Effect of glucagon infusion on the renal clearance of amylase relative to creatinine.

Recent data seem to support a tubular defect as the mechanism of the elevated renal clearance of amylase relative to creatinine in acute pancreatitis. Glucagon has been proposed by some to be an important factor in this phenomenon. To examine the role of glucagon as this "tubular dysfunction factor", we investigated the effect of intravenously infused glucagon on the fractional excretion of amylase and the tubular handling of a low molecular weight protein, beta2 microglobulin, in normal, healthy volunteers. At glucagon levels far in excess of those seen in pancreatitis, the clearance ratio of beta2 microglobulin relative to creatinine increased, whereas the clearance ratio of amylase relative to creatinine did not increase above the normal range. The dissociation between beta2 microglobulin clearance and amylase clearance allows one to question the theory that tubular dysfunction is the mechanism of the elevated renal clearance of amylase relative to creatinine in acute pancreatitis. Glucagon does not appear to be the sole factor responsible for the elevation of renal clearance of amylase relative to creatinine in acute pancreatitis.