Growth Hormone Induced Enhancement of Insulin Sensitivity in Adipose Tissue

Abstract

In vitro basal and insulin stimulated glucose metabolism (^I4CO₂ production and ¹⁴C glucose incorporation into fatty acids) are enhanced in the epididymal fat pads of fed Sprague Dawley rats exposed to intraperitoneal growth hormone (GH) both acutely (90 minutes after a single 1 mg injection) and chronically (24 hours after the last of a 15 day series of 1 mg GH injections). This enhancement of the glucose metabolism in the fat pad is accompanied by depletion of its lipid content. This alteration in glucose metabolism in adipose tissue exposed to GH in vivo may be related to the action of GH in accelerating intracellular free fatty acid turnover and/or may be subsequent to a decrease in the size of the fat cell.

Growth Hormone - Insulin Sensitivity - Adipose Tissue

1 Trainee in the training program in endocrinology and metabolism sponsored by the National Institutes of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (TI AM 5473-06). Present address: The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA

2 Present address: City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA