THE INSUFFICIENCY OF INSULIN SECRETION IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS

The influence of the sympathetic nervous system on insulin secretion was investigated in both spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). In an oral glucose tolerance test (2g/Kg body weight), the SHR had a significantly lower serum insulin level and a significantly higher level of pancreatic insulin content than the WKY, suggesting that an inhibitory mechanism of insulin secretion existed in the SHR. The noradrenaline (NA) contents in both pancreatic tissue and plasma of SHR were significantly higher than the NA contents of the WKY. In conclusion, these results indicate that SHR are in a state of insufficient insulin secretion which is largely caused by dominant sympathetic nervous activity in their pancreatic tissues