Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 69, 1059-1064, Copyright © 1989 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Dose-response characteristics for arginine-stimulated insulin secretion in man and influence of hyperglycemia

TW van Haeften, GA Voetberg, JE Gerich and EA van der Veen
Department of Endocrinology, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

To test the hypothesis that glucose only affects the responsiveness (maximum velocity) of the beta-cell to arginine without changing the sensitivity (ED50) of the beta-cell to arginine, we investigated the influence of hyperglycemia on the responsiveness and sensitivity of arginine-induced insulin secretion in eight healthy male volunteers. Plasma C-peptide and insulin levels achieved during infusions of five doses of arginine (30 min) with and without a 60-min hyperglycemic clamp (17 mmol/L) were analyzed using a modified Michaelis-Menten equation. At euglycemia, the ED50 (half-maximally stimulating serum arginine concentration) was significantly less for first phase than for second phase plasma C-peptide secretion (0.7 +/- 0.1 vs. 2.7 +/- 0.4 mmol/L; P less than 0.002). Hyperglycemia significantly increased arginine-induced insulin secretion at all arginine infusion rates (P less than 0.01) without significantly altering the ED50 for either phase. We conclude 1) that the regulation of arginine-induced insulin secretion differs between both phases of insulin secretion, and 2) that a 1-h infusion with glucose significantly potentiates arginine-induced insulin secretion without influencing the difference in regulation of both phases of arginine-induced insulin secretion, supporting the validity of the use of arginine as a secretagogue in studies involving hyperglycemia.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Ohtani, M. Sugita, and K. Maruyama Amino Acid Mixture Improves Training Efficiency in Athletes J. Nutr., February 1, 2006; 136(2): 538S - 543S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Brand-Miller, S. H. A. Holt, V. de Jong, and P. Petocz Cocoa Powder Increases Postprandial Insulinemia in Lean Young Adults J. Nutr., October 1, 2003; 133(10): 3149 - 3152. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Piatti, G. Fragasso, L. D. Monti, E. Setola, P. Lucotti, I. Fermo, R. Paroni, E. Galluccio, G. Pozza, S. Chierchia, et al. Acute Intravenous l-Arginine Infusion Decreases Endothelin-1 Levels and Improves Endothelial Function in Patients With Angina Pectoris and Normal Coronary Arteriograms: Correlation With Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Levels Circulation, January 28, 2003; 107(3): 429 - 436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. C Gannon, J. A Nuttall, and F. Q Nuttall Oral arginine does not stimulate an increase in insulin concentration but delays glucose disposal Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, November 1, 2002; 76(5): 1016 - 1022. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Meyer, J. Sturis, M. Katschinski, R. Arnold, B. Goke, and M. M. Byrne Acute hyperglycemia alters the ability of the normal beta -cell to sense and respond to glucose Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, April 1, 2002; 282(4): E917 - E922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]