Exocrine secretory function in response to 10 pM to 10 nM synthetic secretin was evaluated in perfused pancreas isolated from control, streptozocin-induced diabetic (STZ-D), alloxan-induced diabetic (ALX-D), and insulin-treated STZ-D rats. In STZ-D rats, the basal rate of pancreatic juice flow was significantly increased (10.3 +/- 1.0 microliters/20 min) compared with control rats (4.4 +/- 0.2 microliters/20 min). The basal rate of amylase output as well as pancreatic amylase content were significantly decreased to less than 5% of control values. The basal rates of protein and trypsinogen outputs were similar in both groups. In both control and diabetic rats, secretin caused a dose-dependent increase in exocrine secretion. Secretin (10 pM to 10 nM) induced 1.1- to 11.7-fold increases in exocrine secretion in STZ-D rats. These increases were significantly lower than the 2.1- to 20.8-fold increases in control rats. Furthermore, there was no significant increase in exocrine secretion from STZ-D rats in response to 10 pM secretin, although this concentration of secretin caused a significant increase in control rats. Secretin-induced exocrine secretion in ALX-D rats was similar to that in STZ-D rats. In insulin-treated STZ-D rats, the basal rates of pancreatic secretion were not significantly different from those of control rats. These results suggest that insulin resistance in this patient was due to a circulating factor of low molecular weight that uncoupled insulin stimulation of glucose transport from receptor binding and phosphorylation. The factor appears to increase the binding activity of the alpha-subunit of the insulin receptor without affecting the kinase activity of the beta-subunit.