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Glucose production in pregnant women at term gestation. Sources of glucose for human fetus.

The effects of pregnancy and diabetes on systemic glucose production rates and the sources of glucose for the human fetus in utero were evaluated in five normal, four gestationally diabetic, and one insulin-dependent diabetic subject undergoing elective caesarean section at term gestation. Five normal nonpregnant women were studied for comparison. Systemic glucose production rates were measured with stable tracer [1-(13)C]glucose according to the prime-constant rate infusion technique. Even though the plasma glucose concentration during normal pregnancy had declined as compared with the nonpregnant subjects (P < 0.0005), the systemic glucose production rate was 16% greater, a rate sufficient to provide the glucose requirement of the fetus at term gestation. The decline in glucose concentration could be the result of an increase in apparent volume of distribution of glucose. Systemic glucose production rates in well-controlled, gestationally diabetic subjects were similar to those in normal pregnant subjects (2.07+/-0.53 vs. 2.42+/-0.51 mg/kg.min). The sources of glucose for the human fetus at term gestation were evaluated by comparing (a) natural variation in (13)C:(12)C ratio of plasma glucose and (b) enriched (13)C:(12)C ratio of plasma glucose during [1-(13)C]glucose infusion in maternal and fetal blood at delivery in both normal and diabetic subjects. These data showed that the fetal glucose pool was in equilibrium with the maternal glucose pool in both normal and diabetic subjects, indicating that a brief maternal fast did not initiate systemic glucose production in human fetus. A materno-fetal gradient was observed for betahydroxybutyrate.

Adolescent

Fetal and maternal blood glucose, insulin and acid base observations following maternal glucose infusion.

The aim of the present investigation was to examine the fetal and maternal blood glucose and insulin response following glucose infusion to the mother. The studies were performed on 11 primigravid patients with a gestational age of 38-40 weeks during the first stage of labor. Glucose was given intravenously by a bolus injection of 330 mg/kg body weight, followed by a glucose infusion of 27.5 mg/kg/min for 60 min. Glucose concentration, immuno-reactive insulin (IRI), pH and base excess of the maternal and fetal blood were measured before and during maternal glucose load. Maternal blood glucose rose within 10 min. up to 280.0 mg% (SD 25.9). This level could be fairly maintained throughout the experiment. The maternal glucose was after 60 min. infusion 326.5 mg% (SD 46.9). Fetal glucose concentration rose continuously from 65.8 mg% (SD 5.8) at control to 249.2 mg% (SD 23.3) after 60 min. The increase of maternal and fetal glucose was associated with an elevation of immuno-reactive insulin (IRI). The maternal insulin was 24.0 micronU/ml (SD 8.0). It was scattered over a wide range (55.4 micronU/ml-217.1 micronU/ml) after 60 min. glucose infusion. The fetal insulin was 17.0 micronU/ml (SD 5.2) at control and rose by 86.5% (SD 80.5) after 60 min. glucose load. One case of a mother with a subclinical diabetes mellitus deviated where the fetal insulin rose from 26.0 micronU/ml at control to 215.6 micronU/ml after 60 min. infusion. The increase of insulin per glucose rise was correlated to fetal body weight. During glucose infusion to the mother of both, fetal and maternal, acid base parameters remained unchanged. From these observations it may be concluded that in the human fetus insulin secretion following a single glucose load is generally low, however, it increases in cases where the maternal insulin response to glucose load is abnormal. This might be related to a chronic stimulation by glucose of the fetal pancreatic islet cells in poorly controlled diabetic and possibly prediabetic patients.

Acid-Base Equilibrium

Effect of heart work and insulin on the incorporation of [14C]glucose into hexose phosphates, uridine diphosphate glucose and glycogen in the normal and insulin-deficient perfused rat heart under working and non-working conditions.

