In vivo effect of insulin on the acute proliferative response of the rat aorta to injury.

The objective of our study was to investigate the effect of hyperinsulinemia associated with either euglycemia, hypoglycemia, or hyperglycemia on the short-term mitotic activity of arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) after aortic injury. The proliferative reaction of arterial SMCs was provoked by the passage of an embolectomy catheter with a tightly inflated balloon. DNA synthesis was measured as DNA specific activity after incubation of the aorta in a medium containing 3[H]thymidine. Unrestrained rats were rendered hyperinsulinemic (4-7 nM versus 0.3 nM in controls) immediately after aortic injury by insulin infusion (10 units/day) and either euglycemic (about 5.6 mM), hyperglycemic (14-17 mM), or hypoglycemic (about 2.8 mM) by adjusting the flow rate of hypertonic glucose (30% wt/vol) that was infused simultaneously. The infusion was performed via a catheter inserted into the jugular vein and lasted 2 or 4 days after the aortic injury. After the injury, SMC mitotic activity was dramatically increased on day 2 in control rats with deendothelialized aortas and declined between days 2 and 4. In euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic and hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic rats, SMC proliferation showed the same pattern as in controls. At no time was a significant difference observed among the three groups of rats. In hypoglycemic-hyperinsulinemic rats, SMC mitotic activity increased to a lesser extent than in controls on day 2 after deendothelialization. These data indicate that hyperinsulinemia with or without hyperglycemia does not stimulate the early stages of arterial SMC proliferation in the rat although a long-lasting effect of hyperinsulinemia cannot be excluded.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)