Blockade of hyperkalemia and hyperglycemia induced by epinephrine in frog liver and in cats

¹ Department of Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York

Dihydroergotamine (DHE) and Dibenamine are both known to block the hyperkalemic response to intravenously injected epinephrine. By simultaneously sampling blood from the hepatic vein and from the carotid artery it was possible to demonstrate that these blocking agents act directly on the liver. DHE is also known to decrease the hyperglycemic response to epinephrine, an observation confirmed in the present work. Although Dibenamine is said by some to be ineffective in this respect, we found that it significantly decreased the hyperglycemia. Various dosage combinations of DHE were ineffective in changing the potassium or glucose losses induced by different concentrations of epinephrine administered to the isolated perfused frog liver. Dibenamine also exhibited no effect on the response of the frog liver.