1. The specific radioactivities of glucose 1-phosphate, glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate, UDP-glucose and glycogen, derived from [14C]gluocose, were determined in the normal and insulin-deficient (streptozotocin-diabetic and anti-insulin-serum-treated) perfused non-working and working rat heart. 2. The specific radioactivities of all glucose metabolities reached a plateau after about 10 min, except that for glycogen, which increased slightly but steadily over the whole observation period of 30min. 3. The specific radio-activities of fructose 6-phosphate, UDP-glucose and glycogen were slignificantly lower in the streptozotocin-diabetic heart than in the normal heart. 4. Mechanical work in the normal rat heart increased the specific radioactivities of glucose 1-phosphate, UDP-glucose and glycogen, but had little or no effect on those of gluose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate. 5. In the normal heart insulin strongly increased the specific radioactivities of all gluocse metabolites under all conditions tested. The maximum values achieved in the normal working heart in the presence of insulin were only about 15-20% above those in the normal non-working heart in the presence of insulin for the phosphorylated intermediates and about 40% above for glycogen. 6. In the streptozotocin-diabetic heart, work restored the specific radioactivities of all glucose metabolities to about normal values. 7. In the streptozotocin-diabetic heart insulin strongly increased the specific radioactivities of the direct glycogen precursors glucose 1-phosphate and UDP-glucose; the effect of insulin on glucose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate was less marked. These results confirm previous findings that the primary metabolic lesion in diabetic heart muscle is a defect of glycogen synthesis. The specific radioactivity of glycogen itself was increased sixfold. 8. Under all conditions tested the specific radioactivity of glucose 1-phosphate was always found to be higher than that of glucose 6-phosphate. This indicated either compartmentation of a small but metabolically very active pool of glucose 6-phosphate, or the existence of a hitherto unknown pathway of metabolism in which glucose 1-phosphate is the primary reaction product. For a number of reasons the authors prefer the first explanation, which could also account for the observation that in the perfused normal working and non-working heart the specific radioactivity of fructose 6-phosphate was always found to be higher than that of glucose 6-phosphate. This difference disappeared or was reversed in the rat hearts rendered insulin-insufficent by either streptozotocin or anti-insulin treatment.

Animals

Oral glucose augmentation of insulin secretion. Interactions of gastric inhibitory polypeptide with ambient glucose and insulin levels.

Gastric inhibitory polypeptide, or GIP, has been postulated as the major enteric hormonal mediator of insulin release. The release of immuno-reactive GIP (IR-GIP) after oral glucose and its role in insulin release was studied in normal men by the glucose clamp technique. In 24 subjects studied with the hyperglycemic clamp, blood glucose was maintained at 125 mg/dl above basal for 2 h via a primed-continuous IV glucose infusion coupled to a servo-controlled negative feedback system. 40 g glucose per m(2) surface area was ingested at 60 min, and the blood glucose was maintained at the steady-state hyperglycemic level. Plasma IR-GIP and insulin (IRI) levels were measured throughout the 2-h period. IR-GIP levels changed little when IV glucose alone was given; the mean basal value was 305+/-34 (SEM) pg/ml. After oral glucose, IR-GIP levels began to rise within 10 min and reached a peak within 40 min of 752+/-105 pg/ml. Plasma IRI responded initially to the square wave of hyperglycemia in the typical biphasic pattern. After oral glucose, plasma IRI levels rose strikingly above the elevated levels produced by hyperglycemia alone, reaching a peak of 170+/-15 muU/ml within 45 min. The time course of the rise in IR-GIP and IRI was nearly identical. To assess whether the maintenance of euglycemia would affect this process, the euglycemic clamp was employed in 11 subjects to maintain basal blood glucose levels during a similar 2-h study. A primed-continuous insulin infusion, with a constant rate of 120 mU/m(2) per min was given together with a servo-controlled glucose infusion. This resulted in hyper-insulinemia of approximately 300 muU/ml. Glucose was ingested by six subjects at 60 min. Plasma IR-GIP responded to oral glucose similarly to the effect seen in the hyperglycemic studies. No increase in endogenous insulin release was seen despite the increase in IR-GIP when euglycemia was maintained. However, in five of seven subjects given insulin whose blood glucose concentration rose by 20 mg/dl or more after oral glucose, there was an increase in plasma insulin concentration associated with the elevation in IR-GIP. Thus, the effect of glucose-released IR-GIP on insulin secretion is dependent upon the presence of some degree of hyper-glycemia and is not inhibited in the presence of marked hyperinsulinemia.

Adolescent

[Comparison of side effects of infusion of glucose and glucose substitutes at different doses].

