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Clinical Studies |
University Department of Medicine (S.R.P., E.G.), Clinical Sciences Centre and Diabetes Centre (S.R.H.), Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom, S5 7AU; and Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (A.R.H., G.T.T.), Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom, S10 2JF
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Steven R. Peacey, Department of Endocrinology, Christie Hospital, Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 4BX, United Kingdom.
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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-cells during hypoglycemia is poorly
understood. It has been proposed that insulin may have a paracrine
role, by tonically inhibiting glucagon release from adjacent
-cells
(4). The reduction in endogenous insulin secretion, as blood glucose
falls, reduces the intraislet insulin concentration, with resulting
disinhibition of the
-cell and glucagon release.
In patients with type 1 diabetes, the glucagon response to hypoglycemia
declines with increasing duration of disease (5, 6), increasing the
risk of severe hypoglycemic episodes during therapy. However, the
glucagon response to other secretagogues, such as arginine, remains
intact (5, 7), suggesting an afferent defect with failure of the
-cell to recognize hypoglycemia. This could be related to a
disruption of intraislet relationships as the ß-cell population is
progressively destroyed.
There is persuasive evidence from animal models supporting the above hypothesis (8), but the experimental data in human subjects are conflicting (9, 10, 11, 12). The experimental approach in human studies has been to compare the effects of high and low dose peripheral insulin infusions (I). The model produces variable suppression of endogenous insulin secretion depending upon the I rate, with changing portal insulin concentrations generally similar to peripheral insulin concentrations.
We have developed an alternative experimental model of hypoglycemia,
with glucagon responses measured during hypoglycemia, induced by either
insulin or a sulfonylurea [tolbutamide (T)]. We set out to test the
paracrine hypothesis by comparing glucagon responses with hypoglycemia
when the
-cell was exposed to either high or low intraislet insulin
concentrations.
| Subjects and Methods |
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On one occasion (insulin arm), we infused soluble insulin (Human Actrapid, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Crawley, West Sussex, UK; 25 U added to 48 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride and 2 mL autologus blood) at 30 mU/m2·min, into the antecubital vein (IVAC 770, IVAC Corporation, San Diego, CA). On the other (T arm), 1.7 g of T (Hoechst UK Ltd, Hounslow, Middlesex, UK) were given iv over 3 min into the antecubital vein, followed by a continuous infusion of T at 130 mg/h after time = 10 min. A total of 2 g iv T was used in each subject in an attempt to achieve sufficient insulin secretion to maintain blood glucose at 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) for 30 min. The T regimen was devised to achieve near-steady state T concentrations using data from a previous study of T pharmacokinetics (14).
Twenty percent glucose (Baxter Healthcare) was given into the antecubital vein by infusion pump (IVAC 591, IVAC Corporation) and the rate adjusted according to arterialized-venous blood glucose measurements made every 35 min using a glucose oxidase method (YSI 2300, Yellow Springs Instruments, Yellow Springs, OH). Five subjects received T in their first study, and five received insulin, but all were unaware of the experimental conditions.
From time -30 to zero min, basal samples were taken for analysis of insulin, C-peptide, glucagon, and epinephrine. The blood glucose was lowered immediately from the start, to reach and maintain a target nadir of 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L). The rate of fall of blood glucose concentration was matched for the two studies within each individual. Blood was taken for insulin and C-peptide at 5, 10, and 20 min and for insulin, C-peptide, glucagon, and epinephrine at the start of the hypoglycemic plateau and 15 and 30 min later (H0, H15, and H30). Blood samples were separated and stored at -70 C for later assay of epinephrine (15), glucagon (16), C-peptide (17), and total insulin (18).
Portal insulin concentrations were calculated by fitting a least-squares spline to the C-peptide data and insulin secretion rates calculated using a two compartment model, as previously described (19). Model parameters, as described by Polonsky (20), were used and portal venous insulin concentrations estimated, as described by DeFronzo (21), and adjusted for nonsteady-state conditions (22).
