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Biomedical subjects

R N Bergman

Publications and source records attributed to R N Bergman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Role of glucose and insulin resistance in development of type 2 diabetes mellitus: results of a 25-year follow-up study.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterised by resistance of peripheral tissues to insulin and a relative deficiency of insulin secretion. To find out which is the earliest or primary determinant of disease, we used a minimum model of glucose disposal and insulin secretion based on intravenous glucose tolerance tests to estimate insulin sensitivity (SI), glucose effectiveness (ie, insulin-independent glucose removal rate, SG), and first-phase and second-phase beta-cell responsiveness in normoglycaemic offspring of couples who both had type 2 diabetes. 155 subjects from 86 families were followed-up for 6-25 years. More than 10 years before the development of diabetes, subjects who developed the disease had lower values of both SI (mean 3.2 [SD 2.4] vs 8.1 [6.7] 10(-3) I min-1 pmol-1 insulin; p < 0.0001) and SG (1.6 [0.9] vs 2.3 [1.2] 10(-2) min-1, p < 0.0001) than did those who remained normoglycaemic). For the subjects with both SI and SG below the group median, the cumulative incidence of type 2 diabetes during the 25 years was 76% (95% confidence interval 54-99). By contrast, no subject with both SI and SG above the median developed the disease. Subjects with low SI/high SG or high SI/low SG had intermediate risks. Insulin secretion, especially first phase, tended to be increased rather than decreased in this prediabetic phase and was appropriate for the level of insulin resistance. The development of type 2 diabetes is preceded by and predicted by defects in both insulin-dependent and insulin-independent glucose uptake; the defects are detectable when the patients are normoglycaemic and in most cases more than a decade before diagnosis of disease.

Adolescent

BASREP: a method for maintaining euglycemia during somatostatin suppression of pancreatic secretion.

A glucagon infusion algorithm has been developed to reestablish basal glycemia when pancreatic insulin and glucagon secretion are inhibited by somatostatin (SRIF). When insulin alone is infused intraportally during SRIF to replace endogenous hormone release, hypoglycemia is generated by the combined actions of both peptides. In the presence of SRIF infusion, the normal physiologic response to hypoglycemia, i.e. stimulation of glucagon secretion and glucagon-induced increase in hepatic glucose production, has been prevented. Our computer algorithm, "BASREP", was designed to mimic the normal pancreatic counterregulatory response by substituting endogenous alpha-cell secretion with exogenous intraportal infusion. Sequential measurements of glucose concentration are analyzed with a minimal mathematical model of glucose disappearance, adapted to include a variable to describe glucagon stimulation of hepatic glucose production. Based upon the observed change in plasma glucose, BASREP computes after every sample the infusion rate of glucagon necessary to stimulate glucose production and maintain desired glucose level. This method minimizes instabilities and should prove useful in future investigations of glucose metabolism.

Algorithms

Relationship of insulin clearance and secretion to insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic Mexican Americans.

The antecedents of type II diabetes, while still controversial, are thought to involve decreased insulin sensitivity and compensatory hypersecretion of insulin. Mexican Americans have a three-fold excess risk of type II diabetes and non-diabetic Mexican Americans are characterized by hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance. Few data exist, however, on whether there are defects in insulin secretion and/or clearance in this population. We examined insulin sensitivity, secretion and clearance using combined insulin and C-peptide measurements analysed by the minimal model technique of Bergman and colleagues in 10 non-obese, normoglycaemic Mexican Americans and 11 age, sex and obesity-matched non-Hispanic whites. Mexican Americans had significantly decreased insulin sensitivity (SI 4.06 s. 7.56, P = 0.017), higher first phase insulin secretion (1.03 nM vs. 0.72 nM) and decreased insulin clearance (0.099 vs. 0.161) than non-Hispanic whites. Thus, normal Mexican Americans have higher rather than lower insulin secretion suggesting that lower insulin sensitivity may be an early defect in this ethnic group. In addition, they have reduced insulin clearance. Moreover, insulin sensitivity and insulin clearance were positively correlated. We thus speculate that decreased insulin clearance may represent a further autoregulatory mechanism in addition to increased insulin secretion to compensate for decreased insulin sensitivity.

Adult

Short-term hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia improve insulin action but do not alter glucose action in normal humans.

