Insulin release is glucose anomeric specific in the human

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Endocrinology
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Glucose exists in alpha and beta anomeric forms.
• Previous animal studies indicated alpha-glucose elicits a stronger insulin response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differential insulinotropic effects of alpha-glucose and beta-glucose anomers in humans.
• To determine if dose influences the anomeric effect on insulin release.

Main Methods:

• Intravenous administration of glucose anomers (alpha-glucose and beta-glucose) to human volunteers at high (0.5 g/kg) and low (3.5 g) doses.
• Frequent blood sampling to measure whole blood glucose and serum insulin levels.
• Analysis of glucose concentrations using ferricyanide and beta-glucose oxidase methods.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in blood glucose or serum insulin levels between anomers at high doses.
• Alpha-glucose significantly stimulated greater insulin release compared to beta-glucose at low intravenous doses.
• The observed anomeric effect was not directly correlated with mutarotation levels.

Conclusions:

• The alpha-glucose anomer elicits a greater insulin release than the beta-glucose anomer in humans, specifically at low intravenous doses.
• Results support the existence of a steric-specific glucose receptor on pancreatic beta-cells involved in rapid insulin secretion.
• While alpha-glucose is a potent stimulator, it does not exclusively trigger this insulin release mechanism.