Experimental studies on the influence of the Kallikrein-Kinin system on glucose utilization

Abstract

Experimental studies on the infleunce of kallikrein and bradykinin on pancreatectomized rats and on the pancreatic islet function in vivo as well as in vitro were performed.

• 1 In pancreatectomized albino rats, kallikrein and glucose were administered i.p. or orally and the blood sugar level was measured by the hexokinase method at various time intervals. Intraperitoneal injections of highly purified hog pancreatic kallikrein followed by glucose injection 1 or 2 h later led to a marked rise in blood sugar level, followed by a more rapid decrease in the blood sugar to normal values.

  The K values of the kallikrein-treated animals were significantly higher than in the controls. Similar results were obtained after oral administration of these substances.

• 2 The in vivo perfusion of the pancreas of anaesthetized normal rats with bradykinin resulted in a marked rise of the insulin and venous blood sugar levels. In general, the glucose concentration in the portal vein was found to be lower than in the femoral vein. The same experiment with additional administration of ganglion-blocking agents (e.g. hexamethonium) showed the reverse effect.

• 3 In order to study the direct influence of the kallikrein-kinin system on the insulin-producing B-cells, incubation studies with pancreatic islets isolated by collagenase digestion were performed. In contrast to the in vivo experiments no significant changes in the insulin secretion were found.

Our experiments led to the conclusion that the kallikrein-kinin system has no special influence on the pancreatic islets, however it seems to be involved in the process of glucose utilization in metabolically active cells and glucose absorption by the intestinal or peritoneal epithelium.