N M O'Meara

Lack of control by glucose of ultradian insulin secretory oscillations in impaired glucose tolerance and in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Normal subjects demonstrate the presence of ultradian oscillations (period 80-150 min) in insulin secretion rate (ISR) tightly coupled to glucose oscillations of similar period. These oscillations appear to be a function of the feedback loop linking glucose and insulin. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the control by glucose of the ultradian oscillations in insulin secretion is altered in impaired glucose tolerance IGT and in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Patients with NIDDM (n = 7), IGT (n = 4), and matched nondiabetic controls (n = 5) were studied under three separate protocols that involved administration of glucose at either a constant rate of 6 mg/kg per min for 28 h or in one of two oscillatory patterns at the same overall mean rate. The amplitude of the oscillations was 33% above and below the mean infusion rate, and their respective periods were 144 min (slow oscillatory infusion) or 96 min (rapid oscillatory infusion). Insulin, C-peptide, and glucose were sampled at 10-min intervals during the last 24 h of each study. ISRs were calculated by deconvolution of C-peptide levels. Analysis of the data showed that (a) the tight temporal coupling between glucose and ISR in the nondiabetic controls was impaired in the IGT and NIDDM groups as demonstrated by pulse analysis, cross-correlation analysis, and spectral analysis; (b) the absolute amplitude of the ISR pulses progressively declined with the transition from obesity to IGT to NIDDM; and (c) the absolute amplitude of the ISR oscillations failed to increase appropriately with increasing absolute amplitude of glucose oscillations in the IGT and NIDDM subjects compared with the control group. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that important dynamic properties of the feedback loop linking insulin secretion and glucose are disrupted not only in established NIDDM but also in conditions where glucose tolerance is only minimally impaired. Further studies are needed to determine how early in the course of beta-cell dysfunction this lack of control by glucose of the ultradian oscillations in insulin secretion occurs and to define more precisely if this phenomenon plays a pathogenetic role in the onset of hyperglycemia in genetically susceptible individuals.

Abnormalities in the ultradian oscillations of insulin secretion and glucose levels in Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients

SummaryTo investigate the temporal organization of insulin secretion and glucose concentration during fasting in Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, we studied seven patients with Type 2 diabetes, eight obese non-diabetic control subjects and eight normal weight non-diabetic subjects. Blood sampling for glucose, insulin and C-peptide was performed at 15-min intervals during a 24-h period of fasting for the diabetic and the obese control subjects and during an 8-h fasting period for the normal subjects. Insulin secretion rates were calculated from the peripheral C-peptide concentration profiles. Ultradian oscillations of glucose levels and insulin secretion rates were evident during fasting in all subjects. An additional study with blood sampling at 2-min intervals for 8 h further indicated that this ultradian periodicity is expressed independently of rapid 10–15 min insulin oscillations. There were no differences between diabetic and nondiabetic subjects in the frequency of the ultradian oscillations of insulin secretion (which averaged 12–15 oscillations per 24 h) and in the rate of concomitancy of oscillations of insulin secretion with oscillations in glucose levels, which averaged 63–65%. The relative amplitudes of both the insulin and glucose oscillations were also similar in diabetic and nondiabetic subjects. The major abnormality in patients with Type 2 diabetes was evidenced by spectral analysis, and confirmed by calculations of the distributions of inter-pulse intervals. It consisted of a slowing of the glucose oscillations, without a similar slowing of the oscillations in insulin secretion. This slowing of the glucose oscillations in fasting Type 2 diabetic patients is consistent with our previous observations of sluggish and irregular glucose oscillations in diabetic subjects receiving mixed meals. This partial dissociation between the oscillatory patterns of insulin secretion and glucose levels could represent a sensitive quantitative marker of the breakdown of the insulin-glucose feedback loop in diabetes.

Oscillatory Insulin Secretion After Pancreas Transplant

In vivo studies of β-cell secretory function have demonstrated the existence of rapid insulin oscillations of small amplitude recurring every 8–15 min in normal subjects. This study evaluated the effects of pancreas transplant on rapid insulin oscillations. Samples for glucose, insulin, and C-peptide were drawn during constant glucose infusion at 2-min intervals for 90 min from six successful Px patients with type I diabetes mellitus, from six normal nondiabetic control subjects, and from three Kx subjects. A computerized algorithm (ULTRA) was used for pulse detection. In the Px group, the average insulin pulse period was significantly shorter than in both the control and Kx groups (Px 8.1 ± 0.5, control 12.5 ± 0.7, Kx 12.4 ± 0.5 min, P < 0.0005). By contrast, the C-peptide pulse periods (Px 16.8 ± 2.3, control 14.7 ± 1.2, Kx 15.3 ± 1.5 min) were similar in the three groups. Spectral analysis confirmed that the frequency of the insulin pulses was increased in the Px group. The absolute amplitude of the insulin pulses was greater in the Px group (P < 0.001) while the amplitude of the C-peptide pulses did not differ between the groups. Cross-correlation analysis demonstrated maximal correlation coefficients at a lag of 0 min between insulin and C-peptide (control r = 0.33, P < 0.0001; Kx r = 0.17, P = 0.06) and between insulin and glucose (control r = 0.21, P < 0.001; Kx r = 0.20, P < 0.02) in the control and Kx groups, respectively, whereas no significant correlations were observed at any lag in the Px group. Thus, insulin oscillations, which are of larger amplitude and occur with greater frequency than in normal control subjects, may be detected in the peripheral circulation after pancreas transplant. Although their persistence after transplant supports the hypothesis that they reflect the existence of an intrinsic islet cell pacemaker, the increased frequency of the oscillations in the Px group raises the possibility that this intrinsic pacemaker in normal subjects may be modified by extrinsic neural factors.

