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A perforated patch-clamp study of calcium currents and exocytosis in chromaffin cells of wild-type and alpha(1A) knockout mice.

Simultaneous recordings of inward whole-cell Ca(2+) channel currents (I(Ca) ) and increments of capacitance as an indication of exocytosis (Delta(Cm)), were performed in voltage-clamped single adrenal chromaffin cells from wild-type and alpha(1A) subunit deficient mice, using the perforated-patch configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Using protocol #1 (one single Ca(2+) channel blocker per cell), to dissect the components of I(Ca), L channels contributed 43%, N channels 35% and P/Q channels 30% to the total I(Ca) of wild-type cells. Using protocol #2 (cumulative sequential addition of 3 microm nifedipine, 1 microm omega-conotoxin GVIA, and 1 microm omega-agatoxin IVA), L, N and P/Q channels contributed 40%, 34% and 14%, respectively, to I(Ca); an R component of around 11% remained. In wild-type mice the changes of Delta(Cm) paralleled those of I(Ca). In alpha(1A) deficient mice the L component of I(Ca) rose to 53% while the P/Q disappeared; the N and R components were similar. In these mice, Delta(Cm) associated to N and R channels did not vary; however, the P/Q component was abolished while the L component increased by 20%. In conclusion, exocytosis was proportional to the relative density of each Ca(2+) channel subtype, L, N, P/Q, R. Ablation of the alpha(1A) gene led to a loss of P/Q channel current and to a compensatory increase of L channel-associated secretion; however, this compensation was not sufficient to maintain the overall exocytotic response, that was diminished by 35% in alpha(1A) -deficient mice. This may be due to altered Ca(2+) homeostasis in these mice, as compared to wild mouse chromaffin cells.

Animals↗

Reduced insulin-mediated glucose uptake by euglycemic clamp in offspring of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Family studies point to an important genetic element in the genesis of type 2 diabetes. A variety of metabolic abnormalities have been documented in offspring of patients with type 2 diabetes. It has not been shown, however, at what age reduced insulin sensitivity is demonstrable using the sensitive the euglycemic clamp technique. To address this issue we screened 425 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients and examined all available (n = 48) normotensive, normoglycemic, non-smoking offspring (mean age 31.4+/-0.9 years) and compared them to 22 healthy offspring of non-diabetic parents (controls). The two groups were of similar age and BMI. Measurements in offspring and controls included baseline IRI, tissue glucose uptake (TGU, using euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique), and 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). TGU was significantly (p < 0.001) lower in offspring of diabetic parents (338.8+/-19.9 (mol/kg/min) when compared to controls (516.6+/-22.2 micromol/kg/min). 24 h systolic ABP was significantly higher (p < 0.02) in propositi compared to controls (121.2+/-2.2 mm Hg and 113.8+/-1.7 mm Hg, respectively). No difference in triglycerides concentration was found. A borderline negative correlation was observed, however, between triglyceride levels and TGU (R = -0.48, p < 0.001). TGU was not related to the presence or absence of diabetic nephropathy in the parents. We conclude: Insulin resistance and various facets of the metabolic syndrome are demonstrable even at age 30 years in young non-obese, normotensive offspring of patients with type 2 diabetes. These disturbances are not related to the presence of microvascular complications in parents.

Adult↗

Amino acid polymorphism Gly 972 Arg in IRS-1 is not associated to lower clamp-derived insulin sensitivity in young healthy first degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes.

The Gly 972 Arg variant in the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) gene may interact with the pathogenesis of common insulin-resistance disorders raising the hypothesis that the mutation may predispose to type 2 diabetes. We examined the codon 972 variant in 144 non-diabetic first degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes (FDR), who underwent extensive phenotyping: Glucose tolerance was determined by an oral glucose load, insulin sensitivity by euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic glucose clamp (glucose metabolic clearance rate, MCR) and body composition by bioelectrical impedance. 20 (14%) of the FDR showed the Gly 972 Arg variant in heterozygous form, 2 (1.3%) probands were homozygous. Carriers of the polymorphism did not differ in MCR independent of body weight and total body fat. The polymorphism does not seem to determine clamp-derived insulin sensitivity. Despite identical fasting plasma glucose, carriers of the polymorphism showed a slightly lower fasting serum insulin and lower insulin response to an oral glucose load but higher glucose concentrations. In an obese subgroup (BMI > 25) the polymorphism did not show a higher frequency and was not associated with lower insulin sensitivity. In the investigated group of young, healthy relatives of type 2 diabetes patients, the frequency of the mutation corresponded to that of a diabetic population. In summary our data show that the polymorphism is not suitable to predict insulin resistance.

