A low frequency of pancreatic islet insulin-expressing cells derived from cord blood stem cell allografts in humans.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We sought to establish if stem cells contained in cord blood cell allografts have the capacity to differentiate into insulin-expressing beta cells in humans. METHODS: We studied pancreases obtained at autopsy from individuals (n = 11) who had prior opposite-sex cord blood transplants to reconstitute haematopoiesis. Pancreatic tissue sections were stained first by XY-fluorescence in situ hybridisation and then insulin immunohistochemistry. Pancreases obtained at autopsy from participants without cord blood cell infusions served as controls (n = 11). RESULTS: In the men with prior transplant of female cord blood, there were 3.4 ± 0.3% XX-positive insulin-expressing islet cells compared with 0.32 ± 0.05% (p < 0.01) in male controls. In women with prior transplant of male cord blood cells we detected 1.03 ± 0.20% XY insulin-expressing islet cells compared with 0.03 ± 0.03 in female controls (p < 0. 001). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Cord blood stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into insulin-expressing cells in non-diabetic humans. It remains to be established whether these cells have the properties of beta cells.

Pancreatic duct replication is increased with obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: In a high-fat-fed rat model of type 2 diabetes we noted increased exocrine duct replication. This is a predisposing factor for pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, both of which are more common in type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study reported here was to establish if obesity and/or type 2 diabetes are associated with increased pancreatic ductal replication in humans. METHODS: We obtained pancreas at autopsy from 45 humans, divided into four groups: lean (BMI <25 kg/m(2)); obese (BMI >27 kg/m(2)); non-diabetic; and with type 2 diabetes. Pancreases were evaluated after immunostaining for the duct cell marker cytokeratin and Ki67 for replication. RESULTS: We show for the first time that both obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans are associated with increased pancreatic ductal replication. Specifically, we report that (1) replication of pancreatic duct cells is increased tenfold by obesity, and (2) lean subjects with type 2 diabetes demonstrate a fourfold increase in replication of pancreatic duct cells compared with their lean non-diabetic controls. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Pancreatic duct cell replication is increased in humans in response to both obesity and type 2 diabetes, potentially providing a mechanism for the increased risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer in those with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes.

Adaptive changes in pancreatic beta cell fractional area and beta cell turnover in human pregnancy.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We sought to establish the extent and basis for adaptive changes in beta cell numbers in human pregnancy. METHODS: Pancreas was obtained at autopsy from women who had died while pregnant (n = 18), post-partum (n = 6) or were not pregnant at or shortly before death (controls; n = 20). Pancreases were evaluated for fractional pancreatic beta cell area, islet size and islet fraction of beta cells, beta cell replication (Ki67) and apoptosis (TUNEL), and indirect markers of beta cell neogenesis (insulin-positive cells in ducts and scattered beta cells in pancreas). RESULTS: The pancreatic fractional beta cell area was increased by approximately 1.4-fold in human pregnancy, with no change in mean beta cell size. In pregnancy there were more small islets rather than an increase in islet size or beta cells per islet. No increase in beta cell replication or change in beta cell apoptosis was detected, but duct cells positive for insulin and scattered beta cells were increased with pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The adaptive increase in beta cell numbers in human pregnancy is not as great as in most reports in rodents. This increase in humans is achieved by increased numbers of beta cells in apparently new small islets, rather than duplication of beta cells in existing islets, which is characteristic of pregnancy in rodents.

Minimal model assessment of hepatic insulin extraction during an oral test from standard insulin kinetic parameters.

In this article, a first aim was to develop a minimal modeling approach to noninvasively assess hepatic insulin extraction in 204 healthy subjects studied with a standard meal by coupling the already available meal C-peptide minimal model with a new insulin model. The ingredients of this model are posthepatic IDR, which in turn is described in terms of pancreatic ISR and hepatic insulin extraction HE, and a linear monocompartmental model of insulin kinetics. Even if ISR is provided by the C-peptide minimal model, the simultaneous assessment of HE and insulin kinetics is critical, since compensations may arise between parameters describing these two processes. Therefore, as a second aim of this study, a method was developed to predict standard values of insulin kinetic parameters in an individual on the basis of the individual's anthropometric characteristics. The statistical analysis, based on linear regression of insulin kinetic parameters estimated from IM-IVGTT data performed on the same subjects, demonstrated that insulin kinetic parameters can be accurately predicted from age and body surface area. Once kinetic parameters of the new insulin model were fixed to these values, HE profile and indexes during a meal were reliably estimated in each individual, indicating a significant suppression during the meal since the overall index of HE, equal to 60 +/- 1% in the basal state, is reduced to 40 +/- 1% during a meal. However, standard parameters provide an approximation of the individual one; thus, the third aim was to define the impact on estimated indexes of using standard instead of individually estimated values. Our results showed that the 25% uncertainty affecting as an average insulin kinetic parameters of an individual, when they are predicted from age and body surface area, translates into a similar relative uncertainty in the individual's hepatic insulin extraction indexes.

