Comparison of glucose metabolism in adipocytes from Pima Indians and Caucasians.

The present study was designed to compare various aspects of glucose metabolism of adipocytes isolated from 10 obese Pima Indians and 10 Caucasians. All 20 subjects had normal glucose tolerance, and the two groups were matched for sex, age, degree of obesity, and fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. The results indicated that adipocytes from the two groups were comparable in average cell size, basal and maximum insulin-stimulated glucose transport, glucose metabolism at 5.5 mmol/L glucose, ED50 of insulin for glucose transport and the inhibition of lipolysis, basal lipolysis rates, and insulin binding. The similarity between the metabolic behavior of adipocytes isolated from Pimas and Caucasians suggests that the study of adipocytes from Pima Indians yields information that is relevant to the understanding of obesity in other populations.