Abstract
The effect of exogenous glucagon on fetal and maternal glucose, fructose, insulin and glucagon concentrations was studied in the chronic fetal sheep model. Eight near-term fetuses were infused with glucagon (40 ng/min) for 60 min via a fetal femoral vein catheter. Fetal plasma glucagon increased from 37.66±7.86 (SEM) to 420.50±38.59 pg/ml (p<.001) within 15 min of beginning the infusion, reaching 531.80±117.54 pg/ml (p<.001) by 60 min and returning to the baseline level 60 min after stopping the infusion. Fetal arterial glucose increased from 12.06±0.84 to 15.50±0.68 mg % (p<.0001) after 15 min of infusion (p<.001), and reached a maximum level of 17.18±0.94 mg % by 60 min (p<.001). Fetal arterial plasma insulin was significantly increased within 60 min of infusion (16.45±3.73 to 29.38±4.41 uU/ml, p<.001). Fetal fructose did not change. During the 60 min infusion and postinfusion period, there were no changes in the maternal concentrations. These results, in addition to our previous studies demonstrating an increase in fetal glucagon concentration with prolonged maternal fasting, provide further evidence that glucagon is an important regulator of fetal metabolism.
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