Biomaterial Database

Relationship between plasma insulin and erythrocyte fatty acid composition. 1998

P M Clifton, and P J Nestel

Division of Human Nutrition, Adelaide, South Australia. peter.clifton@dhn.csiro.au

Insulin resistance is an important condition which underlies much of the coronary artery disease in affluent societies. We have related insulin resistance, as assessed by fasting plasma insulin, to erythrocyte membrane composition in 54 healthy men and women on a low fat diet. We found a inverse relationship (r = -0.41, P = 0.002) between fasting plasma insulin and the percentage of arachidonic acid in erythrocyte fatty acids. An inverse relationship of similar strength was found with total n-6 fatty acids and a positive relationship was found with the percentage of saturated fatty acids (r = 0.39, P < 0.01). No relationship was found with n-3 fatty acids. We would suggest that n-6 fatty acids, and in particular arachidonic acid, modify the membrane environment of the insulin receptor (or the glucose transporters) so that lower levels of insulin are required for glucose homeostasis.

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
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D002462	Cell Membrane	The lipid- and protein-containing, selectively permeable membrane that surrounds the cytoplasm in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.	Plasma Membrane,Cytoplasmic Membrane,Cell Membranes,Cytoplasmic Membranes,Membrane, Cell,Membrane, Cytoplasmic,Membrane, Plasma,Membranes, Cell,Membranes, Cytoplasmic,Membranes, Plasma,Plasma Membranes
D004912	Erythrocytes	Red blood cells. Mature erythrocytes are non-nucleated, biconcave disks containing HEMOGLOBIN whose function is to transport OXYGEN.	Blood Cells, Red,Blood Corpuscles, Red,Red Blood Cells,Red Blood Corpuscles,Blood Cell, Red,Blood Corpuscle, Red,Erythrocyte,Red Blood Cell,Red Blood Corpuscle
D005227	Fatty Acids	Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid. Fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated (FATTY ACIDS, UNSATURATED). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Aliphatic Acid,Esterified Fatty Acid,Fatty Acid,Fatty Acids, Esterified,Fatty Acids, Saturated,Saturated Fatty Acid,Aliphatic Acids,Acid, Aliphatic,Acid, Esterified Fatty,Acid, Saturated Fatty,Esterified Fatty Acids,Fatty Acid, Esterified,Fatty Acid, Saturated,Saturated Fatty Acids
D005260	Female		Females
D006706	Homeostasis	The processes whereby the internal environment of an organism tends to remain balanced and stable.	Autoregulation
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man