EXTRACTABLE GLUCAGON OF THE HUMAN PANCREAS

Abstract

35 human pancreas, obtained at autopsy, were assayed for extract-able glucagon (hyperglycemic glycogenolytic factor). Extracts of the pancreas were compared with a standard, partially pure, preparation of glucagon in a series of multiple-dose assays, using surviving rabbit liver slices as the assay system. The presence of glucagon in the human pancreas was confirmed. There was a large variation among the values of the relative potencies of the pancreatic extracts assayed. Pancreas from females appeared to contain significantly more glucagon than those of males. There was a tendency for extractable-glucagon levels to fall with increasing age, but this correlation was significant only among females. No significant differences were found between the 19 diabetics and the remaining nondiabetics, nor between various categories within the diabetic group. Al- though not excluding such a relationship, the results provide no support for the view that glucagon is a major factor in the patho-genesis of human diabetes mellitus.