Adult↗

Increase in systolic blood pressure and catecholamine level during hyperinsulinemia in a placebo-controlled euglycemic clamp in healthy subjects.

Hyperinsulinemia has been shown to induce vasodilation and activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Whether these effects result in changes in blood pressure (BP) is discussed controversially. We measured BP and catecholamine levels in 50 healthy subjects during a 40-min baseline phase and during a 100-min euglycemic clamp phase. In a double-blind, between-subject comparison, 30 subjects were infused with 1.5mU insulin/kg x min, 20subjects were infused with saline solution. Insulin levels increased during insulin infusion from (mean+/-SE) 23.7 0.6 pmol/l to 406.2+/-3.0 pmol/l, but remained unchanged during placebo infusion. Blood glucose levels were identical during both conditions. Systolic BP increased from 116.6+/-1.5 mmHg to 119.8+/-1.8 mmHg during insulin infusion and decreased from 116.6+/-2.3 mmHg to 114.0+/-2.4 mmHg during placebo infusion (p<0.001, for the difference between the effects of insulin vs. placebo). Heart rate was higher during insulin infusion as compared to placebo infusion (63.8+/-1.9 vs. 60.9+/-2.4 beats/min, p<0.05). Norepinephrine levels increased from 1.25+/-0.09 to 1.58+/-0.12 nmol/l during insulin infusion and remained unchanged during placebo infusion (1.24+/-0.09 vs. 1.29+/-0.11 pmol/l; p<0.001). Epinephrine levels were also higher during insulin as compared to placebo infusion (249.8+/-17.4 vs. 212.8+/-21.1 pmol/l, p<0.001). The changes did not depend on whether the subject experienced his first or second clamp. Data demonstrate reproducable increasing effects of hyperinsulinemia within the normal physiological range on catecholamine release and systolic BP in healthy humans.

Adolescent↗

Insulin resistance syndrome in childhood: associations of the euglycemic insulin clamp and fasting insulin with fatness and other risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to describe in children the relation of fatness and insulin resistance to the risk factors associated with the insulin resistance syndrome and to compare fasting insulin with the euglycemic insulin clamp as a measure of insulin resistance in children. STUDY DESIGN: This was a random selection of participants after blood pressure screening of 12,043 students in the fifth through eighth grades. Euglycemic insulin clamp studies with an insulin infusion rate of 1 mU/kg/min and a variable infusion of 20% glucose to maintain euglycemia, that is, plasma glucose at 5.6 mmol/L. Insulin sensitivity (M(lbm)) is defined as the amount of glucose required to maintain euglycemia (milligrams of glucose infused per kilogram lean body mass per minute). RESULTS: Body mass index was significantly correlated with fasting insulin and significantly inversely correlated with M(lbm). Fasting insulin was significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure in both sexes, all lipids, except high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in males and triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in females, but after adjustment was done for body mass index, it was significantly related only to triglycerides. M(lbm) was significantly correlated only with triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and this did not change after adjustment was done for body mass index. A clustering effect for the risk factors was seen in children in the lowest quartile of M(lbm) (highest degree of insulin resistance) compared with children in the highest quartile of M(lbm) (lowest degree of insulin resistance). CONCLUSIONS: As defined by M(lbm), there is an early association of insulin resistance, independent of body fat, with the risk factors. There is a significant relation between fasting insulin, as an estimate of insulin resistance, and the risk factors, but this is significantly influenced by body fatness. The clustering of risk factors according to level of M(lbm) suggests that adult cardiovascular disease is more likely to develop in children with the greatest degree of insulin resistance.

Adolescent↗

Odorant responses of olfactory sensory neurons expressing the odorant receptor MOR23: a patch clamp analysis in gene-targeted mice.

