Acute administration of unacylated ghrelin has no effect on Basal or stimulated insulin secretion in healthy humans.
Abstract
Unacylated ghrelin (UAG) is the predominant ghrelin isoform in the circulation. Despite
its inability to activate the classical ghrelin receptor, preclinical studies suggest
that UAG may promote β-cell function. We hypothesized that UAG would oppose the effects
of acylated ghrelin (AG) on insulin secretion and glucose tolerance. AG (1 µg/kg/h),
UAG (4 µg/kg/h), combined AG+UAG, or saline were infused to 17 healthy subjects (9
men and 8 women) on four occasions in randomized order. Ghrelin was infused for 30
min to achieve steady-state levels and continued through a 3-h intravenous glucose
tolerance test. The acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg), insulin sensitivity
index (SI), disposition index (DI), and intravenous glucose tolerance (kg) were compared
for each subject during the four infusions. AG infusion raised fasting glucose levels
but had no effect on fasting plasma insulin. Compared with the saline control, AG
and AG+UAG both decreased AIRg, but UAG alone had no effect. SI did not differ among
the treatments. AG, but not UAG, reduced DI and kg and increased plasma growth hormone.
UAG did not alter growth hormone, cortisol, glucagon, or free fatty acid levels. UAG
selectively decreased glucose and fructose consumption compared with the other treatments.
In contrast to previous reports, acute administration of UAG does not have independent
effects on glucose tolerance or β-cell function and neither augments nor antagonizes
the effects of AG.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdolescentAdult
Basal Metabolism
Blood Glucose
Drug Administration Schedule
Female
Ghrelin
Health
Humans
Insulin
Insulin-Secreting Cells
Male
Middle Aged
Young Adult
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12642Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.2337/db13-1598Publication Info
Tong, Jenny; Davis, Harold W; Summer, Suzanne; Benoit, Stephen C; Haque, Ahrar; Bidlingmaier,
Martin; ... D'Alessio, David (2014). Acute administration of unacylated ghrelin has no effect on Basal or stimulated insulin
secretion in healthy humans. Diabetes, 63(7). pp. 2309-2319. 10.2337/db13-1598. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12642.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
David A D'Alessio
Professor of Medicine
Jenny Tong
Associate Professor of Medicine
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