Effect of experimental hyperinsulinaemia on intracellular glucose metabolism of isolated adipocytes.

Glucose oxidation and lipogenesis were studied in isolated adipocytes from control and non-obese, experimentally hyperinsulinaemic rats. In cells from the hyperinsulinaemic animals oxidation of either [1(-14) C]- or [6(-14) C] glucose was increased in the presence or absence of insulin, at substrate concentrations from 0.1 to 20 mmol/l. Glucose incorporation into total triglycerides and fatty acids was also increased. These enhanced rates of glucose metabolism were due to increased activity of the glucose transport system in addition to increased activity of intracellular glucose metabolism. Therefore, these data indicate that insulin can influence long term glucose homoeostasis by augmenting the overall cellular capacity for glucose metabolism at several loci.