A glomerulus in the mammalian olfactory bulb receives axonal inputs from olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) that express the same odorant receptor (OR). Glomeruli are generally thought to represent functional units of olfactory coding, but there are no data on the electrophysiological properties of OSNs that express the same endogenous OR. Here, using patch clamp recordings in an intact epithelial preparation, we directly measured the transduction currents and receptor potentials from the dendritic knobs of mouse OSNs that express the odorant receptor MOR23 along with the green fluorescent protein. All of the 53 cells examined responded to lyral, a known ligand for MOR23. There were profound differences in response kinetics, particularly in the deactivation phase. The cells were very sensitive to lyral, with some cells responding to as little as 10 nM. The dynamic range was unexpectedly broad, with threshold and saturation in individual cells often covering three log units of lyral concentration. The potential causes and biological significance of this cellular heterogeneity are discussed. Patch clamp recording from OSNs that express a defined OR provides a powerful approach to investigate the sensory inputs to individual glomeruli.

Aldehydes↗

Gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptor-dependent burst-firing in thalamic neurons: a dynamic clamp study.

Synchronized network responses in thalamus depend on phasic inhibition originating in the thalamic reticular nucleus (nRt) and are mediated by the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). A suggested role for intra-nRt connectivity in inhibitory phasing remains controversial. Recently, functional GABA type B (GABAB) receptors were demonstrated on nRt cells, and the slow time course of the GABAB synaptic response seems ideally suited to deinactivate low-threshold calcium channels. This promotes burst firing, a characteristic feature of synchronized responses. Here we investigate GABAB-mediated rebound burst firing in thalamic cells. Whole-cell current-clamp recordings were obtained from nRt cells and somatosensory thalamocortical relay cells in rat brain slices. Synthetic GABAB inhibitory postsynaptic potentials, generated by a hybrid computerneuron synapse (dynamic clamp), triggered rebound low-threshold calcium spikes in both cell types when peak inhibitory postsynaptic potential hyperpolarization was greater than -92 mV. The threshold inhibitory postsynaptic potential conductance for rebound burst generation was comparable in nRt (7 nS) and thalamocortical (5 nS) cells. However, burst onset in nRt (1 s) was considerably delayed compared with thalamocortical (0.6 s) cells. Thus, GABAB inhibitory postsynaptic potentials can elicit low-threshold calcium spikes in both relay and nRt neurons, but the resultant oscillation frequency would be faster for thalamocortical-nRt networks (3 Hz) than for nRt-nRt networks (1-2 Hz). We conclude, therefore, that fast (> 2 Hz) GABAB-dependent thalamic oscillations are maintained primarily by reciprocal connections between excitatory and inhibitory cells. These findings further indicate that when oscillatory neural networks contain both recurrent and reciprocal inhibition, then distinct population frequencies may result when one or the other type of inhibition is favored.

Animals↗

Voltage clamp fluorometric measurements on a type II Na+-coupled Pi cotransporter: shedding light on substrate binding order.

Voltage clamp fluorometry (VCF) combines conventional two-electrode voltage clamp with fluorescence measurements to detect protein conformational changes, as sensed by a fluorophore covalently attached to the protein. We have applied VCF to a type IIb Na+-coupled phosphate cotransporter (NaPi-IIb), in which a novel cysteine was introduced in the putative third extracellular loop and expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Labeling this cysteine (S448C) with methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagents blocked cotransport function, however previous electrophysiological studies (Lambert G., I.C. Forster, G. Stange, J. Biber, and H. Murer. 1999. J. Gen. Physiol. 114:637-651) suggest that substrate interactions with the protein can still occur, thus permitting study of a limited subset of states. After labeling S448C with the fluorophore tetramethylrhodamine MTS, we detected voltage- and substrate-dependent changes in fluorescence (DeltaF), which suggested that this site lies in an environment that is affected by conformational change in the protein. DeltaF was substrate dependent (no DeltaF was detectable in 0 mM Na+) and showed little correlation with presteady-state charge movements, indicating that the two signals provide insight into different underlying physical processes. Interpretation of ion substitution experiments indicated that the substrate binding order differs from our previous model (Forster, I., N. Hernando, J. Biber, and H. Murer. 1998. J. Gen. Physiol. 112:1-18). In the new model, two (rather than one) Na+ ions precede Pi binding, and only the second Na+ binding transition is voltage dependent. Moreover, we show that Li+, which does not drive cotransport, interacts with the first Na+ binding transition. The results were incorporated in a new model of the transport cycle of type II Na+/Pi cotransporters, the validity of which is supported by simulations that successfully predict the voltage and substrate dependency of the experimentally determined fluorescence changes.

Animals↗

Glucose, insulin and potassium applied as perioperative hyperinsulinaemic normoglycaemic clamp: effects on inflammatory response during coronary artery surgery.

