Glucose-induced decrease in glucagon and pinephrine responses to exercise in man

Seven men ran at 60% of individual maximal oxygen uptake to exhaustion during beta-adrenergic blockade with propranolol or without drugs. After propranolol administration the increases during exercise in plasma glucagon and epinephrine concentrations as well as the decrease in plasma glucose concentrations were faster than in control experiments. When euglycemia was maintained by glucose infusion during beta-adrenergic blockade, glucagon and epinephrine responses to exercise, although not abolished, were markedly reduced. The diminution of the exercise-induced decline in glucose concentrations correlated significantly with the diminution of the glucagon as well as the epinephrine responses. Thus decreased glucose concentrations may significantly enhance the secretion of glucagon and epinephrine during prolonged exercise in man. Since the diminution of the glucagon response produced by glucose infusion was not accompanied by significant alterations in the levels of nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) and glycerol, increased glucagon secretion does not seem to be a major determinant of lipolysis during exercise in man. During glucose infusion, glycogen utilization rates in muscle (n = 4) tended to decrease, whereas carbohydrate combustion rate and concentrations of norepinephrine, insulin, alanine, and lactate were unchanged.