Identification of insulin receptors in epithelial cells from duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, colon and rectum in the rat.

Specific insulin binding was demonstrated in isolated epithelial cells of rat intestine, from the duodenum to the rectum. In every segment tested, insulin binding exhibited similar properties relating to kinetics and specificity and could be interpreted in terms of two populations of receptors possessing different affinities and binding capacities. Insulin receptors were unequally distributed along the intestinal tract, suggesting that the hormone may have varying importance at different points along the intestinal axis. These observations together with previous data on insulin regulation of a number of intestinal epithelial activities suggest that the pancreatic hormone may play an important role in gut physiology from the duodenum to the rectum.