Assessment of insulin action in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus using [6(14)C]glucose, [3(3)H]glucose, and [2(3)H]glucose. Differences in the apparent pattern of insulin resistance depending on the isotope used.

To determine whether [2(3)H], [3(3)H], and [6(14)C]glucose provide an equivalent assessment of glucose turnover in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and nondiabetic man, glucose utilization rates were measured using a simultaneous infusion of these isotopes before and during hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps. In the nondiabetic subjects, glucose turnover rates determined with [6(14)C]glucose during insulin infusion were lower (P less than 0.02) than those determined with [2(3)H]glucose and higher (P less than 0.01) than those determined with [3(3)H]glucose. In IDDM, glucose turnover rates measured with [6(14)C]glucose during insulin infusion were lower (P less than 0.05) than those determined with [2(3)H]glucose, but were not different from those determined with [3(3)H]glucose. All three isotopes indicated the presence of insulin resistance. However, using [3(3)H]glucose led to the erroneous conclusion that glucose utilization was not significantly decreased at high insulin concentrations in the diabetic patients. [6(14)C] and [3(3)H]glucose but not [2(3)H]glucose indicated impairment in insulin-induced suppression of glucose production. These results indicate that tritiated isotopes do not necessarily equally reflect the pattern of glucose metabolism in diabetic and nondiabetic man.

Role of glucagon, catecholamines, and growth hormone in human glucose counterregulation. Effects of somatostatin and combined alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade on plasma glucose recovery and glucose flux rates after insulin-induced hypoglycemia.

To further characterize mechanisms of glucose counterregulation in man, the effects of pharmacologically inducd deficiencies of glucagon, growth hormone, and catecholamines (alone and in combination) on recovery of plasma glucose from insulin-induced hypoglycemia and attendant changes in isotopically ([3-(3)H]glucose) determined glucose fluxes were studied in 13 normal subjects. In control studies, recovery of plasma glucose from hypoglycemia was primarily due to a compensatory increase in glucose production; the temporal relationship of glucagon, epinephrine, cortisol, and growth hormone responses with the compensatory increase in glucose appearance was compatible with potential participation of all these hormones in acute glucose counterregulation. Infusion of somatostatin (combined deficiency of glucagon and growth hormone) accentuated insulin-induced hypoglycemia (plasma glucose nadir: 36+/-2 ng/dl during infusion of somatostatin vs. 47+/-2 mg/dl in control studies, P < 0.01) and impaired restoration of normoglycemia (plasma glucose at min 90: 73+/-3 mg/dl at end of somatostatin infusion vs. 92+/-3 mg/dl in control studies, P<0.01). This impaired recovery of plasma glucose was due to blunting of the compensatory increase in glucose appearance since glucose disappearance was not augmented, and was attributable to suppression of glucagon secretion rather than growth hormone secretion since these effects of somatostatin were not observed during simultaneous infusion of somatostatin and glucagon whereas infusion of growth hormone along with somatostatin did not prevent the effect of somatostatin. The attenuated recovery of plasma glucose from hypoglycemia observed during somatostatin-induced glucagon deficiency was associated with plasma epinephrine levels twice those observed in control studies. Infusion of phentolamine plus propranolol (combined alpha-and beta-adrenergic blockade) had no effect on plasma glucose or glucose fluxes after insulin administration. However, infusion of somatostatin along with both phentolamine and propranolol further impaired recovery of plasma glucose from hypoglycemia compared to that observed with somatostatin alone (plasma glucose at end of infusions: 52+/-6 mg/dl for somatostatin-phentolamine-propranolol vs. 72+/-5 mg/dl for somatostatin alone, P < 0.01); this was due to further suppression of the compensatory increase in glucose appearance (maximal values: 1.93+/-0.41 mg/kg per min for somatostatin-phentolamine-propranolol vs. 2.86+/-0.32 mg/kg per min for somatostatin alone, P < 0.05). These results indicate that in man (a) restoration of normoglycemia after insulin-induced hypoglycemia is primarily due to a compensatory increase in glucose production; (b) intact glucagon secretion, but not growth hormone secretion, is necessary for normal glucose counterregulation, and (c) adrenergic mechanisms do not normally play an essential role in this process but become critical to recovery from hypoglycemia when glucagon secretion is impaired.

