Effect of the NOS inhibitor L-NAME on insulin and glucagon release <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo.</i>

Effect of pharmacological blockade of islet NO generation by the NOS inhibitor L-NAME on islet hormone secretion from Wistar and GK rats. a) Insulin release and b) glucagon release from isolated islets at low and high glucose in the absence or presence of L-NAME (5 mmol/l). n = 8 in each group. Asterisks denote significant effects of L-NAME at 1G or 16.7G. *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001. c) Peak insulin response and d) Peak glucagon response in plasma at 2 min after an i.v. injection of L-arginine (L-arg.) (3.6 mmol/kg) following pretreatment with saline or L-NAME (1.2 mmol/kg). There were 4–7 animals in each group. Asterisks denote significant effects of L-NAME pretreatment. *p<0.05; **p<0.01