Hepatic effects of glucose and insulin independent of cyclic nucleotide changes

To determine if cGMP might function as a second messenger for insulin, an in situ liver perfusion system was established in which hepatic effects of insulin could be correlated with changes in cyclic nucleotides. Several combinations of insulin (10 mU/ml) and glucose (50 mg/ml) were infused (0.1 ml/min) for 30 min into fasted normal and diabetic rats with removal of a similar volume of blood. Samples of livers were removed at the beginning and end and at various times during the perfusion. In normal animals perfused with buffer alone, hepatic glycogen content fell. When glucose (with or without added insulin) was added to the perfusate, glycogen levels rose. With buffer alone, there was no change in the independent (I) form of glycogen synthase at 10 min but a modest increase at 30 min. With insulin and/or glucose, there as a large increase in the I-form of the enzyme at 10 min and a further rise at 30 min. Neither cGMP nor cAMP changed even though tissue samples were obtained at multiple times throughout the perfusion. Cyclic nucleotides were also measured in liver slices exposed to insulin (1 mU/ml) after 30 min of pre-incubation for stabilization. Although significant increases in cGMP were noted in the tissue exposed to insulin, similar significant rises also occurred in appropriately paired control slices. When glucagon was used in both the in situ perfusion and the paired liver slice systems, the expected rapid and large increases in cAMP levels occurred attesting to the validity of both approaches in evaluating hepatic cyclic nucleotide responses. These results plus the paucity of convincing data in the literature strongly suggest that cGMP can no longer be considered a candidate for the putative second messenger of insulin.