Centrally administered TRH-induced insulin secretion is impaired in the Otsuka-Long-Evans-Tokushima Fatty rats, a model of spontaneous non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

To investigate whether insulin secretion induced by stimulation of the vagus nerve is preserved or impaired in Otsuka-Long-Evans-Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, we injected 10(-8) mol of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) into the third cerebral ventricle and determined the serum level of insulin in the unanesthetized, unrestrained rats. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection increased the serum levels of glucose and insulin in both OLETF and Long-Evans-Tokushima-Otsuka (LETO) rats, a nondiabetic control strain, at 8-12 weeks of age. At 24-28 weeks of age, the increased level of glucose in OLETF rats was comparable to LETO rats but that of insulin was lower than control after the i.c.v. injection of TRH. Pretreatment with i.v. atropine had no significant effect on such hyperglycemia. However, the increases in the serum levels of insulin were suppressed in both OLETF and LETO rats. The plasma levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucagon rose significantly after TRH. There was no significant difference in the levels of any hormones between the two groups. In OLETF rats at 24-28 weeks of age, i.v. glucose load induced significantly higher serum levels of glucose and insulin than LETO rats. The results suggest that the vagus nerve-mediated insulin secretion is impaired in OLETF rats, similar to an autonomic diabetic neuropathy in the early stage of diabetes. This impairment may play some role in deteriorating glucose tolerance in this spontaneously developed diabetes model.