Glucocorticoids and the fate of exogenous insulin in insulin-immunized guinea pigs.

Groups of normal rats and of normal and insulin-immunized guinea pigs were injected intravasculary with mixtures of radio-iodinated and unlabelled porcine insulins. No differences could be discerned between the fates of radio-iodinated and unlabelled insulins in normal or immune guinea pigs except with respect to the kidneys of normal animals, which seemed to accumlate TCA-precipitable radioactive substances devoid of immunoreactivity. The abnormally slow disappearance of insulin from the plasma and its persistent accumulation in the livers and spleens of immune guinea pigs were not affected by prior treatment for three days with large daily doses (ca 20 mg/kg body wt.) of hydrocortisone acetate.