Tissue glucose uptake occurs by insulin-dependent and insulin-independent mechanisms. To evaluate the effect of mild hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia on the parameters responsible for glucose disposal, glucose (1.17 mmol/min) or saline was infused into six healthy male subjects (age 25-38 yr, body mass index 22.1-26.3 kg/m2) for 24 h. Thereafter, while the infusion continued, indexes of insulin sensitivity (SI), glucose effectiveness at basal insulin (SG), basal insulin effect (BIE = SI x basal insulin), and glucose effectiveness at zero insulin (GEZI = SG - BIE) were measured using Bergman's minimal model of insulin action. GEZI provides a measure of the efficiency of glucose to accelerate its own disposal independent of insulin. Twenty-four hours of glucose infusion increased the basal plasma glucose (5.1 +/- 0.1 to 6.4 +/- 0.2 mM, P = 0.001) and insulin (79 +/- 8 to 174 +/- 31 pM, P less than 0.05) levels. Hyperglycemia was also associated with an increase in the insulin response, predominantly in the second-phase component (138 +/- 31 to 258 +/- 66 pM, P less than 0.05). SI (4.8 +/- 1.0 to 8.2 +/- 1.6 x 10(-5) min-1.pM-1, P less than 0.05) and SG (1.7 +/- 0.1 to 2.5 +/- 0.3 x 10(-2) min-1, P less than 0.05) both increased after glucose infusion. The increase in SG was entirely due to the combined increase in basal insulin and insulin sensitivity (BIE 0.4 +/- 0.1 to 1.2 +/- 0.1 x 10(-2) min-1, P = 0.001) since GEZI did not change at all (1.3 +/- 0.1 vs. 1.3 +/- 0.3 x 10(-2) min-1, P = not significant). From these data we conclude that, in normal subjects, the mild hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia occurring during a prolonged glucose infusion improves glucose disposal in the basal state by increasing insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity but does not enhance glucose effectiveness independent of insulin. Both of these changes thus tend to minimize the development of hyperglycemia.

Adult

Restoration of stable metabolic conditions during islet suppression in dogs.

These studies were undertaken to examine the stability of metabolic conditions during islet suppression with fixed-rate insulin and glucagon replacement. Somatostatin was infused peripherally at 0.8 microgram.min-1.kg-1, insulin was infused intraportally at 200 microU.min-1.kg-1, and glucagon was infused intraportally at 0, 0.6, 1, 2, 5, or 20 ng.min-1.kg-1 in conscious overnight-fasted dogs. [3-3H]glucose was infused for measurement of glucose kinetics. During infusion, plasma insulin was 7.2 +/- 0.4 microU/ml. Plasma glucagon rose linearly with glucagon dose, achieving basal levels at 2 ng.min-1.kg-1 infusion (164 +/- 18 vs. basal = 182 +/- 57 pg/ml). Plasma glucose and hepatic glucose output (HGO) decreased from basal at doses 0, 0.6, and 1 ng.min-1.kg-1, increased from basal at doses 5 and 20 ng.min-1.kg-1, and remained close to basal at dose 2 ng.min-1.kg-1 (92 +/- 20 vs. basal = 99 +/- 3 mg/dl and 2.4 +/- 0.2 vs. basal = 2.7 +/- 0.2 mg.min-1.kg-1 for glucose and HGO, respectively; P greater than 0.47). Glucose clearance and blood lactate were also closely matched to basal at dose 2 ng.min-1.kg-1. Coefficients of variation during 2 ng.min-1.kg-1 glucagon infusion (last hour) were 3.4, 4.6, 4.9, and 4.7% for glucose, HGO, clearance, and lactate, respectively. These findings indicate that fasting metabolic conditions, as inferred from blood glucose, lactate, insulin, and glucagon levels, and the rates of glucose production and uptake can be recreated in toto during fixed-rate islet hormone replacement.

Animals

Hepatic glucagon sensitivity and fasting glucose concentration in normal dogs.

