Insulin sensitivity and sorbitol production of the normal rabbit corneal epithelium in vitro.
Insulin-depleted, normal rabbit corneal epithelium was incubated in vitro in tissue culture medium containing high concentrations of glucose (35 mM). These short-term incubations showed that the epithelium took up glucose equally whether or not insulin had been added to the medium, indicating that corneal epithelium is an insulin-insensitive tissue. Sorbitol accumulation showed that the normal corneal epithelium has a sorbitol pathway which can be activated in the presence of high intracellular glucose. The low level of sorbitol accumulation in these normal epithelia is probably not osmotically significant.
D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009995:Osmosis; D011817:Rabbits; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000378:metabolism*
D007328:Insulin; D013012:Sorbitol; D005947:Glucose