78 



Scientific Proceedings (48). 



57 (666) 



The inhibitory action of adrenalin in muscle-pancreas mixtures. 



By AL WIN M. PAPPENHEIMER, M.D. 



[From the Department of Pathology, College of Physicians and 

 Surgeons, New York City.] 



Much evidence has accumulated since Blum's discovery of 

 adrenalin glycosuria in 1901, to indicate an antagonistic action 

 between the adrenal and the pancreas in carbohydrate metabolism. 

 The more intimate nature of this antagonism is still obscure. 

 Bayer in a recent article has suggested three possible modes of 

 interaction : 



1. The action of the internal secretion of the pancreas may be 

 directly inhibited by the adrenalin, or 



2. The secretion of the pancreatic hormone may be prevented, 

 either directly or through reflex nervous influence, or 



3. The adrenalin, through its vaso-constrictory action, may 

 close up the channels of exit through which the internal secretion 

 of the pancreas reaches the circulation. 



At the suggestion of Professor MacCallum, the attempt was 

 made to demonstrate this antagonistic action between adrenal and 

 pancreas in vitro, where the problem is simplified by the exclusion 

 of secretory or vaso-motor influences. The technique used was, 

 with slight modifications, that described by Cohnheim in 1906 

 for the demonstration of the activating effect of pancreas extract 

 upon the glycolytic ferment of muscle. The finely hashed muscle 

 of cats was extracted in iced sodium oxalate solution, the excess of 

 oxalate precipitated with calcium chloride, and glucose added in 

 known amount. Duplicate flasks of muscle extract alone, of 

 muscle extract plus pancreas, and of muscle extract plus pancreas 

 plus adrenal gland extract or adrenalin in varying dilutions up to I 

 in 110,000, were incubated overnight at 37 0 under toluol. Sugar 

 determinations were made with Benedict's solution from samples 

 taken before and after incubation. 



It was found that the addition of adrenalin to muscle-pancreas 

 mixtures prepared in this way, gave a higher sugar content than 

 the controls. This effect was obtained definitely in 9 out of 10 



