Endocrinology, Vol 100, 1710-1722, Copyright © 1977 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Pulmonary insulin responsivitiy: in vivo effects of insulin on the diabetic rat lung and specific insulin binding to lung receptors in normal rats

WK Morishige, CA Uetake, FC Greenwood and J Akaka

Adult rats were rendered diabetic by a single iv injection of streptozotocin (70 or 75 mg/kg). In these rats, serum insulin fell to minimal levels during the 48 h following drug treatment, and this was roughly paralleled by a progressive decrease in the ability of the lung to oxidize glucose. The addition of insulin to diabetic rat lung slices in vitro had no restorative effect on the depressed glucose oxidative rate during a 2 h incubation period; however, two daily treatments of the rats with 1 unit of protamine, zinc insulin completely restored lung glucose oxidation rate to normal, without significantly reducing the hyperglycemic state of the rats. An examination of the temporal changes in glucose utilization by the rat lung after acute insulin treatment revealed that the diabetic lung responded directly to serum levels of insulin, whereas the normal lung appeared to be unaffected by serum insulin levels as hihg as 87 ng/ml. The reduced rate of glucose oxidation in the diabetic lung was apparent after perfusion of the lung with glucose-free medium, and was characterized by a significant reduction in Vmax without an alteration in Km. This was attended by a depressed ability of the lung to incorporate [3H]leucine into protein and an increased ability to produce lactate, but hexose monophosphate shunt activity was normal. Specific receptors for insulin have been identified and partially characterized in crude membrane preparations of normal rat lung. The interaction of insulin with these receptors was rapid, reversible, saturable, and was dependent upon time and temperature. The binding of labeled insulin was inhibited by low concentrations of unlabeled insulin and by high concentrations of proinsulin, whereas it was unaffected by the presence of glucagon, gastrin, prolactin, ACTH, or growth hormone in microgram amounts. These observations suggest that insulin regulates the transport and utilization of glucose in the rat lung, and that this tissue contains specific receptors for insulin.