Biomaterial Database

Insulin receptors and insulin resistance in human pregnancy: evidence for a postreceptor defect in insulin action. 1982

G Puavilai, and E C Drobny, and L A Domont, and G Baumann

Pregnancy is accompanied, in its later stages, by physiological resistance to the action of insulin. We studied the potential contribution of altered insulin receptors to this phenomenon in 12 healthy pregnant women during their third trimester. For comparison, we studied the same women again several weeks postpartum. We also used a group of randomly chosen nonpregnant subjects as a control population. Women in this control group were studied during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Plasma insulin and insulin to glucose ratios were significantly higher in the pregnant women. Insulin binding to peripheral blood monocytes was higher in pregnancy than postpartum in the majority of women, and as a group, the pregnant subjects showed significantly higher insulin binding than the nongravid subjects. This appeared to be due to a greater number of receptor sites per cell. We found no correlation between plasma insulin and insulin binding in pregnancy. We conclude that the insulin resistance of pregnancy is not attended by impaired binding of insulin to cellular receptors, at least in the monocyte. Our data suggest that the defect in insulin action lies at a site distal to the receptor.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007328	Insulin	A 51-amino acid pancreatic hormone that plays a major role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, directly by suppressing endogenous glucose production (GLYCOGENOLYSIS; GLUCONEOGENESIS) and indirectly by suppressing GLUCAGON secretion and LIPOLYSIS. Native insulin is a globular protein comprised of a zinc-coordinated hexamer. Each insulin monomer containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues), linked by two disulfide bonds. Insulin is used as a drug to control insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 1).	Iletin,Insulin A Chain,Insulin B Chain,Insulin, Regular,Novolin,Sodium Insulin,Soluble Insulin,Chain, Insulin B,Insulin, Sodium,Insulin, Soluble,Regular Insulin
D007333	Insulin Resistance	Diminished effectiveness of INSULIN in lowering blood sugar levels: requiring the use of 200 units or more of insulin per day to prevent HYPERGLYCEMIA or KETOSIS.	Insulin Sensitivity,Resistance, Insulin,Sensitivity, Insulin
D008297	Male		Males
D009000	Monocytes	Large, phagocytic mononuclear leukocytes produced in the vertebrate BONE MARROW and released into the BLOOD; contain a large, oval or somewhat indented nucleus surrounded by voluminous cytoplasm and numerous organelles.	Monocyte
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011263	Pregnancy Trimester, Third	The last third of a human PREGNANCY, from the beginning of the 29th through the 42nd completed week (197 to 294 days) of gestation.	Pregnancy, Third Trimester,Trimester, Third,Last Trimester,Last Trimesters,Pregnancies, Third Trimester,Pregnancy Trimesters, Third,Third Pregnancy Trimester,Third Pregnancy Trimesters,Third Trimester,Third Trimester Pregnancies,Third Trimester Pregnancy,Third Trimesters,Trimester, Last,Trimesters, Last,Trimesters, Third
D011972	Receptor, Insulin	A cell surface receptor for INSULIN. It comprises a tetramer of two alpha and two beta subunits which are derived from cleavage of a single precursor protein. The receptor contains an intrinsic TYROSINE KINASE domain that is located within the beta subunit. Activation of the receptor by INSULIN results in numerous metabolic changes including increased uptake of GLUCOSE into the liver, muscle, and ADIPOSE TISSUE.	Insulin Receptor,Insulin Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinase,Insulin Receptor alpha Subunit,Insulin Receptor beta Subunit,Insulin Receptor alpha Chain,Insulin Receptor beta Chain,Insulin-Dependent Tyrosine Protein Kinase,Receptors, Insulin,Insulin Receptor Protein Tyrosine Kinase,Insulin Receptors
D001786	Blood Glucose	Glucose in blood.	Blood Sugar,Glucose, Blood,Sugar, Blood
D005260	Female		Females
D005951	Glucose Tolerance Test	A test to determine the ability of an individual to maintain HOMEOSTASIS of BLOOD GLUCOSE. It includes measuring blood glucose levels in a fasting state, and at prescribed intervals before and after oral glucose intake (75 or 100 g) or intravenous infusion (0.5 g/kg).	Intravenous Glucose Tolerance,Intravenous Glucose Tolerance Test,OGTT,Oral Glucose Tolerance,Oral Glucose Tolerance Test,Glucose Tolerance Tests,Glucose Tolerance, Oral