The Contribution of the Pancreas and the Intestine to the Regulation of Lipolysis in Birds - 2. Impaired Lipolytic Activity of Pancreatic Glucagon in the Absence of either the Pancreas or the Intestine in the Chicken

Abstract

Adipose tissue was removed from five-day old chickens after a) an overnight fast, b) total pancreatectomy and c) partial evisceration and digested with collagenase. The adipocytes were incubated with pancreatic glucagon (Novo) and the glycerol released into the medium taken as the index of lipolytic activity. A moderate fast, while being without effect on basal lipolysis, slightly decreased adipocyte sensitivity to glucagon. Pancreatectomy and evisceration significantly reduced both basal lipolysis and the response to glucagon: the impairment was most evident just at the concentration found in the plasma of such operated animals. It seems clear that normal lipolysis is under the control not only of pancreatic factors, but also of those of intestinal origin, and can only proceed normally when both are present.

Key words

Chicken - Glucagon - Adipocytes - Lipolysis - Pancreatectomy - Evisceration