Reversal of the toxic effects of cachectin by concurrent insulin administration.
Rats treated with recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-cachectin, 100 micrograms/kg ip twice daily for 5 consecutive days, had a 56% decrease in food intake, a 54% decrease in nitrogen balance, and a 23-g decrease in body weight gain vs. saline-treated controls. Concurrent neutral protamine hagedorn insulin administration of 2 U/100 g sc twice daily reversed all of these changes to control levels without causing any treatment deaths. The improvement seen with insulin was dose independent. Five days of cachectin treatment caused a severe interstitial pneumonitis, periportal inflammation in the liver, and an increase in wet organ weight in the heart, lungs, kidney, and spleen. Concurrent insulin treatment led to near total reversal of these histopathologic changes. Cachectin treatment did not significantly change blood glucose levels from control values of 130-140 mg/dl, but insulin plus cachectin caused a significant decrease in blood glucose from 1 through 12 h after injection. Administration of high-dose insulin can near totally reverse the nutritional and histopathologic toxicity of sublethal doses of cachectin in rats.
Fraker
D L
DL
Surgical Metabolism Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Merino
M J
MJ
Norton
J A
JA
D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity; D012016:Reference Values; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D009584:Nitrogen