Hypoglycemic depression of hepatic phagocytosis in vivo and in the in situ perfused rat liver.
Depression of the phagocytic function of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) during endotoxic hypoglycemia has been implicated in the pathogenesis of endotoxin shock. The present study evaluated the in vivo effects of hypoglycemia on RES function and assessed the effects of an vivo bout of hypoglycemia on phagocytosis in the in situ perfused rat liver. Hypoglycemia was produced in male Holtzman rats using either 1 U of regular insulin (RI) (ILETIN, Lilly) or 0.75 U of long-acting insulin (LAI) (85% LENTE/15% ULTRALENTE, Lilly). RES function was quantitated by intravascular clearance of 8 mg/100 gm body weight colloidal carbon (CC). Two hr after RI and 2.5 hr after LAI, the intravascular halftimes of CC clearance were 19 +/- 2 min (N = 22) and 18 +/- 1 min (N = 19), respectively, as compared to control, 11.3 +/- 0.4 min (N = 53, P less than 0.001). The corresponding plasma glucose (PG) levels were 95 +/- 2 mg/dl in control, 14.4 +/- 0.9 for the RI group, and 17 +/- 1 for LAI. Two hr after RI, livers were perfused for 10 min in situ with 50 mg/liter CC in saline 5% rat serum. PG for control liver donors were 90 +/- 3 mg/dl, while those for hypoglycemic liver donors were 15 +/- 2. CC uptake was decreased from 22 micrograms/min/gm liver in the control (+ serum, n = 19) to 11 +/- 2 in hypoglycemia livers (N = 6); no effect of serum on hypoglycemic depression of the RES was seen. There were no differences in flow rates in the 2 groups. These results indicate that hypoglycemia directly impairs RES function and that the in vivo depression of intravascular clearance is not related to either the presence or absence of serum factors or total hepatic blood flow. Thus, the characteristic hypoglycemia of endotoxin shock may contribute to RES depression and the lethal shock syndrome.
D000818:Animals; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D008099:Liver / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D012157:Mononuclear Phagocyte System / Q000503:physiopathology; D010477:Perfusion; D010587:Phagocytosis; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose