Twenty-four young male subjects participated in a 5-day training course with long-term physical exercise (35% of VO2max), calorie supply deficiency (intake of approximately 6300 kJ/24 h, against a combustion of approximately 40,000 kJ/24 h), and severe sleep deprivation (2 h of sleep as a total during 5 days). The subjects were divided into three groups; one group (no. = 7) had no compensation for the stress factors, another group (no. = 8) compensated for the calorie deficiency, whereas a third group (no. = 9) partly compensated for the sleep deprivation. Fasting serum concentration of human pancreatic polypeptide (hPP) and group I pepsinogens (PGI) were measured immediately before the course, every morning during the course, and 8 h after the course. In addition, the serum response of hPP to a test meal was measured on day 3 during the course and in a control study performed 8 weeks later. The fasting serum concentration of hPP showed a two- to three-fold increase during the course in the low-caloric but not in the iso-caloric subjects. The serum concentration of hPP was decreased to pre-course levels after 8 h of rest. The postprandial hPP response was elevated in all the subjects during the course, with a greater increase in the low-caloric subjects than in the subjects with calorie balance. Serum concentration of PGI was 10-30% decreased during the course, and the levels were normalized after 8 h of rest after the course. The study shows that the function of the hPP cell and the chief cell is influenced by prolonged, multifactorial strain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)