Adrenergic mechanisms for the effects of epinephrine on glucose production and clearance in man.

THE PRESENT STUDIES WERE UNDERTAKEN TO ASSESS THE ADRENERGIC MECHANISMS BY WHICH EPINEPHRINE STIMULATES GLUCOSE PRODUCTION AND SUPPRESSES GLUCOSE CLEARANCE IN MAN: epinephrine (50 ng/kg per min) was infused for 180 min alone and during either alpha (phentolamine) or beta (propranolol)-adrenergic blockade in normal subjects under conditions in which plasma insulin, glucagon, and glucose were maintained at comparable levels by infusion of somatostatin (100 mug/h), insulin (0.2 mU/kg per min), and variable amounts of glucose. In additional experiments, to control for the effects of the hyperglycemia caused by epinephrine, variable amounts of glucose without epinephrine were infused along with somatostatin and insulin to produce hyperglycemia comparable with that observed during infusion of epinephrine. This glucose infusion suppressed glucose production from basal rates of 1.8+/-0.1 to 0.0+/-0.1 mg/kg per min (P < 0.01), but did not alter glucose clearance. During infusion of epinephrine, glucose production increased transiently from a basal rate of 1.8+/-0.1 to a maximum of 3.0+/-0.2 mg/kg per min (P < 0.01) at min 30, and returned to near basal rates at min 180 (1.9+/-0.1 mg/kg per min). Glucose clearance decreased from a basal rate of 2.0+/-0.1 to 1.5+/-0.2 ml/kg per min at the end of the epinephrine infusion (P < 0.01). Infusion of phentolamine did not alter these effects of epinephrine on glucose production and clearance. In contrast, infusion of propranolol completely prevented the suppression of glucose clearance by epinephrine, and inhibited the stimulation of glucose production by epinephrine by 80+/-6% (P < 0.001). These results indicate that, under conditions in which plasma glucose, insulin, and glucagon are maintained constant, epinephrine stimulates glucose production and inhibits glucose clearance in man predominantly by beta adrenergic mechanisms.

Effects of a change in the pattern of insulin delivery on carbohydrate tolerance in diabetic and nondiabetic humans in the presence of differing degrees of insulin resistance.

While it is well established that people with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus have defects in both insulin secretion and action, the relative contribution of each to glucose intolerance is not known. Therefore, nondiabetic (lean and obese) and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus subjects were studied on two occasions. On each occasion, insulin secretion was inhibited with somatostatin and glucose was infused in a pattern and amount that mimicked the systemic delivery rate normally observed after ingestion of 50 g of glucose. Insulin also was infused so as to mimic postprandial insulin profiles observed in separate groups of diabetic and nondiabetic subjects after food ingestion. Glucose turnover was measured using the isotope dilution method. A delayed pattern of insulin delivery (i.e., a "diabetic" insulin profile) led to higher (P < 0.05) glucose concentrations in all groups; however, the effects were transient, resulting in only a modest increase in the integrated glycemic responses. An isolated defect in insulin action had little effect on peak glucose concentration; however, it prolonged the duration of hyperglycemia, leading to a 2.5-4.2-fold increase (P < 0.05) in the integrated glycemic response. A combined defect in the pattern of insulin secretion and action was additive rather than synergistic. Both defects caused hyperglycemia by altering suppression of endogenous glucose release and stimulation of glucose disposal. Whereas obese diabetic and nondiabetic subjects had comparable defects in glucose clearance, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus subjects also had defects in hepatic insulin action. Thus, abnormalities in the pattern of insulin secretion and action alone or in combination impair glucose tolerance. An isolated defect in insulin action has a more pronounced and prolonged effect than does an isolated change in the pattern of insulin secretion. Hepatic and extrahepatic insulin resistance results in marked and sustained hyperglycemia.

