Glucagon infusion, plasma FFA and triglycerides, blood sugar, and liver lipids in birds.

GRANDE, FRANCISCO, AND WILLIAM F. PRIGGE. Glucagon infusion, plasma FFA and triglycerides, blood sugar, and liver lipids in birds. Am. J. Physiol. 218(5) : 1406-1411. 1970.-Glucagon infusion produced elevations of plasma free fatty acids (FFA), triglycerides (TGL), and blood sugar in geeese and ducks. Free fatty acids rose promptly after the beginning of the infusion, reaching a level which was maintained constant until the end of infusion, Blood sugar rose continuously throughout the infusion. The effect of doses between 0.05 and 0.5 pg/kg per min on the plasma FFA of geese showed significant correlation (r = +0.74, P < 0.01) with the logarithm of the glucagon-infusion rate. In ducks, glucagon infusion (0.5 pg/kg per min, for 2 hr) caused significant elevation of the TGL content of the liver, but epinephrine and norepinephrine, infused at the same rate as glucagon, failed to elevate plasma FFA and caused no significant change of liver TGL. The results demonstrate that glucagon has a marked adipokinetic effect in birds, which is associated with elevations of plasma ‘I’GL and deposition of TGL in the liver. By contrast, catecholamines, which elevate plasma FFA and produce elevations of liver TGL in mammals, have no such effects in ducks.