Effect of hepatic vagotomy on plasma insulin levels during fasting in rats

The present investigation was designed to evaluate the effect of a selective hepatic vagotomy (HV) on the insulin response in rats fasted for 24 h when blood glucose levels were or were not maintained by a constant glucose infusion. Rats were divided into three dietary groups: one group of normally fed rats, one group of 24-h fasted rats, and one group of 24-h fasted rats infused with glucose throughout the fasting period. Each of these groups was subdivided into HV and sham-operated (SHM) rats. Fasting without glucose infusion resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in plasma glucose, liver glycogen, and insulin concentrations and in a significant (p < 0.01) increase in beta-hydroxybutyrate and FFA concentration. Despite the maintenance of plasma glucose concentrations in the glucose-infused groups, the concentrations of liver glycogen and insulin were still decreased (p < 0.01) and the concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate were still increased (p<0.05) at the end of the fasting period. However, no significant differences in insulin or in beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration were found between HV and SHM rats. It is concluded that the decline in plasma glucose concentration during fasting does not totally explain the insulinopenic response to fasting, and that the liver, through the mediation of the hepatic vagus nerve, does not seem to contribute to insulinopenia in 24-h fasted rats.