The hormonal pattern of intestinal adaptation. A major role for enteroglucagon.

A number of human diseases with intestinal adaptation have been investigated, including acute infective diarrhoea, intestinal resection, jejuno-ileal bypass, coeliac disease, tropical sprue, chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis. In all, the newly isolated hormone enteroglucagon appeared to be elevated in proportion to the degree of adaptation. In rats after gut resection and cold adaptation, enteroglucagon was also elevated and the degree of elevation correlated closely with the crypt cell production rate (CCPR). Chronic administration of somatostatin suppressed both enteroglucagon and CCPR, while bombesin stimulated both. A crude preparation of enteroglucagon was found to directly stimulate DNA synthesis in enterocyte cultures. It is thus concluded that, at present, the most likely candidate for the humoral component of intestinal adaptation is the hormonal peptide enteroglucagon.