BACKGROUND: The clinical benefits of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) and tight glycaemic control in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may be partly explained by an anti-inflammatory effect. We applied GIK as a hyperinsulinaemic normoglycaemic clamp for >25 h and quantified its effect on systemic inflammation in patients undergoing CABG. METHODS: Data obtained in 21 non-diabetic patients with normal left ventricular function scheduled for elective coronary artery surgery, who were randomly allocated to a control or GIK group, were analysed. In GIK patients, regular insulin was infused at a fixed rate of 0.1 IU kg(-1) h(-1). The infusion rate of glucose (30%) was adjusted to maintain blood glucose levels within a target range of 4.0-5.5 mmol litre(-1). Plasma concentrations of interleukins 6, 8 and 10, C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) were measured on the day of surgery and on the first and second postoperative days (POD1 and POD2). RESULTS: In the GIK group hypoglycaemia (glucose <2.2 mmol litre(-1)) did not occur, whereas hyperglycemia (glucose >6.1 mmol litre(-1)) developed in 15% of all measurements. In control patients, hyperglycaemia developed in >80% of all measurements in the presence of low endogenous insulin levels. CRP and SAA levels increased in both groups, with maximum levels measured on POD2. GIK treatment significantly reduced CRP and SAA levels. Interleukin levels increased significantly in both groups following cardiopulmonary bypass, but no differences were found between the groups. CONCLUSION: Hyperinsulinaemic normoglycaemic clamp is an effective method of maintaining tight glycaemic control in patients undergoing CABG and it attenuates the systemic inflammatory response in these patients. This effect may partly contribute to the reported beneficial effect of glycaemic control in patients undergoing CABG.

Aged↗

Scanning electron microscopy and gramicidin patch clamp recordings of microvillous receptor neurons dissociated from the rat vomeronasal organ.

Vomeronasal organs from female rats were dissociated and isolated microvillous receptor neurons were studied. The isolated receptor neurons kept the typical bipolar shape which they have in situ as observed by scanning electron microscopy. We applied the perforated patch-clamp technique using the cation-selective ionophore gramicidin on freshly isolated and well differentiated receptor neurons. The mean resting potential was -58+/-14 mV (n=39). The contribution of the sodium pump current to the resting potential was demonstrated by lowering the K+ concentration in the bath or by application of 100 microM dihydro-ouabain. The input resistance was in the range of 1-6 GOmega and depolarizing current pulses of a few pA were sufficient to trigger overshooting action potentials. In voltage clamp conditions a fast transient sodium inward current and a sustained outward potassium current were activated by membrane depolarization. These observations indicate that freshly isolated vomeronasal receptor neurons of rats can be recorded, using gramicidin, with little modification of the intracellular content. Their electrophysiological properties are very similar to those observed in situ. Four out of eight female vomeronasal receptor cells were depolarized by diluted rat male urine.

Animals↗

Patch clamp analysis of a H+ pump heterologously expressed in giant yeast vacuoles.

Despite the usefulness of the patch-clamp technique, its application to ion pumps and transporters in biomembranes is limited. We developed a novel method for determining the activity of a proton-pumping pyrophosphatase (H(+)-PPase) made of a single protein. We heterologously highly expressed the enzyme in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, prepared giant vacuoles from the cells, and measured a PPi-dependent electrical current of 18 pA (10.5 fA/ micro m(2)) using the patch-clamp technique in the whole-vacuole recording mode. We determined the inhibitor sensitivity and affinity for substrate (K(m), 4.6 micro M). The enzyme number in a giant vacuole (4.2 x 10(6)) and the molecular activity of the expressed H(+)-PPase (14 s(-1)) were determined. An uncoupling-type H(+)-PPase mutant, of which the 263rd glutamate residue was replaced by aspartate, and of which H(+) pump activity was not detected with the fluorescence quenching method, showed a weak current with a high K(m). The high accuracy, effectiveness and applicability of the method for exogenously expressed ion transporters were also discussed.

Biochemical Phenomena↗

Changes in properties of substantia gelatinosa neurons after surgical incision in the rat: in vivo patch-clamp analysis.