We assessed hepatic glucagon sensitivity in overnight-fasted, conscious dogs. Six pancreatic replacement protocols were performed in each of five animals. Somatostatin was infused to inhibit endogenous insulin and glucagon, insulin was replaced intraportally at 200 microU.min-1.kg-1, and glucagon was infused intraportally at 0, 0.6, 1, 2, 5, or 20 ng.min-1.kg-1. One intravenous glucose tolerance test was also performed in each animal for measurement of insulin sensitivity (SI). During hormone replacement at a given glucagon dose, plasma glucose differed substantially among animals (P = 0.003). Therefore the dose required for restoration of euglycemia ("glucagon requirement") varied nearly sevenfold among animals, suggesting appreciable differences in glucagon sensitivity (GS). The latter was quantitated in individual animals as the initial slope of integrated glucose output vs. glucagon concentration. GS varied from 0.22 to 3.9 mg.kg-1.pg-1.ml among various animals and was inversely and significantly related to glucagon requirement. SI varied less (approximately 4-fold) and was not associated with glucagon requirement. These observations suggested that interanimal differences in glucose during hormone replacement were the result of substantial differences in GS. In addition, we found the GS of a given animal to be highly associated (P = 0.01) with its fasting glucose level. We conclude that GS varies substantially, and as such may be an important determinant of the fasting glucose level in normal animals.

Animals

Hypertension and insulin resistance: role of sympathetic nervous system activity.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that heightened sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity contributes to the mechanism by which hypertension is associated with insulin resistance in humans. We performed frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests to determine tissue sensitivity to metabolic effects of insulin (SI) and measured plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels in 21 normotensive and 14 hypertensive Caucasian subjects. Compared with the normotensive subjects, hypertensive subjects had decreased SI (5.4 +/- 0.5 vs. 4.0 +/- 0.7 x 10(-5) x min-1 x pM-1; P = 0.03) but similar plasma NE levels (normotensive: 1.82 +/- 0.12 vs. hypertensive: 1.73 +/- 0.16 nM; P = 0.23). In a multiple regression model, only body mass index (BMI) and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) were significant independent predictors of SI [SI = (-0.513)(BMI) + (-0.058)(MABP) + 23.6; r = 0.748; P = 0.0001]; age, plasma glucose, epinephrine, and NE level did not enter this model. As an additional test of this hypothesis, seven hypertensive subjects were restudied after 10 days of guanadrel therapy to determine whether SI would increase during suppression of SNS activity by guanadrel. Despite a significant reduction in plasma NE levels with guanadrel (baseline: 1.63 +/- 0.18 vs. guanadrel: 0.99 +/- 0.14 nM; P = 0.01), there was no significant change in SI (baseline: 2.97 +/- 0.78 vs. guanadrel: 2.41 +/- 0.54 x 10(-5).min-1 x pM-1; analysis of variance P = 0.57). We conclude that, in the Caucasian population we studied, heightened SNS activity is not essential for the insulin resistance observed in hypertensive humans.

Adult

Diurnal variation in glucose tolerance. Cyclic suppression of insulin action and insulin secretion in normal-weight, but not obese, subjects.

The relative roles of insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and glucose effectiveness to the diurnal rhythm of glucose tolerance were examined in normal-weight (n = 12) and obese (n = 11) subjects. Two frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed in each subject at 0800 on one occasion and 1800 on a separate day. Tests were preceded by identical fasts of 10-12 h. In nonobese subjects, glucose tolerance, expressed as the 10- to 16-min KG value (KGs), was much reduced in the evening (AM 2.98 +/- 0.45, PM 1.86 +/- 0.33 min-1, P less than 0.002). In the obese subjects, tolerance was lower in the morning than normal-weight subjects (2.19 +/- 0.31 min-1), but unlike in nonobese subjects, tolerance was not significantly reduced during the day (1.90 +/- 0.18 min-1, P greater than 0.40). The reduction in glucose tolerance in the normal-weight subjects was caused by diminished insulin sensitivity (parameter S1, AM 15.4 +/- 2.9, PM 10.2 +/- 1.9 x 10(-5) min-1/pM, P less than 0.01) and reduced beta-cell responsivity to glucose. The evening decrease in the latter was reflected both in first-phase plasma insulin (AM 2466 +/- 441, PM 1825 +/- 381 pM/10 min, P less than 0.05) and the potentiation slope (AM 462 +/- 68, PM 267 +/- 35 pM/mM, P less than 0.01). In contrast, consistent with no diurnal variation in glucose tolerance, obese subjects exhibited no decline in insulin sensitivity in the evening (AM 3.6 +/- 0.7, PM 4.9 +/- 1.0 x 10(-5) min-1/pM).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Dose-response relationship between lymph insulin and glucose uptake reveals enhanced insulin sensitivity of peripheral tissues.

