Correlation of regional insulin and glucagon content in canine pancreas and a possible interaction of A and B cells.

Canine pancreases divided into 8 anatomical subportions were examined for their regional insulin and glucagon content. Insulin content in the pancreas was gradually increased in the left lobe to about twice as much as that in the uncinatus, while glucagon content was increased steeply in the left lobe to 16 times as much as that of the uncinatus. Although hormonal content differs according to the anatomical area, a statistically significant positive correlation of mean regional insulin and glucagon content was observed (r = 0.994, p less than 0.001). A constant ratio of these two hormones suggests the functional coupling of A and B cells within the islets or in a given pancreatic subportion.