title: The beta cell glucose stimulus-response curve in normal humans assessed by insulin and C-peptide secretion rates.
abstract: Insulin and C-peptide secretion rates have been measured and compared in 12 nondiabetic subjects to characterize the glucose stimulus-response of B cell secretion in man. On three different days, glucose concentrations were clamped for 150 minutes at 7.5, 10, and 15 mmol/L, respectively. Plasma samples taken during the clamps were assayed for C-peptide and insulin. C-peptide secretion rates were estimated by the technique of deconvolution. Model-based estimation of insulin secretion rates from insulin concentrations yielded concordant results. In response to glucose, C-peptide concentrations rose less quickly than did insulin concentrations, but the estimated first- and second-phase secretion rates were similar when assessed from either the C-peptide or insulin concentrations. First-phase secretion peaks were larger than inspection of the plasma concentration data might suggest, with median values of 1.3, 2.0, and 2.9 nmol/min for C-peptide in response to 7.5, 10, and 15 mmol/L glucose clamp levels, respectively. The second-phase reached steady state by 90 to 120 minutes, with median C-peptide secretion rates of 0.31, 0.56, and 0.85 nmol/min after 120 minutes at 7.5, 10, and 15 mmol/L, respectively. The slopes of the curves of steady-state insulin and C-peptide secretion rates v the four glucose levels (basal plus the three clamp levels) were maximally steep between 7.5 and 10 mmol/L in the majority of subjects, consistent with in vitro sigmoidal responses. A characterization of the secretory response of the B cell of normal humans at different glucose concentrations has been obtained. With appropriate models, insulin secretion rates may be estimated from either plasma insulin or C-peptide concentration data.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Research Laboratories, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rudenski
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hosker
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose