Intravenous administration of alanine (0.15 gm/kg) to normal women during labor resulted in umbilical vein and maternal glucagon levels which were 150–170% higher than in control subjects. Higher umbilical vein and maternal glucose concentrations accompanied the elevation in plasma glucagon. The data suggest that the human fetal alpha cell at term is responsive to aminogenic stimulation.
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Wise et al. (1973) studied this question.