Effect of epinephrine on glucose metabolism in humans: contribution of the liver

1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (2) ◽  
pp. E157-E165 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Sherwin ◽  
L. Sacca

Epinephrine causes a prompt increase in blood glucose concentration in the postabsorptive state. This effect is mediated by a transient increase in hepatic glucose production and an inhibition of glucose disposal by insulin-dependent tissues. Epinephrine augments hepatic glucose production by stimulating glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. Although its effect on glycogenolysis rapidly wanes, hyperglycemia continues because the effects of epinephrine on gluconeogenesis and glucose disposal persist. Epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia is markedly accentuated by concomitant elevations of glucagon and cortisol or in patients with diabetes. In both cases, the effect of epinephrine on hepatic glucose production is converted from a transient to a sustained response, thereby accounting for the exaggerated hyperglycemia. During glucose feeding, mild elevations of epinephrine that have little effect on fasting glucose levels cause marked glucose intolerance. This exquisite sensitivity to the diabetogenic effects of epinephrine is accounted for by its capacity to interfere with each of the components of the glucoregulatory response, i.e., stimulation of splanchnic and peripheral glucose uptake and suppression of hepatic glucose production. Our findings suggest that epinephrine is an important contributor to stress-induced hyperglycemia and the susceptibility of diabetics to the adverse metabolic effects of stress.

Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (11) ◽  
pp. 5200-5211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Zimmermann ◽  
Christopher R. Cederroth ◽  
Lucie Bourgoin ◽  
Michelangelo Foti ◽  
Serge Nef

Abstract Recent evidence points towards the beneficial use of soy proteins and isoflavones to improve glucose control and slow the progression of type 2 diabetes. Here, we used diabetic db/db mice fed a high soy-containing diet (SD) or a casein soy-free diet to investigate the metabolic effects of soy and isoflavones consumption on glucose homeostasis, hepatic glucose production, and pancreatic islet function. Male db/db mice fed with a SD exhibited a robust reduction in hyperglycemia (50%), correlating with a reduction in hepatic glucose production and preserved pancreatic β-cell function. The rapid decrease in fasting glucose levels resulted from an inhibition of gluconeogenesis and an increase in glycolysis in the liver of db/db mice. Soy consumption also prevented the loss of pancreatic β-cell mass and thus improved glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (3-fold), which partly accounted for the overall improvements in glucose homeostasis. Comparison of SD effects on hyperglycemia with differing levels of isoflavones or with purified isoflavones indicate that the beneficial physiological effects of soy are not related to differences in their isoflavone content. Overall, these findings suggest that consumption of soy is beneficial for improving glucose homeostasis and delaying the progression of diabetes in the db/db mice but act independently of isoflavone concentration.


Diabetes ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Best ◽  
R. G. Judzewitsch ◽  
M. A. Pfeifer ◽  
J. C. Beard ◽  
J. B. Halter ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (3) ◽  
pp. E620-E627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianru Jin ◽  
Jianping Weng

GLP-1 and its based drugs possess extrapancreatic metabolic functions, including that in the liver. These direct hepatic metabolic functions explain their therapeutic efficiency for subjects with insulin resistance. The direct hepatic functions could be mediated by previously assumed “degradation” products of GLP-1 without involving canonic GLP-1R. Although GLP-1 analogs were created as therapeutic incretins, extrapancreatic functions of these drugs, as well as native GLP-1, have been broadly recognized. Among them, the hepatic functions are particularly important. Postprandial GLP-1 release contributes to insulin secretion, which represses hepatic glucose production. This indirect effect of GLP-1 is known as the gut-pancreas-liver axis. Great efforts have been made to determine whether GLP-1 and its analogs possess direct metabolic effects on the liver, as the determination of the existence of direct hepatic effects may advance the therapeutic theory and clinical practice on subjects with insulin resistance. Furthermore, recent investigations on the metabolic beneficial effects of previously assumed “degradation” products of GLP-1 in the liver and elsewhere, including GLP-128–36 and GLP-132–36, have drawn intensive attention. Such investigations may further improve the development and the usage of GLP-1-based drugs. Here, we have reviewed the current advancement and the existing controversies on the exploration of direct hepatic functions of GLP-1 and presented our perspectives that the direct hepatic metabolic effects of GLP-1 could be a GLP-1 receptor-independent event involving Wnt signaling pathway activation.


1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (1) ◽  
pp. E1-E10 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Rossetti ◽  
S. Farrace ◽  
S. B. Choi ◽  
A. Giaccari ◽  
L. Sloan ◽  
...  

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neuropeptide that is released at the neuromuscular junction in response to nerve excitation. To examine the relationship between plasma CGRP concentration and intracellular glucose metabolism in conscious rats, we performed insulin (22 pmol.kg-1.min-1) clamp studies combined with the infusion of 0, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 pmol.kg-1.min-1 CGRP (plasma concentrations ranging from 2 x 10(-11) to 5 x 10(-9) M). CGRP antagonized insulin's suppression of hepatic glucose production at plasma concentrations (approximately 10(-10) M) that are only two- to fivefold its basal portal concentration. Insulin-mediated glucose disposal was decreased by 20-32% when CGRP was infused at 50 pmol.kg-1.min-1 (plasma concentration 3 x 10(-10) M) or more. The impairment in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle accounted for all of the CGRP-induced decrease in glucose disposal, while whole body glycolysis was increased despite the reduction in total glucose uptake. The muscle glucose 6-phosphate concentration progressively increased during the CGRP infusions. CGRP inhibited insulin-stimulated glycogen synthase in skeletal muscle with a 50% effective dose of 1.9 +/- 0.36 x 10(-10) M. This effect on glycogen synthase was due to a reduction in enzyme affinity for UDP-glucose, with no changes in the maximal velocity. In vitro CGRP stimulated both hepatic and skeletal muscle adenylate cyclase in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that 1) CGRP is a potent antagonist of insulin at the level of muscle glycogen synthesis and hepatic glucose production; 2) inhibition of glycogen synthase is its major biochemical action in skeletal muscle; and 3) these effects are present at concentrations of the peptide that may be in the physiological range for portal vein and skeletal muscle. These data underscore the potential role of CGRP in the physiological modulation of intracellular glucose metabolism.