Postprandial triglyceride response in Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus is not altered by short-term deterioration in glycaemic control or level of postprandial insulin replacement

SummaryThe effect of deteriorating glycaemic control on the lipoprotein responses to the ingestion of a high fat meal was investigated in seven normolipidaemic Type 1 (insulindependent) diabetic patients and the results were compared with corresponding responses in seven normolipidaemic control subjects. In addition, the importance of insulin in regulating the postprandial lipoprotein responses was examined by comparing the results obtained from the diabetic patients maintained on a basal infusion of insulin throughout the study with those obtained when a step-up, step-down insulin infusion was administered following the meal. Vitamin A was added to the test meal in all subjects to trace the metabolism of the chylomicron (Sf> 1000) and non-chylomicron (Sf< 1000) fractions in the postprandial period. No differences in fasting and postprandial triglyceride levels nor in the concentration of the chylomicron and non-chylomicron fractions were observed between diabetic and control subjects. In the diabetic patients short-term (two-week) deterioration in glycaemic control did not have any adverse influence on the basal and postprandial lipid responses. However, while the amount of insulin administered after the meal in the diabetic patients did not have any effect on the postprandial triglyceride or chylomicron responses, the concentration of non-esterified fatty acids was significantly higher (p< 0.0005) when only a basal infusion of insulin was administered. In conclusion: 1) Short-term deterioration in glycaemic control does not adversely affect lipoprotein concentrations in Type 1 diabetes. 2) Non-esterified fatty acids appear to be a more sensitive index of insulinization postprandially than triglycerides.

Alterations in the Patterns of Insulin Secretion Before and After Diagnosis of IDDM

OBJECTIVE To study the natural history of β-cell dysfunction in an individual who developed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) over a 13-month period while under observation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Insulin secretion rates (ISR) in response to intravenous glucose and mixed meals were estimated by deconvolution of C-peptide levels. RESULTS When fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations were still within the normal range, insulin secretory responses to intravenous glucose infusion were reduced, but 80- to 100-min secretory oscillations could still be detected. Sequential glucose infusion studies over a 3-month period demonstrated a progressive reduction in insulin secretion. The tight temporal coupling between ultradian oscillations in ISR and glucose observed in nondiabetic subjects was lost. In response to mixed meals, the oscillatory pattern of secretion was preserved, but the magnitude of the secretory responses was reduced. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that despite the lower absolute secretory rates, ultradian ISR oscillations persist in the period before and immediately after the onset of IDDM in this subject, but they are less tightly coupled to glucose than in nondiabetic subjects.

Effect of glyburide on beta cell responsiveness to glucose in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Since the introduction of glyburide in 1984, many studies have evaluated the effects of this oral hypoglycemic agent on beta cell function in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The early studies, which were performed in patients receiving concomitant insulin therapy, may have underestimated the true effect of glyburide on insulin secretion. The more recent studies demonstrate that both short- and long-term glyburide therapy increase C-peptide levels in diabetic as well as nondiabetic subjects and that the effects of glyburide are comparable to those of the other second-generation sulfonylurea, glipizide. The effects of glyburide on insulin secretory rates calculated from plasma C-peptide levels were recently evaluated using individually derived C-peptide kinetic parameters and a validated open two-compartment model of peripheral C-peptide kinetics. Glyburide did not influence fasting insulin secretion (196 +/- 34 versus 216 +/- 23 pmol/min) but did cause an increase in the total amount of insulin secreted over a 24-hour period (447 +/- 58 versus 561 +/- 55 nmol). This increase in the production of insulin was generated by an increase in amplitude of secretory pulses occurring after lunch and dinner rather than by a greater number of pulses. The full effect of glyburide on the beta cell became evident when glucose concentrations were clamped at the hyperglycemic level of 300 mg/dL both before and during treatment for a 3-hour period. During that time, insulin secretion rates increased by 221 percent in response to glyburide. Glyburide did not, however, completely reverse the beta cell secretory defect characteristic of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In the patients receiving glyburide, the sluggish insulin secretory response to breakfast persisted, and the insulin secretory response during the hyperglycemic clamping was less than the response normally seen in nondiabetic subjects. These experiments suggest that the primary effect of glyburide on the beta cell is to increase its responsiveness to glucose. Although the precise mechanism of action of glyburide at the cellular level is unclear, in vitro studies suggest that its effect is mediated through binding with specific receptors on the beta cell membrane, which in turn leads to alterations in the cellular efflux of potassium ions and influx of calcium ions.