Enhanced neurotensin-like immunoreactivity release in total gastrectomized patients after 50 g OGTT

Neurotensin, originally isolated from the bovine hypothalamus (Carraway and Leeman 1973) is found not only in several parts of the brain (Carraway and Leeman 1976a) but also in the lower intestine (Orci, Baetens, Rufener, Brown, Vale and Guillemin 1976). Although neurotensin has a wide range of pharmacological effects (Carraway, Demer and Leeman 1976b), the concentrated localization of this peptide in the gut suggests that neurotensin may play a pathophysiological role in the gut disease. Recently, Bloom, Blackburn, Ebeid, Ralphs and Polak (1978) proposed the hypothesis that neurotensin may play an important role in the pathogenesis of dumping syndrome, based on measurement of plasma neutrotensin levels in gastrectomized patients. To examine the hypothesis, we compared changes of plasma neurotensin levels after 50 g OGTT in total gastrectomized patients with those in control subjects. In this paper, we report on enhanced neurotensin like immunoreactivity (NTLI) release in gastrectomized patients after 50 g OGTT.