BACKGROUND: Noxious information through A delta and C afferent fibers is transmitted to substantia gelatinosa, a process that plays an important role in plastic changes of nociceptive processing in pathophysiological conditions. In this study, changes in properties of substantia gelatinosa neurons and their sensitivity to systemic administration of lidocaine after surgical incision were investigated using the in vivo patch-clamp technique. METHODS: Under urethane anesthesia, in the current clamp mode, spontaneous activities and responses of substantia gelatinosa neurons to nonnoxious air-puff stimuli and noxious pinch stimuli were recorded before and after 1-cm-long incisions had been made in hairy skin of the hindquarters of rats. Systemic administration of lidocaine (2 mg/kg) was applied at 30 min after the incision. RESULTS: Stable recordings for 30 min or more after the incision were obtained from 18 substantia gelatinosa neurons that were classified as multireceptive (n = 8), nociceptive (n = 5), and subthreshold (n = 5) neurons. Action potential firing disappeared immediately after completion of the wound closure in most multireceptive and nociceptive neurons, and sustained spontaneous action potential firing was observed in 23% of these substantia gelatinosa neurons. Responsiveness of these substantia gelatinosa neurons, but not that of subthreshold neurons, increased after the incision. Systemic administration of lidocaine suppressed spontaneous firings of action potentials of the substantia gelatinosa neurons and reversed the increased responsiveness of the neurons. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that (1) changes in properties of substantia gelatinosa neurons after incision vary depending on the classification of substantia gelatinosa neurons and (2) systemic administration of lidocaine can reverse increased responsiveness of substantia gelatinosa neurons after incision injury.

Action Potentials↗

Voltage-clamp errors cause anomalous interaction between independent ion channels.

In voltage-clamp, uncompensated series resistance results in steady-state voltage errors that scale with the amplitude of the elicited current and are often correctable offline. However, while investigating mechanoelectric transduction currents at hair cells' resting potential, voltage-gated calcium channels and calcium-activated potassium channels (BK) were activated in voltage-clamp by displacing the sensory hair bundle. This resulted from steady-state voltage errors (<1.5 mV) induced by series resistance changing the holding potential. Thus, uncompensated series resistance, interacting with an elicited current, resulted in a voltage error that could induce the erroneous activation of other currents. This error is not correctable offline. Recognizing this type of error is critical when investigating multiple voltage-dependent conductances with steep voltage dependence.

Animals↗

Laser microsurgery of higher plant cell walls permits patch-clamp access.

Plasma membranes of guard cells in epidermal peels of Vicia faba and Commelina communis can be made accessible to a patch-clamp pipet by removing a small portion (1-3 micrometers in diameter) of the guard cell wall using a microbeam of ultraviolet light generated by a nitrogen laser. Using this laser microsurgical technique, we have measured channel activity across plasma membranes of V. faba guard cells in both cell-attached and isolated patch configurations. Measurements made in the inside-out patch configuration revealed two distinct K(+)-selective channels. Major advantages of the laser microsurgical technique include the avoidance of enzymatic protoplast isolation, the ability to study cell types that have been difficult to isolate as protoplasts or for which enzymatic isolation protocols result in protoplasts not amenable to patch-clamp studies, the maintenance of positional information in single-channel measurements, reduced disruption of cell-wall-mediated signaling pathways, and the ability to investigate intercellular signaling through studies of cells remaining situated within tissue.

Cell Membrane↗

Effect of an acute hyperinsulinaemic clamp on post-prandial lipaemia in subjects with insulin resistance.

BACKGROUND: Obese, insulin-resistant individuals have raised levels of intestinal and hepatic lipoproteins. Insulin decreases the production of hepatic lipoproteins in vivo and so this study aimed to investigate whether an acute hyperinsulinaemic, euglycaemic clamp could correct fasting and post-prandial dyslipidaemia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a randomized, cross-over design, post-prandial lipaemia was compared in subjects infused either with insulin to achieve a steady-state concentration of 100 mU L(-1) or with saline. Nine obese (Body Mass Index > 26 kg m(-2); waist : hip > 1.0) insulin-resistant (Homeostatic Model Assessment score > 2.0) male subjects were given an oral fat load 3 h after the infusions began, and sampling continued for 6 h. Plasma apoB-48, triglyceride and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) were measured hourly. RESULTS: Average steady-state serum insulin levels during the hyperinsulinaemic clamp were 123 +/- 4.4 mU L(-1). A paired analysis showed no net effect of insulin on post-prandial chylomicron metabolism when calculated as the (apoB-48) incremental area under the curve (IAUC). However, there was a trend towards a delay in the apoB-48 peak, consistent with possible changes in the rates of chylomicron biogenesis, lipolysis and/or clearance. Similarly, post-prandial lipaemia (depicted as triglyceride IAUC) was similar for subjects infused with insulin or saline, but the peak post-prandial response was delayed during insulin infusion. The NEFA were rapidly decreased by 83% after 3 h of insulin infusion. CONCLUSIONS: In obesity and insulin resistance, short-term changes in plasma insulin do not appreciably exert a regulatory effect on exogenously-derived post-prandial lipoproteins. The data suggest that hyperchylomicronaemia in insulin-resistant subjects is a result of chronic aberrations in insulin-mediated regulation of post-prandial lipid metabolism.

