Petra M. Blix

Determination of free and total insulin and C-peptide in insulin-treated diabetics.

Serum levels of free and total insulin as well as total C-peptide immunoreactivity (C-peptide and proinsulin) and C-peptide were measured in insulin-treated diabetics with circulating insulin antibodies by the addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) before and after acidification. PEG resulted in complete precipitation of insulin antibodies from serum and made it possible to measure free insulin in the supernatant. Incubation of serum at 37δ C. for two hours before addition of PEG resulted in values for free insulin that probably resembled the in-vivo levels most closely. The same method could also be used to remove proinsulin bound to circulating insulin antibodies and permitted the measurement of C-peptide in the supernatant. Clinical studies using this approach indicate that combined measurements of serum free and total insulin and C-peptide provide information that is helpful in understanding the contribution of endogenous and exogenous insulin to the course and metabolic control of insulin-requiring diabetic patients.

Characterization of Seven C-peptide Antisera

The plasma C-peptide immunoreactivity (CPR) in 10 normal subjects varied considerably when measured with different antisera in parallel assays. The CPR level correlated with the blank “CPR” value measured in plasma devoid of C-peptide and to a lesser degree with the sensitivity of the standard curves obtained with the individual antisera. Storage of plasma samples at different temperatures and for different lengths of time before the analyses were carried out resulted In further variation in the CPR results. This was caused by a time- and temperature-dependent fall in CPR, which was more pronounced with some antisera than with others. This sensitivity to storage of plasma did not correlate with the antigenk characteristics of the antisera as determined by their reactivity with 11 specific fragments of the C-peptide molecule. The contribution of human proinsulin to the CPR concentration in normal subjects was considered to be negligible even though the relative immunoreactivity of human proinsulin and C-peptide ranged from 11 to 143 per cent among these antisera. These results suggest that differences in C-peptide antisera are a major reason for the variation in the concentration of circulating CPR as measured in different, C-peptide immunoassays.

The infant of the diabetic mother. Correlation of increased cord C-peptide levels with macrosomia and hypoglycemia

C peptide is secreted by pancreatic beta cells in amounts equimolar with insulin, and its levels provide a direct indication of endogenous fetal levels of insulin despite the presence of maternal insulin antibodies. To determine the presence of hyperinsulinemia and its relation to the development of complications in infants of diabetic mothers, we measured cord serum levels of C peptide in 79 infants of diabetic mothers and 62 infants of nondiabetic mothers. Infants of diabetic mothers had higher cord levels of C peptide, which were significantly associated with neonatal hypoglycemia and macrosomia (P less than 0.001) but not with hyaline-membrane disease. Cord levels of C peptide in infants of diabetic mothers were elevated at the earliest gestational age studied (less than 34 weeks) and were directly related to the severity of maternal diabetes, as assessed by the White classification. We conclude that hyperinsulinemia is present in infants of diabetic mothers and that it is related to some major complications in such infants.

Factitious hypoglycemia. Diagnosis by measurement of serum C-peptide immunoreactivity and insulin-binding antibodies.

In seven patients with factitious hypoglycemia due to the surreptitious injection of insulin, we made the diagnosis by measurements of plasma insulin and C-peptide immunoreactivity (in seven patients), facilitated by the finding of circulating insulin-binding antibodies (in two patients). The simultaneous demonstration of low plasma glucose, high immunoreactive insulin and suppressed C-peptide immunoreactivity represents a triad of results pathognomonic of exogenous insulin administration. Determination of plasma free C-peptide and free insulin permitted patients with high titers of insulin antibodies, including those with a history of insulin-treated diabetes, to be studied and diagnosed in a way similar to that in subjects who had no circulating insulin antibodies.

Three mutant insulins in man

We have previously identified a structurally abnormal insulin in the serum and pancreas of a middle-aged man with diabetes mellitus1,2 which arose from a leucine for phenylalanine substitution at position 24 or 25 of the insulin B chain; further analysis of the patients leukocyte DNA showed that one of the patients insulin alleles had undergone mutation resulting in loss of an MboII restriction site normally present in the human insulin gene3. Two additional and unrelated patients with the same clinical syndrome have now been identified (ref. 4 and unpublished results). All of these patients showed hyperglycaemia typical of diabetes and with marked hyperinsulinaemia typical of insulin resistance, but all three show normal tolerance to exogenously administered insulin. As the opportunity of examining pancreatic tissue from patients suspected of secreting insulin variants is rare, we have developed a method combining HPLC and radioimmunoassay to identify insulin variants isolated from human sera. By this method we have shown that all three patients noted above secrete structurally variant and chemically distinct insulins. In correction of our original assignment, one is identified as [LeuB25]insulin.

Familial hyperinsulinemia due to a structurally abnormal insulin: Definition of an emerging new clinical syndrome.

We have identified a patient with mild diabetes, marked fasting hyperinsulinemia (89 to 130 microU of insulin per milliliter), and a reduced fasting C-peptide: insulin molar ratio of 1.11 to 1.50 (normal, greater than 4). The patient responded normally to exogenous insulin. However, her endogenous immunoreactive insulin showed reduced biologic activity during a glucose-clamp study with hyperglycemia and a reduced ability to bind to the insulin receptor and stimulate glucose transport in vitro. Family studies showed that five additional relatives in three generations had variable degrees of glucose intolerance, marked hyperinsulinemia, and a reduced peripheral C-peptide:insulin molar ratio. Restriction-endonuclease cleavage of DNA isolated from circulating leukocytes in the patient and in family members with hyperinsulinemia revealed loss of the MboII recognition site in one allele of the insulin gene--consistent with a point mutation at position 24 or 25 in the insulin B chain. Other studies using high-pressure liquid chromatography and detailed gene analysis have identified the defect as a serine for phenylalanine substitution at position 24 of the insulin B chain. The secretion of a structurally abnormal insulin should be considered in patients with hyperinsulinemia who respond normally to exogenous insulin and have a reduced C-peptide:insulin molar ratio. Glucose tolerance may range from relatively normal to overtly diabetic.

