Effect of monensin on insulin and glucose concentration in rat serum

The effect of monensin, an electroneutral ionophore that exchanges Na+ for H+, is investigated on glucose and insulin concentration in serum of female rats. After monensin administration hyperglycemia is observed. Hyperglycemia is concentration and time dependent. In fact serum glucose starts increasing with 0.5 mg/kg b.w. of monensin and increases sharply till 2.5-3.0 mg/kg b.w. The timing of the appearance shows an increase already after few minutes and keeps increasing reaching its maximum between 30-120 minutes. Hyperglycemia is reversed by insulin; if not treated spontaneously it returns to normality in 4-5 hours. An inverse correlation is observed between insulinemia and glycemia. A significant fall in serum insulin concentration can be observed, with or without glucose-stimulation of insulin release, already after five minutes of treatment. Insulinemia returns to normal values after about two hours. The action of monensin on glycemia might therefore be a reversible inhibition of insulin secretion by the beta-cells of the pancreas.