Serum amylase activity disorders in the course of experimental diabetes in rabbits

Abstract

We evaluated the influence of experimental diabetes on the amylase release in exocrine pancreatic cells. Following a single alloxan injection, male rabbits were divided into control and four experimental groups according to the disease duration. Respectively after 21, 42, 90, and 180 days intervals, the final levels of glucose and amylase in the sera were determined spectrophotometrically by the use of an enzymatic method. The mean serum glucose level in healthy controls was 6.4 mmol/l. It reached its top value of 32.0 mmol/l after 42 days of diabetes, and decreased to 23.12 mmol/l on day 180. The mean serum amylase activity was 124 U/l in healthy controls, 57 U/l on day 21, 138 on day 42, 84 U/l on day 90, and 56 U/l after 180 days of diabetes. The initial drop of the amylase activity may be interpreted as a result of decreased stimulating insulin effect on exocrine pancreatic cells, whereas the transient increase in activity on day 90 seems to be related to the increased destruction processes of the pancreatic tissue.