PubMed1985
In this brief review of regulatory function of gastroenteropancreatic peptides in control of intermediary metabolism in normal and diabetic states, with and without mediation by insulin and/or glucagon, a variety of possible mechanisms have been described. It is apparent that the pharmacologic actions of the peptides identified in various locations provide models for multiple routes of delivery and modes of action of effectors in this control system. Examples already exist of each of the hypothetical mechanisms illustrated in the scheme in Figure 4. It is clear that a great deal of study will be necessary in identification of the active agents and assessment of their importance in the physiology of intermediary metabolism. With respect to the possible pathophysiologic roles of regulatory peptides of the gastroenteropancreatic system other than insulin and glucagon, a number of considerations of Type I and Type II diabetes have been raised. The balance of the evidence suggests that Type I diabetes may be viewed as an insulin deficiency syndrome, so that physiological replacement with insulin may be expected to result in correction of the metabolic abnormalities. Nevertheless, the difficulty of physiologic replacement treatment, which may call for portal delivery of insulin, is well recognized, and abnormalities secondary to insulin deficiency even in "well-treated" Type I diabetes may be compounded by the effects of gastroenteropancreatic peptides other than insulin, exerted through the various mechanisms discussed. In Type II diabetes mellitus, current understanding of the pathophysiology is much less complete and no convincing description of the etiology exists. The various metabolic actions of the gastroenteropancreatic peptides, and their interactions with other endocrine, paracrine and nervous regulatory mechanisms, represent a dauntingly complex control system. The elucidation of this system can provide fertile ground for the development and testing of hypotheses for the pathophysiology of disordered metabolism in Type II diabetes mellitus.