To examine the role of transcapillary insulin transport to peripheral insulin sensitivity in vivo, we performed dose-response experiments in which both plasma and thoracic duct lymph insulin and glucose utilization (Rd) were measured in conscious dogs. Euglycemic clamps (n = 22) consisted of a 3-h activation period in which insulin was infused (rates: "physiological" 3.6, 5.4, 7.2 pmol.min-1.kg-1; "pharmacological" 108 pmol.min-1.kg-1), followed by a 3-h deactivation period. [14C]inulin was also infused as a diffusionary marker. Insulin sensitivity was estimated as the ED50. When based on plasma insulin, ED50 was 480 pM. However, when calculated from lymph (i.e., interstitial) insulin measurements, ED50 was 240 pM. Thus, interstitial insulin measurements reveal that insulin sensitivity of peripheral tissues is approximately twice that estimated from plasma insulin and is similar to sensitivity reported for suppression of hepatic glucose production. Furthermore, although [14C]inulin achieved equilibrium between plasma and lymph within 180 min, within the physiological range, steady state plasma insulin was higher than insulin in lymph (306 +/- 18, 474 +/- 42, and 780 +/- 60 pM vs. 180 +/- 18, 318 +/- 12, and 504 +/- 36 pM; P less than 0.0001); plasma insulin achieved steady state faster than lymph insulin (6 +/- 1, 6 +/- 2, and 11 +/- 3 min vs. 29 +/- 4, 16 +/- 6, and 44 +/- 8 min; P less than 0.01) and disappeared faster (5 +/- 2, 7 +/- 2, and 15 +/- 6 min vs. 37 +/- 8, 32 +/- 4, and 43 +/- 9 min; P less than 0.01). The time course of lymph insulin at each dose was similar to that of Rd, and at each dose, unlike plasma insulin, lymph insulin was strongly correlated with Rd (r = 0.93 or better). At pharmacological hyperinsulinemia (plasma 35232 +/- 5250 pM, lymph 27366 +/- 4380 pM), Rd rose faster than lymph insulin and disappeared more slowly than insulin. Thus, lymph insulin data indicate that the periphery is more sensitive to insulin than previously realized from estimates based solely on plasma hormone. Furthermore, lymph insulin is proportional to Rd within the physiological but not pharmacological range of insulin, indicating that transcapillary insulin transport is rate limiting for insulin action in this range. Finally, based on in vivo lymph (i.e., interstitial) insulin measurements, peripheral tissue is almost twice as sensitive to insulin than previously realized.

Animals

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I responsiveness in polycystic ovarian syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To assess insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) action in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Hyperinsulinemia was determined by measuring the insulin responses during a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Quantification of in vivo insulin action was determined by a frequently sampled intravenous (IV) OGTT with minimal modeling analysis. In vitro sensitivity to insulin at physiological and supraphysiological concentrations and to IGF-I was assessed by examining colony formation of two hematopoietic cell populations, burst-forming units of the erythroid line (BFU-E) and human leukemia virus immortalized T-cell lines. (The proliferative responses of BFU-E, a primary tissue explant, are presumably conditioned by factors in the immediate blood-borne environment, whereas proliferative responses of T-cell lines are presumed to reflect intrinsic target-cell hormone sensitivity.) SETTING: Tertiary care research institution. PATIENTS: Eight patients (4 obese and 4 nonobese) with PCOS and three healthy women for reference controls. RESULTS: Nonobese (P less than 0.04) and obese patients with PCOS (P less than 0.01) both demonstrated significant hyperinsulinemia after OGTT. In vivo insulin resistance was observed in both nonobese (P less than 0.03) and obese PCOS subjects (P less than 0.01) using frequently sampled IV OGTT. Both nonobese (P less than 0.03) and obese patients with PCOS (P less than 0.01) had blunted in vitro clonal responses of BFU-E, with normal T-cell line clonal responsiveness to physiological levels of insulin and normal BFU-E and T-cell line clonal responses to IGF-I. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate the following in both nonobese and obese patients with PCOS: (1) there is in vivo hyperinsulinemia and resistance to insulin action on glucose disposal; (2) with BFU-E, there is in vitro resistance to the mitogenic action of insulin but normal responsiveness to IGF-I; and (3) there is normal in vitro mitogenic responsiveness of T-cell lines to both insulin and IGF-I. The intrinsically normal mitogenic responsiveness to insulin and, especially to IGF-I, whether or not under the influence of the bloodborne milieu, provides a mechanism whereby hyperinsulinemia could directly contribute to the ovarian abnormalities that characterize PCOS.