Influence of body fat distribution on free fatty acid metabolism in obesity.

UNLABELLED: In order to determine whether differences in body fat distribution result in specific abnormalities of free fatty acid (FFA) metabolism, palmitate turnover, a measure of systemic adipose tissue lipolysis, was measured in 10 women with upper body obesity, 9 women with lower body obesity, and 8 nonobese women under overnight postabsorptive (basal), epinephrine stimulated and insulin suppressed conditions. RESULTS: Upper body obese women had greater (P less than 0.005) basal palmitate turnover than lower body obese or nonobese women (2.8 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.1 +/- 0.2 vs. 1.8 +/- 0.2 mumol.kg lean body mass (LBM)-1.min-1, respectively), but a reduced (P less than 0.05) net lipolytic response to epinephrine (59 +/- 7 vs. 79 +/- 5 vs. 81 +/- 7 mumol palmitate/kg LBM, respectively). Both types of obesity were associated with impaired suppression of FFA turnover in response to euglycemic hyperinsulinemia compared to nonobese women (P less than 0.005). These specific differences in FFA metabolism may reflect adipocyte heterogeneity, which may in turn affect the metabolic aberrations associated with different types of obesity. These findings emphasize the need to characterize obese subjects before studies.

Abnormal meal carbohydrate disposition in insulin-dependent diabetes. Relative contributions of endogenous glucose production and initial splanchnic uptake and effect of intensive insulin therapy.

Postprandial hyperglycemia in insulin-deficient, insulin-dependent diabetic subjects may result from impaired suppression of endogenous glucose production and/or abnormal disposition of meal-derived glucose. To investigate the relative contributions of these processes and to determine whether 2 wk of near normoglycemia achieved by using intensive insulin therapy could restore the pattern of glucose disposal to normal, meal-related and endogenous rates of glucose appearance were measured isotopically after ingestion of a mixed meal that contained deuterated glucose in seven lean insulin-dependent and five lean nondiabetic subjects. Diabetic subjects were studied once when insulin deficient and again during intensive insulin therapy after 2 wk of near normoglycemia. Total glucose production was determined by using tritiated glucose and the contribution of meal-related glucose was determined by using the plasma enrichment of deuterated glucose. The elevated basal and peak postprandial plasma glucose concentrations (252 +/- 33 and 452 +/- 31 mg/dl) of diabetic subjects when insulin deficient were decreased by intensive insulin therapy to values (82 +/- 6 and 193 +/- 10 mg/dl, P less than 0.01) that approximated those of nondiabetic subjects (93 +/- 3 and 140 +/- 15 mg/dl, respectively). Total and endogenous rates of glucose appearance (3,091 +/- 523 and 1,814 +/- 474 mg/kg per 8 h) in the diabetic subjects were significantly (P less than 0.02) greater than those in non-diabetic subjects (1,718 +/- 34 and 620 +/- 98 mg/kg per 8 h, respectively), whereas meal-derived rates of glucose appearance did not differ. Intensive insulin therapy decreased (P less than 0.01) both total (1,581 +/- 98 mg/kg per 8 h) and endogenous (478 +/- 67 mg/kg per 8 h) glucose appearance to rates that approximated those observed in the nondiabetic subjects, but did not alter meal-related glucose appearance. Thus, excessive entry of glucose into the peripheral circulation in insulin-deficient diabetic patients after ingestion of a mixed meal resulted from a lack of appropriate suppression of endogenous glucose production rather than impairment of initial splanchnic glucose uptake. Intensive insulin therapy restored postprandial suppression of endogenous glucose production to rates observed in nondiabetic subjects.

Postprandial hyperglycemia in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Role of hepatic and extrahepatic tissues.

Patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) have both preprandial and postprandial hyperglycemia. To determine the mechanism responsible for the postprandial hyperglycemia, insulin secretion, insulin action, and the pattern of carbohydrate metabolism after glucose ingestion were assessed in patients with NIDDM and in matched nondiabetic subjects using the dual isotope and forearm catheterization techniques. Prior to meal ingestion, hepatic glucose release was increased (P less than 0.001) in the diabetic patients measured using [2-3H] or [3-3H] glucose. After meal ingestion, patients with NIDDM had excessive rates of systemic glucose entry (1,316 +/- 56 vs. 1,018 +/- 65 mg/kg X 7 h, P less than 0.01), primarily owing to a failure to suppress adequately endogenous glucose release (680 +/- 50 vs. 470 +/- 32 mg/kg X 7 h, P less than 0.01) from its high preprandial level. Despite impaired suppression of endogenous glucose production during a hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp (P less than 0.001) and decreased postprandial C-peptide response (P less than 0.05) in NIDDM, percent suppression of hepatic glucose release after oral glucose was comparable in the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects (45 +/- 3 vs. 39 +/- 2%). Although new glucose formation from meal-derived three-carbon precursors (53 +/- 3 vs. 40 +/- 7 mg/kg X 7 h, P less than 0.05) was greater in the diabetic patients, it accounted for only a minor part of this excessive postprandial hepatic glucose release. Postprandial hyperglycemia was exacerbated by the lack of an appropriate increase in glucose uptake whether measured isotopically or by forearm glucose uptake. Thus as has been proposed for fasting hyperglycemia, excessive hepatic glucose release and impaired glucose uptake are involved in the pathogenesis of postprandial hyperglycemia in patients with NIDDM.

Interaction of fat-stimulated gastric inhibitory polypeptide on pancreatic alpha and beta cell function.

Gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) is considered to be the principal mediator of the enteroinsular axis. A glucose-insulin clamp technique was used to study the effects of differing blood glucose levels on the insulinotropic and glucagonotropic actions of fat-stimulated GIP in seven healthy subjects, as well as the effect of physiologic hyperinsulinemia on GIP secretion. Blood glucose levels were clamped for 4 h at 43+/-2 mg/dl (hypoglycemic clamp), 88+/-1 mg/dl (euglycemic clamp), and 141+/-2 mg/dl (hyperglycemic clamp) in the presence of a constant insulin infusion (100 m U/kg per h). Under hypoglycemic clamp conditions there was no increase in C-peptide nor glucagon after Lipomul ingestion, despite an increase of GIP of 51.7+/-8.7 ng/ml per 120 min. Under euglycemic clamp conditions, small and inconsistent increases in C-peptide and glucagon were observed after fat ingestion and a concomitant increase of GIP of 35.2+/-9.4 ng/ml per 120 min. Under hyperglycemic clamp conditions after fat ingestion and a GIP increase of 24.0+/-5.7 ng/ml per 120 min, C-peptide increased from 6.4+/-5 ng/ml to 11.0+/-1.1 ng/ml (P < 0.01) but glucagon did not change. These findings confirm that in healthy man GIP exerts its insulinotropic properties only under hyperglycemic conditions and indicate that GIP is not glucagonotropic. Under euglycemic clamp conditions (plasma glucose, 89+/-1 mg/dl) and physiologic hyperinsulinemia (serum immunoreactive insulin, 137+/-3 muU/ml) GIP responses to fat ingestion (39.7+/-9.8 ng/ml per 120 min) were not different from the GIP responses to fat ingestion in the absence of hyperinsulinemia (39.7+/-11.1 ng/ml per 120 min). Therefore, insulin under normoglycemic conditions does not exert an inhibitory effect on fat-stimulated GIP secretion. The higher GIP response to oral fat in the hypoglycemic clamp, and the lower GIP response in the hyperglycemic clamp compared to the response in the euglycemic clamp suggests an effect of glycemia itself on GIP secretion in the presence of hyperinsulinemia.

Assessment of insulin action and glucose effectiveness in diabetic and nondiabetic humans.

Insulin concentrations in humans continuously change and typically increase only when glucose also increases such as with eating. In this setting, it is not known whether the severity of hepatic and extrahepatic insulin resistance is comparable and whether the ability of glucose to regulate its own uptake and release is defective in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). To address this question, NIDDM and nondiabetic subjects were studied when glucose concentrations were clamped at either 5 mM (euglycemia) or varied so as to mimic the glucose concentrations observed in nondiabetic humans after food ingestion (hyperglycemia). Insulin was infused so as to simulate a "nondiabetic" postprandial profile. During euglycemia, insulin increased glucose disposal in nondiabetic but not diabetic subjects indicating marked extrahepatic resistance. In contrast, insulin-induced suppression of glucose release was only minimally less (P < 0.05) in diabetic than nondiabetic subjects (-1.06 +/- 0.09 vs. -1.47 +/- 0.21 nmol.kg-1 per 4 h). Hyperglycemia substantially enhanced disposal in both groups. Glucose effectiveness measured as the magnitude of enhancement of disposal (0.59 +/- 0.18 vs. 0.62 +/- 0.17 nmollkg-1 per 4 h) and suppression of release (-0.36 +/- 0.12 vs. -0.14 +/- 0.12 nmol.kg-1 per 4 h) did not differ in the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects. In conclusion, when assessed in the presence of a physiological insulin profile, people with NIDDM demonstrate: (a) profound extrahepatic insulin resistance, (b) modest hepatic insulin resistance, and (c) normal ability of glucose to stimulate its own uptake and suppress its own release.