Results are expressed as mean ± SEM and P < 0.05 considered significant. We generally combined data in an overall measure of area under the curve (AUC) and compared these by paired t test. Repeated-measures ANOVA with Tukeys analysis was used for serial comparisons of the insulin and C-peptide data. Ethical approval was granted by the Northern General Hospital Research Ethics Committee.
| Results |
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Arterialized-venous whole blood glucose concentrations were
matched during induction of hypoglycemia. The mean time interval
between zero min and the start of the hypoglycemic plateau was similar
in the insulin arm to the T arm [35.0 ± 2.0 (range 3050) min
vs. 34.2 ± 1.8 (range 2545) min]. During the
hypoglycemic plateau (H0H30) blood glucose concentrations were
similar with insulin and T (53 ± 1 mg/dL vs. 53
± 1 mg/dL; 2.9 ± 0.04 mmol/L vs. 2.9 ± 0.05
mmol/L) (Fig. 1
). The Dextrose infusion rates were no
different between studies (AUC, 25 ± 5 ml vs. 20
± 3 mL; P = 0.27) (Fig. 1
).
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During the the insulin arm, the peripheral insulin concentration
remained constant (mean 59 ± 4 mU/L) and was significantly
greater than the peripheral insulin concentration measured during the T
arm, which fell throughout (31 ± 6 mU/L, P <
0.001 at H0; 15 ± 2 mU/L, P < 0.001 at H15;
9 ± 1 mU/L, P < 0.001 at H30). The peripheral
insulin AUC measured from time zero min was significantly greater in
the insulin arm (3732 ± 377 mU/L·min vs. 2101
± 191 mU/L·min, P < 0.02) (Fig. 2
).
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During induction of hypoglycemia, the calculated portal insulin
concentration was greater in the T arm (5 min: 274 ± 22 mU/L,
P < 0.001; 10 min: 221 ± 15 mU/L,
P < 0.001; 20 min: 128 ± 13 mU/L,
P < 0.01) than during the insulin arm (mean 69 ±
3 mU/L), and the peak portal insulin concentration achieved was greater
during the T arm (282 ± 28 mU/L vs. 78 ± 4 mU/L,
P < 0.00005). During the hypoglycemic plateau, the
portal insulin concentration was higher during the insulin study at H30
(63 ± 4 mU/L vs. 13 ± 3 mU/L, P
< 0.05). The portal insulin AUC from time = zero min was greater
in the T arm than in the insulin arm (7581 ± 595 mU/L·min
vs. 4248 ± 442 mU/L·min, P < 0.001)
(Fig. 2
).
Glucagon
Glucagon increased significantly from baseline during both the T
(P < 0.00005) and insulin (P <
0.00005) arms but reached a lower peak value in the T arm, as compared
with the insulin arm (111 ± 8 ng/L vs. 135 ± 12
ng/L, P < 0.05). The glucagon AUC above baseline from
zero min, was significantly lower during the T arm than during the
insulin arm (2336 ± 239 ng/L·min vs. 3141 ±
321 ng/L·min, P < 0.01) (Fig. 3
).
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Epinephrine increased significantly from baseline in both the T
(P < 0.00001) and insulin (P <
0.0005) arms. Peak epinephrine response was similar in both studies
(1.8 ± 0.1 nmol/L vs. 1.9 ± 0.3 nmol/L,
P = 0.6). The epinephrine AUC above baseline from zero
min was similar in both arms (29.5 ± 3 nmol/L·min
vs. 29.0 ± 5.6 nmol/L·min, P = 0.93)
(Fig. 3
).
| Discussion |
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-cell secretion and support the
hypothesis that the glucagon response to hypoglycemia is, at least in
part, modulated through an intraislet
- and ß-cell interaction
(4).
There is strong experimental support for intraislet mechanisms from
animal models (8, 23), but human experimental data are less consistent.
Two studies have reported reduced glucagon responses to hypoglycemia in
normal subjects when peripheral insulin concentrations were
supraphysiological (9, 10), reflecting an inhibitory effect of insulin
on the
-cell, although neither study examined an intraislet effect
directly. However, using a similar experimental design, Davis et
al. (12) found no impairment in glucagon secretion after induction
of hypoglycemia with equally high concentrations of peripheral insulin.
