A comparison of the insulin-sensitive transport of chromium in healthy and model diabetic rats.

In response to insulin, chromium(III) is moved from the blood to the tissues where it is ultimately lost in the urine, apparently as the oligopeptide chromodulin; this transfer of chromium is mediated by the protein transferrin. To examine the effects of type 1 and type 2 diabetes on the transport of chromium, the fate of chromium from intravenously introduced (51)Cr(2)-labelled transferrin was monitored after 2 h in healthy and diabetic model rats; the effects of insulin on the transport of chromium in these groups were also examined. Diabetic rats had greater urinary chromium loss, greater movement of chromium from the blood to the tissues, most notably to the skeletal muscle, and an alteration of the distribution of chromium in the blood plasma.