Metabolic Control in Diabetic Patients: Effect of Insulin-secretory Reserve (Measured by Plasma C-Peptide Levels) and Circulating Insulin Antibodies

We measured circulating hemoglobin A1 (HbA1) and fasting plasma C-peptide concentrations in 100 diabetic patients. Pancreatic insulin reserve showed a negative correlation with HbA1 concentrations in nonobese, insulin-treated patients but not in obese patients, whether they were treated with insulin, oral agent, or diet alone. Patients with fasting C-peptide concentrations above 0.1 pmol/ml had significantly better metabolic control than did those with lower values. Anti-insulin antibodies were measured in 37 patients. There was no correlation between metabolic control and the affinity constants or binding capacities of these antibodies.

Peripheral lactate and oxygen metabolism in man: The influence of oral glucose loading

We investigated the influence of oral glucose loading (100 g) on glucose, lactate, and oxygen metabolism by deep (mainly muscle) and superficial (mainly skin and adipose tissue) forearm tissues. In normal men aged 19 to 32 years (mean +/- SE, 24 +/- 1), basal arterialized venous-deep venous (A-DV) and arterialized venous-superficial venous (A-SV) plasma glucose concentration differences were 4.1 +/- 1.0 (P less than 0.001) and 4.7 +/- 1.0 (P less than 0.005) mg/dL, respectively, but increased markedly following glucose loading. During the first, second, and third hours after glucose ingestion, A-DV differences were 54 +/- 6,43 +/- 3, and 20 +/- 4 mg/dL, respectively, while the corresponding A-SV differences were 39 +/- 4, 17 +/- 2, and 8 +/- 2 mg/dL, respectively. Forearm glucose uptake by deep (FGU-D) and superficial (FGU-S) tissues basally was 0.057 +/- 0.010 and 0.012 +/- 0.002 mg/100 mL forearm/min respectively. From 15 to 180 minutes after glucose loading, mean FGU-D and FGU-S rose to 0.524 +/- 0.083 and 0.056 +/- 0.006 mg/100 mL forearm/min, respectively. Basal A, SV, and DV lactate concentrations were 0.55 +/- 0.04, 0.78 +/- 0.03, and 0.57 +/- 0.04 mmol/L, respectively (A-SV, P less than 0.001; SV-DV, P less than 0.001; A-DV, NS). Lactate production by superficial tissues (0.079 +/- 0.015 mumol/100 mL forearm/min) accounted for 62% of concurrent FGU-S.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A Radioimmunoassay for Circulating Human Proinsulin

A radioimmunoassay for human proinsulin (hPI) has been developed using biosynthetic hPI prepared by recombinant DNA technology as immunogen, standard, and tracer. The antiserum was raised in a guinea pig and then adsorbed against insulin and C-peptide conjugated to Sepharose to improve its specificity. After adsorption of the antiserum, the cross-reactivities to insulin and C-peptide were each <0.2%. Competition studies using in vitro enzymatically split forms of proinsulin demonstrated that the major antigenic determinant recognized was the junctional region between the B-chain of insulin and the C-peptide. The range of the assay extended from 10 to 150 fmol/tube, with a 50% displacement of 45–55 fmol/tube. This sensitivity proved suitable for measurements of serum hPI concentrations during infusion of biosynthetic hPI into normal subjects and type I diabetic subjects. Eightyfive of 89 serum samples from the normal subjects and each of 20 samples from diabetic subjects diluted in parallel with the hPI standard. Since the direct assay sensitivity was not sufficient for measurement of endogenous hPI levels, a simple procedure for quantitative extraction of proinsulin-like material (PLM) from up to 40 ml of plasma on insulin antibody-Sepharose columns was developed. Log it-log slopes were calculated for dilutions of extracts of samples collected in the fasting state and 60 min after 75 g of oral glucose from eight healthy subjects. The slopes of 15 of the 16 samples did not differ significantly from the slope of the hPI standard. The fasting PLM concentration was 5.8 ± 3.0 fmol/ml (mean ± S.D, N = 8) and rose to 22.5 ± 6.7 fmol/ml (N = 6) 60 min after a 75-g oral glucose load. This assay will be useful in characterizing the metabolism and metabolic effects of biosynthetic human proinsulin and its intermediate forms and determining their therapeutic potential, and for measuring endogenous PLM in extracted plasma samples.

Heterogeneity of Circulating Human C-peptide

Values reported for serum C-peptide immunoreactivity in healthy individuals vary considerably. To assess factors that contribute to this finding, three human C-peptide assay systems were developed utilizing three distinct antisera that react differently with various C-peptide fragments. Preparations of natural pancreatic and synthetic human C-peptide standards were compared immunologically in these systems. The curves of the natural C-peptide and the synthetic preparations were not identical. The relative immunoreactivity of each standard varied, depending on the particular antiserum used. Serum C-peptide concentrations varied when measured in the different assay systems. Furthermore, the results of dilution and recovery tests and stability of the C-peptide during storage showed differences among the three assays. Gel filtration of serum indicated heterogeneity within the major C-peptide peak, and, in addition, a smaller peak of lower molecular weight material was present in some samples. Although degradation of serum C-peptide may occur during storage, fragments of C-peptide may also be secreted or arise during in-vivo metabolism. Thus, the present studies indicate the need for careful standardization and checking of each particular assay system before its use in clinical studies.