Bolli et al. (11) tested the counterregulatory response to
hypoglycemia in normal subjects after an antecedent infusion of either
high- or low-dose insulin-producing variable C-peptide suppression.
They found no difference in the glucagon response and concluded that
this was strong evidence against the existence of an intraislet role
for insulin in humans in mediating the glucagon response to
hypoglycemia.
The T-glucose clamp has been used to compare portal and peripheral
insulin delivery in humans (24). We previously have used a similar
approach to develop an alternative model of hypoglycemia when comparing
symptomatic, cognitive, and peripheral physiological responses to
hypoglycemia produced by either insulin or T in normal subjects (25).
In the present study, we lowered blood glucose from the start of the
experiment, which resulted in sufficient T-stimulated insulin secretion
to maintain moderate hypoglycemia for 30 min. The considerable
inhibitory effect of glucopenia on insulin secretion (26) was reflected
in the marked fall in calculated portal insulin concentration after 30
min of T-induced hypoglycemia. Nevertheless, the overall estimated
portal insulin concentrations were sufficiently different for us to be
confident that the
-cells were exposed to greater insulin
concentrations during T-induced hypoglycemia.
Our study design prevented us from matching peripheral insulin concentrations in both arms. Because pharmacological insulin concentrations can inhibit glucagon release (9, 10), this raises the possibility that the different glucagon responses are caused by unequal peripheral insulin concentrations. However, the peripheral insulin levels during the T infusion were either equivalent or below those observed during the insulin arm, reflecting the fall in endogenous insulin secretion during hypoglycemia. As we observed not a reduced, but an increased glucagon response during insulin-induced hypoglycemia, we believe that our data are the result of different insulin concentrations within the islets.
The calculated peak portal insulin concentration was some 4-fold
greater during the T arm, compared with the insulin arm. However,
insulin concentrations probably were far higher within the islet during
the early phase of the T infusion because the vascular anatomy within
the islet results in the
-cells receiving blood directly from
adjacent ß-cells (27, 28). It is perhaps surprising that we did not
observe a greater difference in glucagon response, indeed, that any
rise in glucagon occurred during the T arm. One possible explanation is
that the inhibitory effect of a falling blood glucose had overcome
sulfonylurea-stimulated insulin release soon after the onset of
hypoglycemia but that the fall in intraislet insulin concentrations had
not led to a fall in estimated portal insulin concentrations by the end
of the experiment. Alternatively, it suggests that other mechanisms
contribute to glucagon release during hypoglycemia (29, 30).
A reduced glucagon response to hypoglycemia also could occur if T had a
direct inhibitory effect on the
-cell, independent of blood glucose.
We did not include a T control arm in the present study. However, in a
previous study (25), we showed that a T infusion had no effect on
plasma glucagon concentration while blood glucose was maintained at 5
mmol/L for 2 h. Indeed, T has a mild stimulatory effect on
glucagon secretion in ß-cell-deficient type 1 diabetic subjects
(31).
Previous studies have suggested that supraphysiological peripheral insulin concentrations can modify other components of the physiological response to hypoglycemia although the data are conflicting (10, 12). Peripheral insulin levels generally were higher throughout the I arm, yet the epinephrine responses were very similar. These data confirm previous work, indicating that peripheral insulin levels in the high physiological range do not alter the sympathoadrenal response to hypoglycemia (9, 25, 32).
In summary, we have demonstrated that the glucagon response to mild
hypoglycemia is diminished if endogenous insulin secretion is
maintained pharmacologically as blood glucose falls. This model of
hypoglycemia suggests that intraislet insulin secretion contributes to
the release of glucagon from pancreatic
-cells during hypoglycemia
and provides support for a paracrine effect of insulin in man.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received October 7, 1996.
Revised January 8, 1997.
Accepted January 31, 1997.
| References |
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