Glucose, fructose, sorbitol or xylitol were infused for four hours at different dose levels to metabolically healthy volunteers. The metabolic effects of the so-called glucose substitutes were compared to that of glucose. Even at very high doses (2.0 g/kg bodyweight per hour) of infusion of glucose or fructose a steady state was attained. This, however, was not the case with xylitol or sorbitol at lower doses (i.e. 0.5 g/kg bodyweight per hour), where no steady state was reached. The blood glucose concentration is not influenced by any of the glucose substitutes. During infusion of very high doses of fructose a small increase in serum insulin level is found, however, without any alteration in blood glucose concentration. Glucose as well as glucose substitutes cause an immediate suppression of free fatty acid concentrations in serum. In case of glucose there is a manifold increase in fatty acid concentration after the infusion is terminated. On the other hand, the free fatty acid concentration remains low even several hours following termination of the high-dosed fructose infusion. Theoretically one would expect an increase in triglyceride concentration, at least at the high dosed carbohydrate infusions. In contrast to this theoretical expectation, in the case of glucose and of xylitol a significant reduction of triglyceride concentration in serum was observed. Fructose and sorbitol did not exhibit this effect. Glucose and fructose are well utilized in metabolically healthy subjects. The maximum turnover rates for both polyols are lower. Unlike glucose, the glucose substitutes obviously do not cause any serious disturbation in hormonal regulations. Only in the case of glucose, counterregulation is seen following the termination of the infusion.

Adult

Transport of D-glucose and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose in the cyanobacteria Aphanocapsa 6714 and Nostoc strain Mac.

1. The cyanobacterium Aphanocapsa 6714 which grow in the dark on D-glucose, will take up D-glucose and the analogue 3-O-methyl-D-glucose; uptake of each of these compounds was inhibited competitively by the other and by 6-deoxy-D-glucose. 2. This cyanobacterium accumulated 3-O-methyl-D-glucose up to 100-fold relative to the medium but did not modify or metabolize it to a significant degree. 3. Intracellular 3-O-methyl-D-glucose was rapidly displaced from Aphanocapsa 6714 by exogenous D-glucose and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose. 4. Although not characterized to the same extent, D-glucose and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose uptake by Nostoc strain Mac, another cyanobacterium capable of growth in the dark on D-glucose, was similar. 5. Other cyanobacteria that do not grow on D-glucose take up this compound at much lower rates which were unaffected by analogues of D-glucose that greatly reduced carbohydrate uptake by Aphanocapsa 6714 and Nostoc strain Mac. 6. It is therefore proposed that Aphanocapsa 6714 and Nostoc strain Mac possess a mechanism for the active transport of D-glucose. The absence of this transport mechanism is suggested as the reason why other strains fail to grow in the dark on this substrate. These latter organisms are therefore naturally cryptic with respect to D-glucose as a growth substrate.

Biological Transport, Active

Long-term effects of a low extracellular glucose concentration on glucose metabolism and insulin biosynthesis and release of mouse pancreatic islets maintained in tissue culture.

In order to study the long-term effects of a low extracellular glucose concentration on the metabolism and insulin production of the pancreatic B-cells a tissue culture system was applied in which isolated mouse pancreatic islets were maintained for 1 week in vitro at a glucose concentration of 0.6 mg/ml. Short-term experiments at the end of the culture period showed that both the oxygen uptake and the glucose oxidation were depressed but could be stimulated by increasing the glucose concentration of the incubation medium. Although incorporation of [3H]leucine into proinsulin and insulin was markedly depressed it could still be enhanced by increasing the glucose concentration of the incubation medium. By contrast, the insulin release could not be stimulated with glucose alone but with glucose plus theophylline a subnormal stimulation was achieved. The insulin response to glucose was, however, maintained when the glucose concentration of the culture medium was equal to or above 0.75 mg/ml. Similarly, the glucose sensitivity of the low-glucose cultured B-cells could be restored by raising the glucose concentration of the culture medium to 1.1 or 3.0 mg/ml during the last 2 days of culture. The results suggest that the insulin biosynthesis remains sensitive to glucose even when islets have been previously exposed to a low-glucose concentration for a prolonged period of time. The observations also support the view that the impaired insulin release in response to glucose observed during fasting reflects a lack of glycaemic stimulus to the B-cell.

