Increased insulin action in rats with mild insulin deficiency induced by neonatal streptozotocin

The effect of chronic moderate insulin deficiency on in vivo insulin action was studied in young rats after neonatal (day of birth) streptozotocin (n0-STZ model) at a time (4 wk) when basal hyperglycemia is not yet established. The insulin action was quantified in vivo during insulin-glucose clamps performed on anesthetized rats while in the postabsorptive state; under basal or hyperinsulinemic conditions, total glucose production and utilization were assessed with a [3- 3H]-glucose perfusion, and local glucose utilization was estimated by measuring 2-deoxy-D-[1-3H]glucose 6-phosphate accumulation in various tissues. Compared with controls, the 4-wk-old n0-STZ rats were normoglycemic and hypoinsulinemic (P less than 0.05). The basal glucose production rate in the diabetics was significantly greater (P less than 0.05). During the clamp studies, suppression of endogenous glucose production by submaximal (1 nmol/l) or maximal (30 nmol/l) hyperinsulinemia was similar in both groups. Overall glucose utilization in the diabetics was significantly higher in the basal state and, after submaximal or maximal hyperinsulinemia, it remained significantly greater (P less than 0.001) than the corresponding utilization in the controls. This was correlated with an increased stimulation of glucose utilization in soleus muscle, diaphragm, white adipose tissue, and brown adipose tissue. In vitro studies using inguinal adipocytes showed that the glucose oxidative pathway retained normal sensitivity to insulin in the n0-STZ rats while the glucose conversion into lipids was significantly higher at sub-maximal insulin concentration compared with the control group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)