Contribution to postprandial hyperglycemia and effect on initial splanchnic glucose clearance of hepatic glucose cycling in glucose-intolerant or NIDDM patients.

Excessive amounts of glucose enter the systemic circulation when patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) eat a carbohydrate-containing meal. To determine the contribution of hepatic glucose cycling (defined as the net effect of glucose/glucose-6-phosphate cycling and uptake and release of glucose from hepatic glycogen) to postprandial hyperglycemia, diabetic, glucose-intolerant, and nondiabetic subjects were fed mixed meals. The meal contained both [2-3H]glucose (an isotope that is extensively detritiated during hepatic glucose cycling) and [6-3H]glucose (an isotope that is not detritiated during hepatic glucose cycling). Of the 50 g of carbohydrate contained in the meal, approximately 4-8 g underwent hepatic glucose cycling. Although total cycling of ingested glucose did not differ between diabetic, glucose-intolerant, and nondiabetic subjects (361 +/- 67 vs. 494 +/- 106 vs. 322 +/- 44 mumol.kg-1.5 h-1, respectively), the data suggested that hepatic cycling was increased in the diabetic and glucose-intolerant individuals but not in the nondiabetic subjects during the first 2 h after eating. Hepatic cycling during the first 2 h after eating was correlated with the prevailing glucagon concentration (r = 0.6, P less than 0.01) and increased (P less than 0.05) as hepatic glucose release increased. Hepatic glucose cycling had a marked effect on the measurement of so-called initial splanchnic glucose uptake. Nevertheless, however measured, initial splanchnic glucose uptake was not decreased and, if anything, was increased in diabetic and glucose-intolerant patients. Integrated postprandial hepatic glucose release increased (r less than 0.01) with the severity of fasting hyperglycemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of basal insulin supplementation on disposition of mixed meal in obese patients with NIDDM.

Basal insulin supplementation has been used as a therapy for patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who require insulin. To determine whether basal insulin supplementation in addition to lowering postabsorptive plasma glucose concentration also improves the postprandial pattern of glucose disposition, glucose metabolism after ingestion of a solid mixed meal was assessed in obese patients with NIDDM before and after treatment with ultralente and compared with glucose metabolism observed in nondiabetic subjects. Splanchnic uptake of ingested glucose clearance was assessed by including [2-3H]glucose (a tracer that only minimally cycles through glycogen) in a solid mixed meal. Postprandial gluconeogenesis was estimated by measuring the rate of incorporation of carbon dioxide into glucose. Net glucose and lipid oxidation were measured by indirect calorimetry. Both splanchnic uptake of ingested glucose (27 +/- 1 vs. 14 +/- 2 g) and postprandial hepatic glucose release (51 +/- 5 vs. 24 +/- 3 g) were greater (P less than .001) in diabetic than in nondiabetic subjects. Although the percentage of postprandial hepatic glucose release accounted for by glucose synthesis from bicarbonate was similar in the two groups (25 +/- 2 vs. 35 +/- 5%), the absolute rate was greater in the diabetic patients (13 +/- 1 vs. 8 +/- 1 g; P less than .05). Postprandial glucose oxidation and glucose disposal (measured either isotopically or by the forearm-catheterization technique) were similar in both groups. However, total lipid oxidation was increased in the diabetic patients. (P less than .05). Two weeks of basal insulin supplementation lowered fasting glucose concentrations (from 219 +/- 22 to 144 +/- 21 mg/dl; P less than .01) and integrated postprandial glycemic response (from 814 +/- 68 to 621 +/- 72 min.mg.ml-1) but not to normal. Although circulating insulin concentrations were two- to threefold greater (P less than .02) after 3 mo of basal insulin supplementation, the postprandial pattern of glucose metabolism remained essentially the same. Basal insulin supplementation decreased (P less than .05) both splanchnic uptake of ingested glucose and hepatic glucose release. The addition of a preprandial injection of soluble insulin to basal insulin supplementation further suppressed (P less than .05) postprandial hepatic glucose release, thereby further improving postprandial glucose tolerance. These studies indicate that initial splanchnic glucose clearance, hepatic glucose release, and new glucose synthesis, as well as extrahepatic substrate metabolism, are altered in NIDDM after ingestion of a mixed meal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Underestimation of glucose turnover measured with [6-3H]- and [6,6-2H]- but not [6-14C]glucose during hyperinsulinemia in humans.