Adult

Search for the hypoglycemia receptor using the local irrigation approach.

To elucidate the loci for the putative glucoreceptors responding to hypoglycemia we introduced 'brain' and 'liver' clamps. Systemic hypoglycemia was induced by insulin infusion while the area of interest (ie. forebrain, hindbrain, portal-hepatic region) was maintained euglycemic via local glucose irrigation. Utilizing this approach, there appear to be no glucoreceptors residing exclusively in either the forebrain or hindbrain which are essential for the sympathoadrenal response to hypoglycemia. This is true for both moderate and severe hypoglycemic conditions. The possibility of a redundant glucoreceptor system within the brain, as suggested by a subsequent study, remains to be confirmed. The portal-hepatic glucoreceptors appear essential to engendering the full counterregulatory response. Establishing euglycemia across the portal-hepatic region inhibits the sympathoadrenal response to moderate hypoglycemia by over 40%. Further, despite prevailing hypoglycemia and significant elevations in counter-regulatory hormones, the liver demonstrated net glucose extraction during the liver clamp, suggestive of overriding neural input to the liver. Thus, the hepatic afferents appear to be very important for the counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia.

Animals

Glucose tolerance and insulin action in rats with renovascular hypertension.

To test whether hypertension can cause hyperinsulinemia or insulin resistance, we performed intravenous glucose tolerance tests at 1 month and euglycemic clamps at 3 months after induction of two-kidney, one clip renovascular hypertension in rats. At 1 month, systolic pressure was higher in 21 clipped than in 12 control animals (161 +/- 5 mm Hg, range 134-187 mm Hg versus 119 +/- 3 mm Hg, range 108-146 mm Hg; p less than 0.001). Glucose tolerance, assessed as the glucose fractional disappearance rate between 3 and 11 minutes after the glucose injection, was similar in the clipped and sham groups (0.059 +/- 0.002 versus 0.056 +/- 0.002 min-1, respectively; p greater than 0.4). The total area under the insulin curve during glucose tolerance tests was also similar in the clipped and sham groups (926 +/- 95 versus 869 +/- 126 microunits/ml x min; p greater than 0.4). There was no significant relation between systolic blood pressure and insulin area during glucose tolerance tests in the clipped group, but there was a positive rectilinear relation in the control group (r = 0.66; p = 0.01). Fourteen animals had euglycemic clamps 2 months after glucose tolerance tests. At that time, systolic pressure (direct femoral measurement) was higher in the seven clipped animals (189 +/- 13 mm Hg versus 122 +/- 5 mm Hg in controls; p less than 0.001). Insulin infusions of 1 and 4 milliunits/min/kg body wt effected similar plasma insulin levels in the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Evidence for entry of plasma insulin into cerebrospinal fluid through an intermediate compartment in dogs. Quantitative aspects and implications for transport.

To study the route by which plasma insulin enters cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the kinetics of uptake from plasma into cisternal CSF of both insulin and [14C]inulin were analyzed during intravenous infusion in anesthetized dogs. Four different mathematical models were used: three based on a two-compartment system (transport directly across the blood-CSF barrier by nonsaturable, saturable, or a combination of both mechanisms) and a fourth based on three compartments (uptake via an intermediate compartment). The kinetics of CSF uptake of [14C]inulin infused according to an "impulse" protocol were accurately accounted for only by the nonsaturable two-compartment model (determination coefficient [R2] = 0.879 +/- 0.044; mean +/- SEM; n = 5), consistent with uptake via diffusion across the blood-CSF barrier. When the same infusion protocol and model were used to analyze the kinetics of insulin uptake, the data fit (R2 = 0.671 +/- 0.037; n = 10) was significantly worse than that obtained with [14C]inulin (P = 0.02). Addition of a saturable component of uptake to the two-compartment model improved this fit, but was clearly inadequate for a subset of insulin infusion studies. In contrast, the three-compartment model accurately accounted for CSF insulin uptake in each study, regardless of infusion protocol (impulse infusion R2 = 0.947 +/- 0.026; n = 10; P less than 0.0001 vs. each two-compartment model; sustained infusion R2 = 0.981 +/- 0.003; n = 5). Thus, a model in which insulin passes through an intermediate compartment en route from plasma to CSF, as a part of a specialized transport system for the delivery of insulin to the brain, best accounts for the dynamics of this uptake process. This intermediate compartment could reside within the blood-CSF barrier or it may represent brain interstitial fluid, if CNS insulin uptake occurs preferentially across the blood-brain barrier.

