Experimental study on glucose turnover and amino acid metabolism after total pancreatectomy

Glucose turnover and plasma amino acid profile were measured in total pancreatectomized dogs to clarify the mechanism of hyperaminoacidemia after total pancreatectomy. Twenty-one male mongrel dogs underwent total gastrectomy and pancreatectomy and were divided into two groups. I(-) group (n = 11) was treated without insulin and I(+) group (n = 10) received insulin postoperatively. Another 15 dogs of S group received only splenectomy. Glucose appearance rate (Ra), plasma amino acid profile and blood sugar level (BS) were measured before operation, and on the 1st and 3rd postoperative days. Significantly higher Ra and BS were observed in I(-) group than in S group postoperatively and either decreased or unaltered by the glucagon infusion. On the other hand, Ra and BS in I(+) group were maintained at the same levels as S group and increased significantly by the glucagon infusion. Hyperaminoacidemia was observed after total pancreatectomy regardless of insulin treatment. Branched chain amino acids (BCAA) were significantly elevated in I(-) group but not in I(+) group. Glucagon infusion decreased almost all amino acids levels except BCAA in both groups. These results suggest that mechanism of hyperaminoacidemia observed in totally pancreatectomized dogs is the reduced amino acids uptake by the liver related to glucagon deficiency.