Comparison of subcutaneously administered soluble insulin and des-(B26-B30)-insulin-B25-amide in rabbit, pig and healthy man.

Subcutaneous injections of soluble human insulin and of the monomeric insulin analogue des-(B26-B30)-insulin-B25-amide were given to fasted rabbits, pigs and healthy man. The time course of blood glucose decline and the rate of appearance of the hormones in the peripheral circulation were studied for doses of 0.35 and 0.7 nmol/kg. In rabbits an identical time course with early glucose nadirs between 45 and 60 min and hormone peaks at about 20 min were observed for both hormones. Similar results were obtained for insulin and the analogue in pigs. When injected into humans, slightly earlier peaks of the analogue at 30 to 45 min were measured compared to insulin peaks at 60 min. In addition, a trend towards faster decline in blood glucose could be demonstrated after analogue injection. In contrast to monomeric insulin analogues produced by recombinant DNA technology, s.c. injections of des-(B26-B30)-insulin-B25-amide do not appear to meet mealtime insulin requirements better than soluble insulin.