did not stimulate hepatic glucose production.