title: Glucose and insulin tolerance tests in the rat on different days of gestation.
abstract: To study insulin/glucose relationship during gestation, rats were studied on days 6, 12, 15, 18, 20 or 21 of pregnancy and the results were compared to values in sex-matched virgin control rats. Blood glucose levels were decreased on days 20 and 21 of gestation whereas plasma insulin levels appeared decreased on days 6 and 12, unchanged on day 15 and enhanced on days 18, 20 and 21 of gestation. Total pancreas insulin content was already augmented on day 6 of gestation and continued to increase with gestational time. With the exception of an increase in the 6-day-pregnant rats 22.5 min after an oral glucose load, blood glucose levels did not differ between 6- or 12-day-pregnant rats and virgin controls although plasma insulin levels reached higher values on these days. However, in the 15-day-pregnant rats, glucose tolerance after the glucose load was enhanced while plasma insulin levels did not differ from those in virgin rats during the first 30 min. In the 18-day-pregnant rat blood glucose was more increased but plasma insulin did not differ after the glucose load when compared to virgin rats, whereas 20- or 21-day-pregnant rats showed a glucose tolerance similar to that of virgin rats but their insulin levels shortly after the glucose load were higher. The hypoglycemic response to a high intravenous dose of insulin was decreased in 12-, 18-, 20- and 21-day-pregnant rats. Therefore, whereas in both the 6- and 12-day-pregnant rats there is an enhanced beta-cell response to the glucose insulinotropic effect and insulin responsiveness is reduced in 12-day-pregnant rats, the 15-day pregnant rat is in a transitory stage where both insulin sensitivity and the beta-cell response return to nonpregnant values. However, from 18 days of gestation on, there is an intense insulin-resistant condition which is only partially compensated by an enormous accumulation of insulin in the pancreas followed by a faster and larger insulin release after a glucose load.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, Alcalá de Henares University, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: López-Luna
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Herrera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D007328:Insulin / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose