Persistent metabolic abnormalities in diabetes in the absence of glucagon

In order to investigate the contribution of glucagon to the abnormalities of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in diabetes, hormones and metabolites were measured in response to IV arginine in 5 juvenile onset (control) diabetics and 5 totally pancreatectomised subjects. In the basal state, both control diabetics and pancreatectomised patients showed abnormally elevated levels of plasma glucose, blood 3-hydroxybutyrate, glycerol and plasma free fatty acids (NEFA), although no glucagon was detectable in the plasma of the pancreatectomised subjects. Blood concentrations of the gluconeogenic precursors alanine and glycerol were higher pancreatectomised patients than in the diabetics. Following infusion of arginine, the rise in glucagon observed in the diabetics was accompanied by a significant increase in plasma glucose and a fall in blood lactate when compared to the pancreatectomised subjects. In spite of the rise in glucagon in the control diabetics, no sigficant change was found in the concentrations of ketone bodies, glycerol or NEFA. Thus glucagon does not seem to have a primary role in producing the metabolic abnormalities of diabetes.