Animals

Glucose memory of pancreatic B and A2 cells: evidence for common time-dependent actions of glucose on insulin and glucagon secretion in the perfused rat pancreas.

The influence of previous exposure to glucose on the subsequent B- and A(2)-cell secretory responses to arginine was investigated in the perfused pancreas of the rat. Arginine (8 mM) was administered in two brief (9 min) pulses separated by a period of 66 min. In pancreata from 18-h-fasted animals the two pulses of arginine elicited biphasic glucagon secretory responses, while stimulation of insulin release was barely detectable. When 27.7 mM glucose was administered for 30 min during the intervening period up to 20 min before the second pulse of arginine, the glucagon response to arginine was diminished by 55% while the insulin release was markedly increased in comparison with the first pulse. 8.3 mM glucose, when administered before the second pulse of arginine, exerted effects that were smaller but otherwise similar to those of 27.7 mM glucose.The inclusion of 3.9 mM glucose during the stimulation periods with arginine decreased the glucagon and greatly increased the insulin secretory response. Under these conditions, previous exposure to 27.7 mM glucose inhibited the glucagon and enhanced the insulin response to the second stimulatory pulse of arginine to the same relative degree as when arginine was administered alone. Diazoxide (2 mM), when administered together with 27.7 mM glucose, almost completely inhibited insulin release induced by the presence of glucose, yet did not influence the modulation exerted by glucose on the subsequent insulin and glucagon secretory response to arginine. Conversely, these effects of the glucose pulse could not be reproduced by 1 mug/ml of porcine insulin. Previous exposure to glyceraldehyde (10 mM) mimicked the glucose effects.Also, in pancreata from fed rats, previous exposure to 27.7 mM glucose markedly inhibited subsequent arginine-induced glucagon secretion while the concomittant insulin response was enhanced.IT IS CONCLUDED THAT: (a) both A(2)- and B-cell responsiveness is modulated by a previous exposure to glucose which produces opposite effects in the two cell types, (b) this action of glucose does not depend on its insulin-releasing capacity, and (c) instead, a "memory" of glucose is induced as a consequence of the metabolism of the sugar in the A(2) and B cells.

Animals

Glucose metabolism in man: responses to intravenous glucose infusion.

We have determined the effect of unlabeled glucose infusions, with and without added insulin, on glucose metabolism in normal male volunteers by means of the simultaneous primed-constant infusion of 6-3H and U-13C-glucose. Glucose kinetics were measured after 90 min of infusion. When steady state had been reached, endogenous glucose production (2.53 +/- .058 mg/kg . min, X +/- SEM) was suppressed at all rates of exogenous glucose tested (1, 2, and 4 mg/kg . min). The absolute degree of suppression was most marked (75%) at the highest rate of infusion, but the greatest degree of suppression, relative to infusion rate, was at the lowest infusion rate. The control of plasma glucose concentration during the glucose infusion was achieved primarily through regulation of endogenous Ra. The rate of uptake of glucose only increased during the 4 mg/kg . min infusion, even though there were significant elevations in the plasma glucose and insulin concentrations during the 2 mg/kg . min infusion as well. The glucose clearance rate increased only when sufficient insulin was infused with the 4 mg/kg . min glucose infusion to control the hyperglycemia that developed if no insulin was administered. Approximately 43% of the infused glucose was directly oxidized when the infusion rate was 1 or 2 mg/kg . min. That value fell to 32% when the infusion rate was increased to 4 mg/kg . min, regardless of whether insulin was infused or not.

Adult

Impairment of glucose-induced insulin secretion and glucose tolerance during colchicine treatment.

The effect of acute and chronic colchicine treatment on glucose-induced immunoreactive insulin secretion and glucose tolerance was examined in fasting, unanesthetized, and unrestrained rats with indwelling jugular vein and aortic catheters. In the first study, intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed by rapidly administering a glucose pulse (150 mg. intravenously) one hour after acute treatment with colchicine (0.5 mg. per kilogram of body weight, intravenously) or vehicle (control). Acute colchicine treatment caused significant suppression of glucose-induced insulin secretion and also markedly impaired glucose disappearance rates. In the second study, chronic colchicine treatment (in the lower dose of 0.2 mg. per kilogram of body weight, intraperitoneally, daily for 10 days) caused significant suppression of biphasic insulin secretion in response to a primed-constant glucose infusion (150 mg. of glucose pulse followed by 6 mg. per minute constant glucose infusion for 60 minutes) as compared with control rats (vehicle injection, intraperitoneally, daily for 10 days). Due to this marked decrease in biphasic insulin secretion, serum glucose concentrations were significantly higher between 10 and 45 minutes in the colchicine-treated rats than in the control rats. Therefore, acute and chronic colchicine treatment causes marked inhibition of glucose-induced insulin secretion and impairment of glucose tolerance in the intact rat. These observations suggest there is a need to evaluate carbohydrate metabolism in patients receiving colchicine treatment.

