[Differences of males and females regarding the binding capacity of insulin to erythrocyte receptors].

The analysis of insulin receptors in erythrocytes demands a relatively small blood sample, which justifies the interest in its use as an index of the cellular capacity for binding hormone. In order to establish criteria for normalcy, the capacity of erythrocytes for binding in vitro insulin labelled with 125I before increasing concentrations of cold insulin (from 0.5 to 10(3) ng/ml), was studied in a group of 41 healthy men and another of 35 women with normal menstrual cycles. In the female group the study was carried out in three different days of the same cycle (days 3, 12 and 21). The binding capacity in the male was higher than in the female (p less than 0.05) in the follicular phase (days 3 and 12) as well as in the luteal phase (day 21) and, among women, it was higher in the follicular phase than in the luteal one (p less than 0.05). The results indicate that progesterone, as well as prolactin and glucagon, may play an important role in the binding capacity of insulin to its receptor. To make the values comparable, it is suggested that blood extraction in women be carried out during the first five days of the cycle.