The Nature of Hyperglucagonemia in Diabetes Mellitus

The nature of hyperglucagonemia in diabetes mellitus was investigated in diabetic patients and in experimental animals. The following characteristics of diabetic hyperglucagonemia were demonstrated: decreased suppressibility by hyperglycemia, decreased response to insulin induced hypoglycemia, augmented response to arginine infusion, and easy suppressibility by insulin. Extrapancreatic rather than pancreatic glucagon appeared to be mostly responsible for these features. Glucagon release in response to insulin induced hypoglycemia was found to correlate with B cell function and may be a good test of pancreatic A cell function in human diabetes.