Effect of glucagon on transfer of glucose, utilizing everted sacs of small intestine

Abstract

The effect of glucagon on intestinal transference of glucose was studied utilizing everted sacs of small intestine of rat and hamster. All experiments were performed under aerobic conditions in Warburg flasks at 37°C for a period of 1 hour. Quantitative estimations were made of the amount of glucose transferred and metabolized by these sacs. It was observed that glucose is transferred against a concentration gradient with relatively little movement of water and that a considerable portion of the glucose metabolized appears as lactic acid. It was apparent that under these experimental conditions glucagon exerts no observable influence on the transfer of glucose by rat and hamster small intestine. The mechanism through which glucagon inhibits gastric secretory activity continues to be unknown.