[Effects of exogenous insulin on oxidation of glucose and fatty acid in septic rats]

The effects of exogenous insulin on oxidation of glucose and fatty acid were investigated in septic (n = 20) and control rats (n = 20). Sepsis was induced by ligation and puncture of the caecum. The rats received intravenous nutrition with glucose as a non-protein calorie for 27 hours. Ten rats in each group received insulin intravenously at a rate of 0.64U/kg/hr during the last 6 hours of the intravenous nutrition, U-14C-glucose or 1-14C-linoleic acid at a dose of 1.563 microCi each was injected as a bolus at the 21st hour of the intravenous nutrition. Cumulative 14CO2 production was measured for 6 hours after the injection of the radioactive substrates. 14CO2 production from both glucose and linoleic acid was inhibited by the sepsis. 14CO2 production from glucose was accelerated by exogenous insulin in the control rats, while it was not accelerated in the septic rats. Exogenous insulin did not affect 14CO2 production from linoleic acid in both the control and the septic rats. These results indicate that, under the condition of sepsis, lowering blood sugar level with exogenous insulin does not refLect an increase in oxidation of glucose.