Plasma responses and pancreatic content of pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon and insulin in alloxan diabetic and normal dogs and their immunohistological studies.

Responses of plasma pancreatic polypeptide (PP), glucagon (IRG) and insulin (IRI) after administration of beef soup were studied in normal and alloxan diabetic dogs and their regional content in the pancreas was determined in normal and four or twelve weeks alloxan diabetic dogs. Plasma PP levels of the diabetic dogs were significantly higher than those of the normal dogs and they increased after beef soup administration in both groups. Higher levels of IRG were also found in the diabetic dogs, although IRG increased significantly after beef soup ingestion only in normal dogs. The amounts of PP in the pancreas of normal and diabetic dogs were greatest at the uncinate process, followed in order by the head, body and tail. The IRG content in the pancreas was highest at the tail and lowest at the uncinate process in both dogs. The differences in both PP and IRG in pancreas between normal and diabetic dogs kept in a poor metabolic state for one or three months were not significant in any region of the pancreas. Immunocytochemical studies also suggested these findings. These results show that, irrespective of high plasma levels of PP and IRG in the diabetic dogs, their levels in the pancreas did not change significantly as also indicated by histological studies.