Summary
Intermittent hypoglycaemia was induced by insulin injections into pregnant rats. At birth, the pups body weight and pancreatic insulin content were slightly but significantly decreased. In contrast, the B-cells of these newborn rats responded more markedly to a glucose challenge than the controls. The pancreases of the insulin injected rats were grearly depleted of insulin, possibly because of feedback inhibition of insulin synthesis by exogenous insulin. This inhibitory effect was restricted to the mother since the injected insulin did not cross the placental barrier. It is proposed that the nutrient supply to the fetus influenced body growth and pancreatic insulin accumulation whereas blood glucose variations, even intermittent hypoglycaemia, promoted precocious maturation of the B-cell glucoreceptor system.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Clarck, W.R., Rutter, W.J.: Synthesis and accumulation of insulin in the fetal rat pancreas. Develop. Biol.29, 468–481 (1972)
Asplund, K., Westman, S., Hellerström, C.: Glucose stimulation of insulin secretion from the isolated pancreas of foetal and newborn rats. Diabetologia5, 260–262 (1969)
Sodoyez-Goffaux, F., Sodoyez, J.-C., Foà, P.P.: Effects of gestational age, birth and feeding on the insulinogenic response to glucose and tolbutamide by fetal and newborn rat pancreas. Diabetes20, 586–591 (1971)
Dubreuil, G., Anderodias, J.: Ilots de Langerhans géants chez un nouveau-né issu de mère glucosurique. C. R. Soc. Biol. (Paris)23, 1490–1493 (1920)
Cardell, B.S.: Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the pancreatic islets in newborn infants. J. Path. Bact.66, 335–346 (1953)
Steinke, J., Driscoll, S.G.: The extractable insulin content of pancreas from fetuses and infants of diabetic and control mothers. Diabetes14, 573–578 (1965)
De Gasparo, M., Van Assche, A., Gepts, W., Hoet, J.J.: The histology of the endocrine pancreas and the insulin content in the microdissected islets of foetal pancreas. Rev. franç. Étud. clin. biol.14, 904–906 (1969)
Baird, J.D., Farquhar, J.W.: The insulin secreting capacity of the pancreas in newborn infants of normal and diabetic women. Lancet1962 I, 71–74
Kim, J.N.: Effects of hyperglycemia on beta granulations in pancreatic islets of fetuses from diabetic rats. Diabetes14, 137–141 (1965)
Vecchio, D., Gonet, A.E.: Culture d'organe de pancreas foetal de rat: I. Effects du glucose, d'autres composants du milieu de culture et d'un sulfamidé hypoglycémiant. Helv. physiol. pharmacol. Acta25, 103–122 (1967)
Asplund, K.: Effect of intermittent glucose infusions in pregnant rats on the functional development of the foetal pancreatic B-cells. J. Endocr.59, 285–293 (1973)
Hales, C.N., Randle, P.J.: Immunoassay of insulin with insulinantibody precipitate. Biochem. J.88, 137–146 (1963)
Schmidt, F.H.: Die enzymatische Bestimmung von Glucose und Fructose nebeneinander. Klin. Wschr.39, 1244–1247 (1961)
Goodner C.J., Conway M.J., Werrbach J.H.: Relation between plasma glucose levels of mother and fetus during maternal hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and fasting in the rat. Pediat. Res.3, 121–127 (1969)
Gerrard, J.W., Chin, W.: The syndrome of transient diabetes. J. Pediat.61, 89–93 (1962)
Ferguson, A.W., Milner, R.D.G.: Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus in sibs. Arch. Dis. Childh.45, 80–83 (1970)
Sodoyez-Goffaux, F., Sodoyez J.-C.: (Unpublished observation)
Frye, B.E.: The differentiation of the endocrine pancreas in fetuses of alloxan diabetic and insulin treated rats. J. Morph.101, 325–57 (1957)
Frerichs, M., Reich, U., Creutzfeldt, W.: Insulinsekretion in vitro I. Hemmung der glucoseinduzierten Insulinabgabe durch Insulin. Klin. Wschr.43, 136–140 (1965)
Sodoyez, J.-C., Sodoyez-Goffaux, F., Foà, P.P.: Evidence for an insulin induced inhibition of insulin release by isolated islets of Langerhans. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. (N. Y.)130, 568–571 (1969)
Sodoyez, J.-C., Sodoyez-Goffaux, F., Rossen, R.M., Foà P.P.: Function of the pancreatic B-cells in hamsters bearing a transplantable islet cell tumor. Metabolism18, 433–438 (1969)
Liljenquist, J.E., Chiasson, J.L., Jennings, A.S., Horwitz, D.L., Rubenstein, A.H.: Insulin suppression of insulin secretion in man. Demonstration by C-peptide assay. Diabetes24 (Sup. 2), 403 (1975)
Buse, M.G., Robers, W.J., Buse, J.: The role of the human placenta in the transfer and metabolism of insulin. J. clin. Invest.41, 29–41 (1962)
Spellacy, W.N., Goetz, F.C., Greenbert, B.Z., Ells, J.: The human placental gradient for plasma insulin and blood glucose. Amer. J. Obstet. Gynec.90, 753–757 (1964)
Wolf, H., Sabata, V., Frerichs, H., Stubbe, P.: Evidence for the impermeability of the human placenta for insulin. Horm. Metab. Res.1, 274–275 (1969)
Kalhan, S.C., Schwartz, R., Adam, P.A.J.: Placental barrier to human insulin-1125 in insulin-dependent diabetic mothers. J. clin. Endocr.40, 139–142 (1975)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sodoyez-Goffaux, F., Sodoyez, J.C. Effects of intermittent hypoglycaemia in pregnant rats on the functional development of the pancreatic B-cells of their offspring. Diabetologia 12, 73–76 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01221968
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01221968