Different Potencies of Biosynthetic Human and Purified Porcine Insulin

Summary

The glucose clamp technique was used to compare the biological activity of purified porcine insulin and Biosynthetic Human Insulin (BHI). An intravenous bolus of 0.1 U/kg BW was injected in eight male volunteers, and the glucose was clamped at baseline values (euglycemic clamp).

Serum insulin, serum C-peptide and plasma glucose did not differ between porcine and human insulin. The insulin induced glucose consumption differed significantly (p< 0.007) between purified porcine insulin (50.5 ± 5.2 [SEM] g/2h) and Biosynthetic Human Insulin (63.5 ± 4.5 g/2h). Purified porcine Insulin induced a hormonal response with significantly (p< 0.05) elevated concentrations of serum growth hormone (12.1 ± 0.25 ng/ml) and serum cortisol (161.4 ± 28.6 ng/ml), which were not observed following Biosynthetic Human Insulin (serum growth hormone: 2.6 ± 0.2 ng/ml; serum cortisol: 117.3 ± 14.8 ng/ml). The data confirm earlier results indicating hormonal and metabolic differences between human and porcine insulin.

Key-Words:

Biosynthetic Human Insulin - Glucose Clamp Technique - Glucose Requirement - Growth Hormone - Cortisol