title: [Spontaneous oscillations in basal blood insulin].
abstract: Many studies show that basal insulinemia is not stable over time, but oscillates significantly. The period and amplitude of oscillations appear species-specific. Studies on living animals have established that neither central autonomic command nor liver-pancreas feedback play a determining role on these cycles. Work on the isolated, perfused, canine pancreas has demonstrated the existence of an intrinsic pancreatic oscillator. Studies on human subjects confirm and complete animal data. The amplitude of insulinemia cycles is less in humans than in animals. In obese humans, insulin cycles are normal. In non-insulin-dependent diabetics, insulin oscillations are very irregular; after partial pancreatectomy (removal of the head of the pancreas), the normal insulin cycles disappear. The insulinemia cycles thus seem to reflect the behavior of an intrinsic pancreatic oscillator which synchronizes the activity of beta cells. Spontaneous oscillations in plasma insulin could play a role in the regulation of receptor affinity in target-tissues.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood; D010179:Pancreas / Q000502:physiology; D010507:Periodicity; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin
vernacular_title: Les oscillations spontanées de l'insulinémie basale.