Animals

Glucose delivery: a modulator of glucose uptake in contracting skeletal muscle.

To evaluate glucose delivery and neuromuscular activity as modulators of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, rat hindlimbs from pentobarbital-anesthetized rats were perfused in the presence of electrically stimulated muscular contractions. Glucose delivery was varied by altering non-cyclic perfusate flow. When flow was increased from 3 to 12 ml/min glucose disappearance increased from 1.1 +/- 0.2 to 4.0 +/- 0.2 mumol/min per 100 g rat (P less than 0.001). When glucose delivery was held constant, glucose disappearance was unaltered during muscular contractions. Insulin enhanced glucose disappearance, and its effect was unaltered during muscular contractions. Muscular contractions increased oxygen disappearance by two- to 3.5-fold and lactate appearance by 4.5- to fivefold (P less than 0.02). It was concluded that glucose delivery and insulin modulate glucose disappearance in isolated perfused rat hindlimbs. Electrical stimulation of muscle enhances lactate appearance and oxygen disappearance but does not alter glucose disappearance when flow is held constant. Because blood flow to muscle increases during exercise in vivo, increased glucose delivery may be a modulator of the augmented muscle glucose consumption observed under these conditions.

Animals

Glucose turnover in kelp bass (Paralabrax sp.): in vivo studies with [6-3H,6-14C]glucose.

[6-3H,6-14C]glucose was injected via an indwelling arterial cannula in free-swimming, fed, and fasted kelp bass to determine hepatic glucose production, peripheral glucose uptake, minimal glucose mass, mean transit time, and the percent of carbon recycling under the two different nutritional states. Mean plasma glucose levels remained unchanged in fed and fasted fish (48+/-8 vs. 43+/-8 mg/100 ml). During steady-state conditions, glucose replacement rates of fed and fasted fish determined with [6-3H]glucose are similar (0.035+/-0.006 vs. 0.025+/-0.003 mg/min per 100 g) and do not differ from rates determined with [6-14C]glucose (0.035+/-0.005 vs. 0.026+/-0.002). The minimal glucose masses and the mean transit tim-s determined with both isotopes are also similar suggesting that plasma glucose levels and glucose turnover are maintained in fish fasted up to 40 days with no apparent increase in carbon recycling. Nonsteady-state isotope experiments suggest that these fish can alter rates of hepatic glucose production and peripheral uptake in response to hyper- and hypoglycemia.

Animals

Glucose intolerance in uremia. Quantification of pancreatic beta cell sensitivity to glucose and tissue sensitivity to insulin.

The relative contributions of impaired insulin secretion and of tissue insensitivity to insulin to the carbohydrate intolerance of uremia were investigated in 10 chronically uremic subjects. Two types of glucose-clamp experiments were performed in each patient before and after 10 wk of thrice weekly hemodialysis. In both types the blood glucose concentration was maintained at a constant level by the periodic adjustment of a variable glucose infusion with a negative feedback formula.Hyperglycemic clamp. The blood glucose concentration was acutely raised and maintained 125 mg/dl above basal levels for 2 h. Since the glucose concentration was held constant, the glucose infusion rate is an index of glucose metabolism (M). After dialysis M increased in all patients from an average of 4.23 to 6.30 mg/kg body wt per min (P < 0.001). The plasma insulin responses (I) both pre- and postdialysis were biphasic with an early burst within the first 2-5 min, followed by a phase of gradually increasing insulin concentration. After dialysis the plasma insulin response diminished slightly. Consequently, the M/I ratio, an index of tissue sensitivity to endogenous insulin, increased postdialysis in all subjects by an average of 92% (P < 0.01). Euglycemic clamp. The plasma insulin concentration was acutely raised and maintained by a primecontinuous insulin infusion. The blood glucose concentration was held constant at the basal level by a variable glucose infusion as above. M/I again is a measure of tissue sensitivity to insulin (exogenous) and increased in all patients postdialysis by an average of 57% (P < 0.01). In two patients hepatic glucose production was measured with tritiated glucose during the euglycemic clamp and declined by 84% predialysis. A similar decrease (82%) was observed postdialysis. Thus, both the hyperglycemic and euglycemic clamp techniques demonstrated tissue insensitivity to insulin to be the dominant carbohydrate defect in uremia. The surprising apparent lack of consistency in the change in beta cell response postdialysis is explained by the strong inverse correlation between beta cell sensitivity to glucose and tissue sensitivity to insulin (r = -0.920; P < 0.001). Those individuals who showed the most striking improvement in tissue sensitivity to insulin actually decreased their serum insulin response to hyperglycemia; those whose improvement in tissue sensitivity was more modest showed increases in beta cell responses.

Administration, Oral

Effects of alloxan on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, glucose metabolism, and cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate levels in rat isolated islets of langerhans.

Insulin secretion was stimulated and cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) levels were elevated in isolated rat islets by 27.5 mmol/l glucose. Alloxan caused a dose-dependent decrease in both variables with complete obliteration of insulin release at a concentration of 1.25 mmol/l. D-glucose, in the presence or absence of extracellular calcium, or 3-0-methyl-D-glucose (both at 27.5 mmol/l) protected completely against the effects of alloxan on both glucose-induced insulin release and cAMP Levels. 3-0-Methylglucose did not stimulate insulin secretion or elevate cAMP and did not interfere with glucose-stimulated secretion or elevation of cAMP. When glucose-stimulated insulin release was abolished by alloxan, the metabolism of glucose, determined by the rate of 3H2O formation from [5-3H] glucose, was depressed by 20%. It is concluded that alloxan altered the adenylate cyclase system such that it could no longer be stimulated by glucose. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion or elevation of cAMP did not appear essential for glucose to protect against alloxan. Protection by 3-0-methylglucose did not appear to be mediated through an alteration of cAMP metabolism. Alloxan did not inhibit glucose-induced insulin secretion by grossly altering glycolysis.

Alloxan

Abnormal carbohydrate metabolism in chronic renal failure. The potential role of accelerated glucose production, increased gluconeogenesis, and impaired glucose disposal.

To delineate the potential role of disordered glucose and glucose-precursor kinetics in the abnormal carbohydrate metabolism of chronic renal failure, alanine and glucose production and utilization and gluconeogenesis from alanine were studied in patients with chronic compensated renal insufficiency and in normal volunteers. With simultaneous primed injection-continuous infusions of radiolabeled alanine and glucose, rates of metabolite turnover and precursor-product interrelationships were calculated from the plateau portion of the appropriate specific activity curves. All subjects were studied in the postabsorption state. In 13 patients with chronic renal failure (creatinine = 10.7+/-1.2 mg/100 ml; mean+/-SEM), glucose turnover was found to be 1,035+/-99.3 mumol/min. This rate was increased 56% (P = 0.003) over that observed in control subjects (664+/-33.5 mumol/min). Alanine turnover was 474+/-96.0 mumol/min in azotemic patients. This rate was 191% greater (P = 0.007) than the rate determined in control subjects (163+/-19.4 mumol/min). Gluconeogenesis from alanine and the percent of glucose production contributed by gluconeogenesis from alanine were increased in patients with chronic renal failure (192% and 169%, respectively) as compared to controls (P < 0.05 for each). Alanine utilization for gluconeogenesis was increased from 40.2+/-3.86 mumol/min in control subjects to 143+/-39.0 mumol/min in azotemic patients (P < 0.05). The percent of alanine utilization accounted for by gluconeogenesis was not altered in chronic renal insufficiency. In nondiabetic azotemic subjects, mean fasting glucose and immunoreactive insulin levels were increased 24.3% (P = 0.005) and 130% (P = 0.046), respectively.These results in patients with chronic renal failure demonstrate (a) increased glucose production and utilization, (b) increased gluconeogenesis from alanine, (c) increased alanine production and utilization, and (d) a relative impairment to glucose disposal. We conclude that chronic azotemia is characterized by increased rates of glucose and glucose precursor flux and by a relative impairment to glucose disposal. These findings may suggest an underlying hepatic and peripheral insensitivity to the metabolic action of insulin in patients with chronic renal insufficiency.