Endocrinology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 152 (2) ◽  
pp. 394-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. German ◽  
Joshua P. Thaler ◽  
Brent E. Wisse ◽  
Shinsuke Oh-I ◽  
David A. Sarruf ◽  
...  

Abstract The brain has emerged as a target for the insulin-sensitizing effects of several hormonal and nutrient-related signals. The current studies were undertaken to investigate mechanisms whereby leptin lowers circulating blood glucose levels independently of insulin. After extending previous evidence that leptin infusion directly into the lateral cerebral ventricle ameliorates hyperglycemia in rats with streptozotocin-induced uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, we showed that the underlying mechanism is independent of changes of food intake, urinary glucose excretion, or recovery of pancreatic β-cells. Instead, leptin action in the brain potently suppresses hepatic glucose production while increasing tissue glucose uptake despite persistent, severe insulin deficiency. This leptin action is distinct from its previously reported effect to increase insulin sensitivity in the liver and offers compelling evidence that the brain has the capacity to normalize diabetic hyperglycemia in the presence of sufficient amounts of central nervous system leptin.


2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 606-606
Author(s):  
Aidan S. Hancock ◽  
Aiping Du ◽  
Jingxuan Liu ◽  
Mayumi Miller ◽  
Catherine L. May

Abstract The major role of glucagon is to promote hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis to raise blood glucose levels during hypoglycemic conditions. Several animal models have been established to examine the in vivo function of glucagon in the liver through attenuation of glucagon via glucagon receptor knockout animals and pharmacological interventions. To investigate the consequences of glucagon loss to hepatic glucose production and glucose homeostasis, we derived mice with a pancreas specific ablation of the α-cell transcription factor, Arx, resulting in a complete loss of the glucagon-producing pancreatic α-cell. Using this model, we found that glucagon is not required for the general health of mice but is essential for total hepatic glucose production. Our data clarifies the importance of glucagon during the regulation of fasting and postprandial glucose homeostasis.


1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (4) ◽  
pp. E497-E506 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Ortiz-Alonso ◽  
A. Galecki ◽  
W. H. Herman ◽  
M. J. Smith ◽  
J. A. Jacquez ◽  
...  

This study was designed to define the effect of human aging on hypoglycemia counterregulatory mechanisms. A hyperinsulinemic (2 mU.kg-1.min-1) glucose clamp procedure was used to control glucose and insulin levels during stepwise lowering of plasma glucose. Counterregulatory hormones, hepatic glucose production (HGP), glucose utilization, and symptoms of hypoglycemia were studied in 13 healthy young [age 24 +/- 1 (SE) yr] and 11 healthy old (age 65 +/- 1 yr) nondiabetic volunteers on two occasions: 1) at matched euglycemia and 70 and 60 mg/dl (study 1) and 2) at matched euglycemia and 60 and 50 mg/dl (study 2). The old had consistently lower epinephrine (P < 0.005), glucagon (P < 0.02), cortisol (P < 0.05), and pancreatic polypeptide (P < 0.02) responses at the 60-mg/dl glucose step in study 1. However, these differences were no longer detectable at the more severe hypoglycemic stimulus of 50 mg/dl in study 2. A consistent increase in HGP occurred in both groups only at the 50-mg/dl glucose step (study 2) and was not different between young and old. There were also no differences in symptom responses between young and old. In summary, we found that elderly individuals have a subtle impairment of the glucose counterregulatory response during moderate hypoglycemia, but this impairment is no longer detectable during more severe hypoglycemia.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (6) ◽  
pp. R1918-R1924
Author(s):  
P. E. Molina ◽  
P. Williams ◽  
N. N. Abumrad

We examined the contribution of central histamine receptor (H1 and H2) blockade to the glucoregulatory responses to intracerebroventricular 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) in conscious dogs. Intracerebroventricular 2-DG (2.5 mg.kg-1.min-1 for 15 min) increased plasma glucose (2-fold), blood lactate (4-fold), and glycerol (2-fold) levels. The rate of hepatic glucose production (Ra), determined isotopically, was increased two-fold. Significant increases over basal were also noted in plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, insulin, glucagon, and cortisol. Pretreatment with cyproheptadine and cimetidine (100 micrograms each icv 15 min before 2-DG) attenuated the 2-DG-induced hyperglycemia by approximately 50% and delayed and attenuated the increase in glucose Ra (approximately 85% vs. 2-fold in group 1). Pretreatment with H1 and H2 antagonists inhibited the increases in epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucagon in response to neuroglucopenia but did not affect the cortisol response. These findings suggest that some of the metabolic effects of neuroglucopenia, particularly the hyperglycemic response, the increased hepatic uptake of gluconeogenic precursors, and the enhanced glucose Ra, are partly mediated through central histaminergic receptor activation. This appears to be through effects of histaminergic activation on the autonomic and hormonal responses to central neuroglucopenia.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document