Recent studies indicate that hydrogen-labeled glucose tracers underestimate glucose turnover in humans under conditions of high flux. The cause of this underestimation is unknown. To determine whether the error is time-, pool-, model-, or insulin-dependent, glucose turnover was measured simultaneously with [6-3H]-, [6,6-2H2]-, and [6-14C]glucose during a 7-h infusion of either insulin (1 mU.kg-1.min-1) or saline. During the insulin infusion, steady-state glucose turnover measured with both [6-3H]glucose (8.0 +/- 0.5 mg.kg-1.min-1) and [6,6-2H2]glucose (7.6 +/- 0.5 mg.kg-1.min-1) was lower (P less than .01) than either the glucose infusion rate required to maintain euglycemia (9.8 +/- 0.7 mg.kg-1.min-1) or glucose turnover determined with [6-14C]glucose and corrected for Cori cycle activity (9.8 +/- 0.7 mg.kg-1.min-1). Consequently "negative" glucose production rates (P less than .01) were obtained with either [6-3H]- or [6,6-2H2]- but not [6-14C]glucose. The difference between turnover estimated with [6-3H]glucose and actual glucose disposal (or 14C glucose flux) did not decrease with time and was not dependent on duration of isotope infusion. During saline infusion, estimates of glucose turnover were similar regardless of the glucose tracer used. High-performance liquid chromatography of the radioactive glucose tracer and plasma revealed the presence of a tritiated nonglucose contaminant. Although the contaminant represented only 1.5% of the radioactivity in the [6-3H]glucose infusate, its clearance was 10-fold less (P less than .001) than that of [6-3H]glucose. This resulted in accumulation in plasma, with the contaminant accounting for 16.6 +/- 2.09 and 10.8 +/- 0.9% of what customarily is assumed to be plasma glucose radioactivity during the insulin or saline infusion, respectively (P less than .01). When corrected for the presence of the contaminant, glucose turnover determined with [6-3H]glucose during insulin infusion (9.5 +/- 0.6 mg.kg-1.min-1) no longer differed from either the glucose infusion rate or that determined with [6-14C]glucose. Therefore, the underestimation of glucose turnover during insulin infusion and negative glucose production rates observed with traditional methods to analyze plasma radioactivity and commercially available tracers is the result of an artifactual increase in [6-3H]glucose specific activity. The etiology of the underestimation of glucose turnover with [6,6-2H2]glucose remains to be determined.

Mechanism and significance of insulin resistance in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

To determine whether receptor and/or postreceptor abnormalities of insulin action were responsible for insulin resistance in nonobese patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and to assess the role of insulin resistance in their impaired glucose tolerance, insulin dose-response characteristics, insulin binding to monocytes, and insulin secretion were compared in 10 nonobese patients with NIDDM and six age-weight-matched nondiabetic volunteers. The insulin resistance of the diabetics was characterized by a shift to the right of their insulin dose-response curve (Km 81 +/- 4 microunits/ml vs. 58 +/- 2 microunits/ml in the nondiabetics P less than 0.001) but a normal maximal response to insulin. Although monocyte insulin binding was decreased in the diabetics (P less than 0.01), their response to insulin was appropriate for the number of insulin receptors occupied indicating normal postreceptor function. Insulin secretion was markedly reduced in diabetic subjects (52 +/- 22 vs. 471 +/- 90 microunits . ml-1 . 10 min-1 in the nondiabetic subjects, P less than 0.001) and was more strongly correlated with fasting plasma glucose (r = 0.92, P less than 0.001) and intravenous glucose tolerance (Kivgtt) (r = 0.98, P less than 0.001) than was insulin sensitivity (Km) (r = 0.23, NS, and r = 0.57, P less than 0.05, respectively). We conclude that in nonobese patients with NIDDM, insulin resistance is characterized by a shift to the right of the insulin dose-response curve, which can be accounted for solely by an insulin receptor defect. However, in these patients, impaired insulin secretion rather than insulin resistance appears to be the predominant metabolic abnormality.

