Marked increase in insulin sensitivity of human fat cells 1 hour after glucose ingestion.

The effect of glucose ingestion on insulin action was investigated in isolated human fat cells. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was obtained from eight normal adult volunteers before and 1 h after oral intake of 100 g of glucose. Lipolysis (glycerol release) and specific insulin receptor binding were determined. Insulin binding increased significantly by 20-30% after glucose ingestion. This was due to an increase in insulin binding affinity, without any change in the receptor number. The concentration of insulin producing half-maximum inhibition (ED(50)) of basal lipolysis was 50 muU/ml before and 0.25 muU/ml after glucose ingestion (P < 0.01), which represented a 200-fold difference. As regards isoprenaline-induced lipolysis, the ED(50) for insulin inhibition was 30 muU/ml before and 2.5 muU/ml after oral glucose (P < 0.01), which was a 12-fold difference. The maximum insulin-induced inhibition of basal and isoprenaline-induced lipolysis were not altered after oral glucose. It is concluded that glucose ingestion is accompanied by a marked increase in insulin sensitivity of human fat cells and this may be an important modulating factor in the overall scheme of insulin action.