The Effect of Secretin on Pancreatic Glucoregulatory Hormones in Man

Secretin was given intravenously to four normal men as a 150 U pharmacologic pulse. To an additional four men, during hyperglycemia, secretin was administered as a 5 U pulse with an infusion of 1.2 U per minute for 30 minutes, a rate shown to produce plasma secretin levels similar to those found after oral glucose load. Although insulin increased an average of 7 and 12 fold during the respective infusions, secretin did not significantly alter glucagon levels. These data suggest that, in humans, secretin influences glucose utilization by enhancing insulin release without producing a concomitant change in glucagon.