Corticosterone-induced insulin resistance is not associated with alterations of insulin receptor number and kinase activity in chicken kidney

Chicken renal insulin receptors have been recently characterized; their number and kinase activities vary in response to altered nutritional status. In the present study, the effect of chronic corticosterone treatment was examined in 5-week-old chickens. The development of an insulin resistance following corticosterone was suggested after 1 and 2 weeks of treatment by a significant increases in plasma insulin levels (1.63 +/- 0.13 vs 0.56 +/- 0.14 ng insulin/ml in controls) and in renal cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity (17.2 +/- 0.8 vs 13.7 +/- 0.7 nm/mn/mg tissue in controls). No significant changes were present at the level of insulin receptor number and kinase activity. Therefore, in kidney and, as previously observed, in muscles, corticosterone can induce insulin resistance at postreceptor steps in the cascade of events leading to insulin action.

Characterization of insulin receptors in chicken kidneys: effect of nutritional status

In chickens, the kidneys actively contribute to gluconeogenesis. A cytosolic form of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is present in this tissue but is absent in liver. Cytosolic renal PEPCK is nutritionally and hormonally controlled which indicates a likely contribution of insulin in the control of this enzyme (and other renal functions). The present studies characterize renal insulin receptors in the chicken. The effects of the following nutritional conditions were examined: fed, 48 hr fasted, and 24 hr refed following a 48-hr fast. PEPCK activity was increased by the 48-hr fast and returned to normal after refeeding. Specific binding of 125I-insulin to renal membranes was time-, temperature-, and protein-dependent. Unlabeled insulin was more potent than IGF-1 in inhibiting 125I-insulin binding; the ratio of potencies for insulin and IGF-1, however, was dependent upon the nutritional state. Insulin binding was significantly higher (P < 0.05) following 48 hr fasting and lower (P < 0.05) following refeeding compared to ad libitum feeding. Receptor affinity was similar irrespective of the nutritional state. Solubilized and wheat germ agglutinin purified renal insulin receptors were devoid of ATPase activity in contrast to hepatic receptors. The sizes of alpha- and beta-subunits of renal receptors were similar to those of hepatic receptors: 135 and 95 kDa, respectively. Insulin-stimulated autophosphorylation of the beta-subunit was decreased, although not significantly, by prolonged fasting. Phosphorylation of artificial substrate: poly(Glu-Tyr) 4:1 was significantly decreased by the 48-hr fast at high insulin concentrations (10 and 100 nM). Kinase activities of renal insulin receptors from fed or refed chickens were very similar. In conclusion, typical insulin receptors are present in chicken kidneys. These receptors exhibit a regulation at the level of their number and kinase activity in a fashion similar to that found for hepatic receptors. The present results suggest a role for insulin in chicken renal function.

Insulin resistance in the GK rat: decreased receptor number but normal kinase activity in liver

We have previously shown that the glucose intolerance and the hyperglycemic state in the GK rat, a new spontaneous model of non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes without obesity, are partly accounted for by an alteration of the pancreatic B cell response. On the other hand, the hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic pattern in these rats suggests a decrease of response to insulin in the basal state. In the present study, in vivo insulin action was assessed in 8-wk-old GK females at basal and submaximal (euglycemic clamp) insulin levels. Overall glucose utilization (OGU), individual tissue glucose utilization (ITGU, in vivo uptake of the glucose analogue 2-deoxy-D-glucose as the relative index of glucose metabolism), as well as hepatic glucose production (GP) and liver insulin receptor properties were determined under these two conditions. The basal OGU was significantly higher in the GK females, compared with that in control Wistar females. The hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp experiments indicated that peripheral insulin resistance was installed at 8 wk of age in the GK females because 1) OGU was significantly lower and 2) in some peripheral tissues (epitrochlearis muscle, periovarian, and inguinal white adipose tissues), but not all, ITGU was significantly lower compared with corresponding ITGU in control rats. In the basal state GP was significantly higher in the GK rats. At submaximal hyperinsulinemia (and euglycemia), it was less effectively suppressed than in the controls, thus demonstrating liver insulin resistance. Under both basal state and clamp condition, binding of 125I-A14-insulin to liver membranes of GK rats was significantly decreased by 20-30%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)