Abstract
Secretin was given intravenously to four normal men as a 150 U pharmacologic pulse.
To an additional four men, during hyperglycemia, secretin was administered as a 5
U pulse with an infusion of 1.2 U per minute for 30 minutes, a rate shown to produce
plasma secretin levels similar to those found after oral glucose load. Although insulin
increased an average of 7 and 12 fold during the respective infusions, secretin did
not significantly alter glucagon levels. These data suggest that, in humans, secretin
influences glucose utilization by enhancing insulin release without producing a concomitant
change in glucagon.
Key words
Secretin - Glucagon - Insulin - Glucose
1 This investigation was supported by USPHS Research Grant AM-13457, Program Project
Grant HD-04872 and a research award from the American Diabetes Association. A portion
of this work was conducted through the Clinical Research Center Facility of the University
of Washington supported by the NIH (grant RR-37). Dr. Dudl is a recipient of USPHS
Special Research Fellowship 1-F03-HD 51572
2 Present address: Columbia University, New York, USA.
