Amylin and amylin-amide lack an acute effect on blood glucose and insulin

Amylin-amide has been implicated in the pathogenesis of type II diabetes due to its proposed inhibitory effect on insulin release from beta cells of the pancreatic islets, and on glucose uptake by the skeletal muscle. In experiments with rats and rabbits we failed to demonstrate these anti-insulin actions of amylin and amylin-amide. A single bolus dose of the two peptides (500 pmol) administered i.v. failed to suppress plasma insulin levels or to elevate blood glucose levels. The continuous infusion of amylin-amide into rabbits also failed to suppress the release of insulin in response to hyperglycaemia produced by an i.v. bolus injection of glucose. These in vivo observations imply that the amylin peptides may not have a primary physiological role in carbohydrate metabolism, but in view of our previous findings, we speculate that the peptide has a more prominent role in calcium homeostasis.