Apolipoprotein B-48↗

Patch-clamp analysis of synaptic transmission to cerebellar purkinje cells of prion protein knockout mice.

The prion protein (PrP) plays a pivotal role in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals. Previous experiments have suggested that the normal cellular prion protein (PrPc) is involved in synaptic function in the hippocampus. Here, we utilized the controlled recording conditions of the patch-clamp technique to investigate the synaptic function of prion protein in cerebellar Purkinje cells. By performing whole-cell and outside-out patch-clamp experiments in thin slices, we investigated synaptic transmission in prion protein knockout mice (PrP-null) and control animals. In PrP-null mice, the kinetics of GABA- and glutamate receptor-mediated currents showed no significant deviation from those in control animals. In contrast to previous results in hippocampal neurons, our findings support the view that synaptic transmission is unimpaired in prion protein-deficient mice.

Animals↗

Assessment of glucose turnover rates in euglycaemic clamp studies using primed-constant [3-3H]-glucose infusion and labelled or unlabelled glucose infusates.

Underestimation of glucose turnover rates has been a problem in clamp studies using primed-constant [3-3H]-glucose infusion technique. Due to slow mixing in interstitial compartments concealed specific activity gradients may arise between plasma and interstitial compartments during intravenous unlabelled glucose infusion. Such specific activity gradients, however, can be prevented if plasma specific activity is maintained constant. Two euglycaemic clamp studies (insulin infusion 40 mU m-2 min-1) were performed in six lean normal subjects. Using conventional unlabelled glucose infusates plasma specific activity declined by 74%, tracer determined glucose appearance was smaller than actual glucose infusion rates (317 +/- 11 vs 366 +/- 15 mg m-2 min-1, p < 0.001), and erroneous negative values were calculated for glucose production (- 49 +/- 7 mg m-2 min-1). Average underestimation during the first 2 h correlated with glucose infusion rates (r = 0.88, p < 0.02). In contrast, when plasma specific activity was maintained constant, using appropriately labelled glucose infusates, tracer determined glucose appearance and glucose infusion rates were similar (385 +/- 16 vs 385 +/- 17 mg m-2 min-1), and negative errors for glucose production were avoided. In conclusion, using unlabelled glucose infusates, as in previous studies, suppression of glucose production is overestimated and stimulation of glucose utilization is underestimated. As errors were greater with larger glucose infusions, the mistakes may have been greatest in insulin sensitive control subjects, and smaller in insulin resistant subjects. Therefore, re-evaluation of hepatic insulin sensitivity seems appropriate in diabetes, obesity, and other insulin resistant states.

Adult↗

Oxygen supplementation increases glucose tolerance during euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic glucose clamp procedure in patients with severe COPD and chronic hypoxaemia.

Investigations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have shown impaired glucose tolerance in hypoxic COPD patients, compared with COPD patients with normal arterial blood gases. In healthy subjects, hypoxaemia or stay at altitude, have been shown to alter glucose metabolism. At altitude the effect seems to be dependent on duration of stay. A short stay is associated with insulin resistance, a longer stay gives rise to increased glucose uptake. The euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic glucose clamp technique is a method to study glucose tolerance and enables determinations of glucose clearance in peripheral tissues. We investigated six COPD patients [forced expiratory volume in 1 s 0.7 +/- 0.2 l (mean +/- SD)] with chronic hypoxaemia (PaO(2) 7.9 +/- 0.6 kPa at rest, breathing air), with and without oxygen supplementation, using the glucose clamp technique. Net peripheral glucose uptake was 5.5 +/- 1.2 and 7.1 +/- 1.6 mg (kg*min)(-1) (+29%) breathing air and supplemental oxygen, respectively (P = 0.03). The tissue sensitivity to insulin increased 32% (P = 0.03) with oxygen supplementation. The results indicate that normalization of oxygen saturation in COPD patients with chronic hypoxaemia may have an immediate effect on glucose tolerance and tissue sensitivity to insulin in these patients.

Aged↗