Abstract
Summary
1. The hyperglycemic effects of epinephrine and isoproterenol were compared in rabbits subjected to changes in prandial state and to treatment with alloxan.
2. Hyperglycemic responses to epinephrine were greater in normal-fed rabbits than in normal-fasted rabbits. Changes in the prandial state produced no alteration in the hyperglycemic response to isoproterenol.
3. Isoproterenol produced greater hyperglycemic responses in alloxan-diabetic, fed rabbits than in normal-fed rabbits, whereas, epinephine was of equal potency in alloxan-diabetic, fed rabbits and normal-fed rabbits.
4. The marked difference in the relative potencies of isoproterenol and epinephrine in elevating blood glucose (EPI > ISO) in normal rabbits and in increasing glucose release from rabbit liver slices (ISO > EPI) may be related, at least in part, to the insulin-releasing activity of isoproterenol and to the suppression of insulin release by epinephrine.
The skillful technical assistance of Miss Lois Wilson in these experiments is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also wish to express their appreciation to Dr. Mary A. Root of Eli Lilly and Company for a generous gift of protamine zinc insulin, and to Mrs. Dorothy Austin for her secretarial assistance.
This work was supported in part by NIH Grant NS 07700 05.
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