Effects of plasma glucose concentration on glucose utilization and glucose clearance in normal man.

Glucose clearance (glucose utilization divided by plasma glucose) is commonly used to assess glucose utilization under conditions in which plasma glucose concentrations vary. The validity of this practice requires that glucose clearance itself be independent of plasma glucose concentration. The present studies were, therefore, undertaken to determine the relationship between glucose clearance and plasma glucose concentration in man. Using the glucose clamp technique, rates of glucose utilization (measured isotopically with 3-3H-glucose) and glucose clearance were determined in 5 normal volunteers at steady-state plasma glucose concentrations of approximately 60, 95, 130, and 165 mg/dl, while plasma insulin concentrations were maintained constant (approximately 18 microU/ml) by infusion of insulin and somatostatin. Despite virtually identical 0.4 mg X kg-1 X min-1 increments in glucose utilization for each 35-mg/dl increment in plasma glucose, glucose clearance decreased as a function of plasma glucose concentration (r = -0.85, P less than 0.001). These results indicate that glucose clearance is not independent of changes in plasma glucose concentration and, thus, use of glucose clearance to evaluate glucose utilization of differing plasma glucose concentration is not valid. Whether this conclusion also applies to similar use of clearance for other substrates remains to be determined.

Comparison of insulin-mediated and glucose-mediated glucose disposal in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and in nondiabetic subjects.

To determine whether glucose-mediated as well as insulin-mediated regulation of glucose utilization and glucose production is impaired in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), six nonobese, diabetic patients and seven age-, sex-, and weight-matched nondiabetic subjects were studied. Despite slightly higher free insulin concentrations in the diabetic patients than in the nondiabetic subjects during 0.2 mU/kg X min (22 +/- 3 versus 15 +/- 2 microU/ml) and 1.0 mU/kg X min (98 +/- 10 versus 75 microU/ml) insulin infusions, glucose utilization at plasma glucose concentrations of 95, 135, and 175 mg/dl was lower in the diabetic patients than in the nondiabetic subjects. The increment in glucose utilization per increment in plasma glucose (i.e., slope) in the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects, respectively, did not differ significantly during either the 0.2 (1.7 +/- 1.3 versus 1.4 +/- 0.5 dl/kg X min) or 1.0 (4.4 +/- 1.1 versus 6.2 +/- 1.0 dl/kg X min) mU/kg X min insulin infusions, although they tended to be higher in the nondiabetic subjects during the latter infusion. Thus, although stimulation of glucose utilization by insulin is impaired in patients with IDDM, the ability of an increase in glucose concentration to increase glucose utilization does not appear to differ from that present in nondiabetic subjects, at insulin concentrations in the low physiologic range. Whether differences exist in the high physiologic range remains to be determined.

Effects of tolazamide and exogenous insulin on pattern of postprandial carbohydrate metabolism in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Results of randomized crossover trial.

To determine whether therapy with exogenous insulin or sulfonylureas results in a postprandial pattern of carbohydrate metabolism in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) that resembles that in nondiabetic individuals, we employed a dual-isotope technique combined with forearm catheterization to examine meal disposition in NIDDM patients, before and after 3 mo of therapy with tolazamide and after 3 mo of therapy with exogenous insulin, with a randomized crossover design. Results were compared with those observed in nondiabetic subjects. Although both forms of therapy improved chronic glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin concentration went from 9.6 +/- 0.7 to 7.6 +/- 0.5 and 7.1 +/- 0.2%, respectively, P less than .01), exogenous insulin resulted in a lower postprandial glycemic response than tolazamide (P less than .001). Both agents comparably increased (P less than .01) fasting and integrated postprandial insulin concentrations. However, the initial rate of postprandial increase was greater with exogenous insulin (P less than .05). Tolazamide (P less than .05) but not exogenous insulin increased postprandial C-peptide concentrations. However, tolazamide did not improve the deficient early insulin release. Both agents (P less than .05) lowered postabsorptive hepatic glucose release (from 2.8 +/- 0.3 to 2.3 +/- 0.2 mg . kg-1 . min-1), but not to normal rates (1.8 +/- 0.1 mg . kg-1 . min-1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)