Animals

Importance of hepatic glucoreceptors in sympathoadrenal response to hypoglycemia.

To ascertain whether hepatic glucoreceptors are important to hypoglycemic counterregulation, a localized euglycemic clamp was employed across the liver during general hypoglycemia. Dogs were infused peripherally with insulin (18-21 pmol.kg-1.min-1) for 150 min to induce systemic hypoglycemia. During the liver-clamp (LC) protocol, glucose was infused via the portal vein to maintain euglycemia at the liver. In control experiments, i.e., matched infusion (MI), glucose was infused peripherally at a rate determined to yield similar arterial glycemia levels in the two protocols. Arterial glucose concentrations were not different between protocols during the final hour of insulin infusion (3.26 +/- 0.21 and 3.25 +/- 0.21 mM during LC and MI, respectively; P = 0.91). Calculated hepatic glucose concentrations during the same period were significantly higher for LC (5.22 +/- 0.23 mM) than for MI (3.25 +/- 0.21 mM). During MI, both epinephrine and norepinephrine rose significantly from basal values of 562 +/- 87 pM and 1.21 +/- 0.19 nM to plateaus of 3691 +/- 1097 pM (P = 0.0001) and 2.38 +/- 0.35 nM (P = 0.0002), respectively. However, during LC, the elevation in epinephrine was suppressed by 42 +/- 8% (P = 0.015) relative to MI. Six of seven animals demonstrated a suppression in the norepinephrine response, averaging 32 +/- 13% (NS, P = 0.068). The glucagon response to hypoglycemia was unaffected by the level of hepatic glycemia. Hepatic hypoglycemia is essential to produce the full sympathoadrenal response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia.

Adrenal Glands

Intravenous insulin infusion to simulate subcutaneous absorption. Bioavailability and metabolic sequelae.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the bioavailability and bioactivity of subcutaneously injected insulin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized block design with six male mongrel dogs as subjects. In protocol 1, purified pork insulin was infused intravenously to simulate the pattern of appearance in the blood that would have been expected from subcutaneous injection. Three intravenous doses (0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 U/kg) were infused on separate days in a pattern (0-300 min) designed to approximately simulate the absorption rate of subcutaneously injected insulin. In protocol 2, interscapular subcutaneous injections of pork insulin at 0.10 U/kg were made. RESULTS: Integrated insulin, decrement in plasma glucose, and maximal glucose clearance for subcutaneous injection experiments were similar to intravenous infusion of equal dose (P greater than 0.10) but significantly different from low-dose infusions (P less than 0.025). Similar results were observed for hepatic glucose output and glucose uptake. Hypoglycemia elicited counterregulatory responses that appeared to be under a threshold differentiated at a plasma glucose of approximately 3 mM. Integrated insulin was plotted against insulin dose to create dose-response curves for intravenous data. The curve was then used to predict the actual appearance rate of insulin in plasma for subcutaneous injection. The estimated bioavailability of subcutaneous insulin was 103.0 +/- 10.5% of the injected dose. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that, in dogs, insulin delivered subcutaneously in the interscapular area is not significantly degraded before absorption, resulting in metabolic effects equal to intravenous insulin infusion of equivalent dose.

Animals

Caval occlusion technique for hepatic venous sampling: a new approach to estimating splanchnic substrate balance in conscious dogs.

We have proposed a new technique for sampling hepatic venous blood in conscious dogs. Sub-hepatic vena caval blood flow was temporarily occluded by a previously implanted inflatable snare so that all blood entering the inferior vena cava was hepatic venous effluent. Hepatic venous blood samples were collected from the inferior vena cava 8 seconds after beginning caval occlusion, with the total interval of flow occlusion lasting 12 to 15 seconds. No behavioral or metabolic alterations were observed when or metabolic alterations were observed when hepatic venous effluent was repetitively sampled using the caval occlusion technique. Net splanchnic glucose balance (NSGB) was measured in conscious dogs receiving saline, glucose or glucagon infusions. NSGB measurements made with the caval occlusion technique were in accord with previous results obtained via tracer methodology or arterio-venous difference techniques utilizing hepatic vein catheterization. The caval occlusion technique thus provides a method for collecting hepatic venous blood samples from conscious animals without the difficulties associated with hepatic vein catheterization.

Abdomen