Adult

Glucose load diverts hepatic gluconeogenic product from glucose to glycogen in vivo.

Intravenous or oral administration of concentrated glucose solution into fasted rats simultaneously injected with 14C-bicarbonate resulted in an inhibition of [14C]glucose release into the blood and in an accelerated [14C]glycogen formation associated with glycogen synthetase activation and phosphorylase inactivation in the liver. The specific activity of glycogen was much higher than that of blood glucose after the glucose load, indicating that glycogen originated from gluconeogenesis rather than blood glucose. These metabolic changes induced by the glucose load were not mediated by endogenous insulin because they were observed to the same extent in rats treated with anti-insulin serum. However, they were mostly, if not totally, abolished by adrenalectomy, which suppressed gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis. Glucose tolerance was markedly impaired not only by anti-insulin serum, which inhibits peripheral glucose utilization, but also by adrenalectomy, which affects hepatic metabolism. It is concluded that a glucose load diverts the final product of hepatic gluconeogenesis from blood glucose to liver glycogen; these metabolic changes in the liver are an important determinant of glucose tolerance.

Administration, Oral

Oxidation of an exogenous glucose load using naturally labelled 13C-glucose. Effect of butylbiguanide therapy in obese mildly diabetic subjects.

The effect of a 14 day-administration of butylbiguanide was investigated in a group of 10 obese patients with mild-to-moderate glucose intolerance. Glucose tolerance was significantly improved, while fasting blood glucose and plasma levels of free fatty acids, insulin and glucagon remained unchanged. The estimation of the amount of the oral glucose load oxidized into CO2 was performed by means of a recently described procedure using "naturally labelled 13C-glucose" as tracer. The curves depicting the oxidation of the exogenous glucose load were similar in shape and magnitude before and after administration of the biguanide; in the latter case, however, slightly higher rates of oxidation of exogenous glucose were recorded during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th hours of the test. These data do not provide evidence that the biguanide-induced improvement in glucose tolerance in patients with mild-to-moderate glucose intolerance is associated with any inhibiting or delaying effect of this type of drug on intestinal absorption (and subsequent oxidation) of the exogenous glucose load. On the contrary, a slight, but statistically significant, increase in the oxidation of exogenous glucose has been observed after butylbiguanide.

Adult

Glucose disposal during insulinopenia in somatostatin-treated dogs. The roles of glucose and glucagon.

The first aim of this study was to determine whether the plasma glucose level can regulate hepatic glucose balance in vivo independent of its effects on insulin and glucagon secretion. To accomplish this, glucose was infused into conscious dogs whose basal insulin and glucagon secretion had been replaced by exogenous intraportal insulin and glucagon infusion after somatostatin inhibition of endogenous pancreatic hormone release. The acute induction of hyperglycemia (mean increment of 121 mg/dl) in the presence of basal levels of insulin (7+/-1 muU/ml) and glucagon (76+/-3 pg/ml) resulted in a 56% decrease in net hepatic glucose production but did not cause net hepatic glucose uptake. The second aim of the study was to determine whether a decrease in the plasma glucagon level would modify the effect of glucose on the liver. The above protocol was repeated with the exception that glucagon was withdrawn (83% decrease in plasma glucagon) coincident with the induction of hyperglycemia. Under this circumstance, with the insulin level basal (7+/-1 muU/ml) and the glucagon levels reduced (16+/-2 pg/ml), hyperglycemia (mean increment of 130 mg/dl) promoted marked net hepatic glucose uptake (1.5+/-0.2 mg/kg per min) and glycogen deposition. In conclusion, (a) physiological increments in the plasma glucose concentration, independent of their effects on insulin and glucagon secretion, can significantly reduce net hepatic glucose production in vivo but at levels as high as 230 mg/dl cannot induce net hepatic glucose storage and (b) in the presence of basal insulin the ability of hyperglycemia to stimulate net hepatic glucose storage is influenced by the plasma glucagon concentration.

Animals