Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance cause vascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Dietary treatment alone often fails and oral drugs or insulin enhance hyperinsulinemia. In previous studies, an intravenous bolus of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I (rhIGF-I) caused normoglycemia in insulin-resistant diabetics whereas rhIGF-I infusions lowered insulin and lipid levels in healthy humans, suggesting that rhIGF-I is effective in insulin-resistant states. Thus, eight type 2 diabetics on a diet received on five treatment days subcutaneous rhIGF-I (2 X 120 ,g/kg) after five control days. Fasting and postprandial glucose, insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin, glucagon, triglyceride, insulin-like growth factor-I and -II, and growth hormone levels were determined.RhIGF-I administration increased total IGF-I serum levels 5.3-fold above control. During the control period mean (±SD) fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and total triglyceride levels were 11.0±4.3 mmol/liter, 108±50 pmol/liter, 793±250 pmol/ liter, and 3.1±2.7 mmol/liter, respectively, and decreased during treatment to a nadir of 6.6±2.5 mmol/liter, 47±18 pmol/ liter, 311±165 pmol/liter, and 1.6±0.8 mmol/liter (P < 0.01), respectively. Postprandial areas under the glucose, insulin, and C-peptide curve decreased to 77±13 (P < 0.02), 52±11, and 60±9% (P < 0.01) of control, respectively. RhIGF-I decreased the proinsulin/insulin ratio whereas glucagon levels remained unchanged. The magnitude of the effects of rhIGF-I correlated with the respective control levels.Since rhIGF-I appears to improve insulin sensitivity directly and/or indirectly, it may become an interesting tool in type 2 diabetes and other states associated with insulin resistance. (J. Clin. Invest. 1992. 90:2234-2241.) Key words: insulin sensitivity. insulin resistance * insulin-like growth factors.noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus * proinsulin Introduction Noninsulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and relatively in-

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I)1 and insulin interact with related receptors to lower plasma glucose and to exert mitogenic effects. Recombinant human IGF-I (rhIGF-I) was recently shown to decrease serum levels of insulin and C-peptide in fasted normal subjects without affecting plasma glucose levels. In this study we have investigated in six healthy volunteers the responses of glucose, insulin, and C-peptide levels to intravenous rhIGF-I infusions (7 and 14 gg/kg-h) during standard oral glucose tolerance tests (oGTT) and meal tolerance tests (MITT), respectively.Glucose tolerance remained unchanged during the rhIGF-I infusions in the face of lowered insulin and C-peptide levels. The decreased insulin/glucose-ratio presumably is caused by an enhanced tissue sensitivity to insulin. The lowered area under the insulin curve during oGTT and MITT as a result ofthe administration of rhIGF-I were related to the fasting insulin levels during saline infusion (oGTF: r = 0.825, P < 0.05; MITT: r = 0.895, P < 0.02). RhIGF-I, however, did not alter the ratio between C-peptide and insulin, suggesting that the metabolic clearance of endogenous insulin remained unchanged.

The syndrome of type A insulin resistance is encountered in young women and is characterized by glucose intolerance or frank diabetes mellitus, endogenous hyperinsulinism, insensitivity to insulin administration, acanthosis nigricans and virilization. The insulin resistance is due to reduced cellular insulin binding because of a lack of or defective binding sites and/or because the interaction with the tyrosine kinase of the beta-subunit is hindered. This study was undertaken to find out whether hyperglycaemia in these patients may be influenced by the administration of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I which exerts insulin-like effects through the insulin receptor as well as the type 1 insulin-like growth factor I receptor. Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I was intravenously administered in two subsequent doses of 100 micrograms/kg body weight to three women with type A insulin resistance. An immediate but slow fall of blood glucose was observed. The glucose disappearance rate was 28.0 mumol/min, i.e. considerably lower than that seen in healthy subjects. The markedly elevated insulin and C-peptide levels fell in a parallel manner to blood glucose but not to normal levels. The results show that recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I, presumably by reacting with the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor, can normalize serum glucose levels in patients with severe insulin resistance at least for several hours. We suggest that the potential or recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I to control hyperglycaemia in type A insulin resistant patients should be explored in more depth.

Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus is associated with increased glucose, insulin, total and VLDL-triglyceride, and often total and LDL-cholesterol levels which promote vascular disease. Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I which mimics many effects of insulin, decreased insulin, total and VLDL-triglyceride, and total and LDL-cholesterol levels in healthy man as well as glucose and insulin levels in Type 2 diabetic patients. We, therefore, investigated total and fractionated triglyceride and cholesterol levels, lipoprotein(a), non-esterified fatty acid, and apolipoprotein levels in eight Type 2 diabetic patients during five control, five treatment, and three wash-out days. They received a constant diet throughout and daily 2 x 120 micrograms insulin-like growth factor-I/kg s.c. during the treatment period. Fasting total and VLDL-triglyceride, total and LDL-cholesterol control levels were (mean +/- SD) 3.1 +/- 2.6, 1.3 +/- 1.0, 6.3 +/- 1.3, and 4.5 +/- 1.1 mmol/l and decreased to 1.6 +/- 0.8, 0.6 +/- 0.4, 5.0 +/- 1.0, and 3.5 +/- 1.1 mmol/l, respectively, on the last treatment day (p < 0.01). During therapy, fasting lipoprotein(a) levels and the postprandial area under the triglyceride curve decreased by 48 +/- 22 and 32 +/- 18% of control (p < 0.01), respectively. In conclusion, insulin-like growth factor-I lowered lipid levels in Type 2 diabetic patients directly or indirectly or both because of decreased glucose and insulin levels. Long-term trials would be of interest with respect to the cardiovascular risk in Type 2 diabetes and patients with hyperlipidaemia.

SummaryIn vitro studies have shown that insulin and IGF-1 releases the fibrinolytic inhibitor plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) from cells of hepatic origin. To investigate the effects of IGF-1 on fibrinolysis: 1) cultured hepatoma cells were grown in the presence of IGF-1 and media collected for secreted PAI-1 and cells probed for PAI-1 mRNA, 2) 8 hypopituitary patients were treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) and 3) 5 type 2 diabetic patients were treated with recombinant human IGF-1 (rhIGF-1). Treatment of Hep G2 cells with IGF-1 (1000 ng/ml) increased secretion of PAI-1 from a median value of 80 ng/106 cells (range 21-91) to 144 ng/106 cells (range 128-169) after 24 h (p <0.01). Synthesis of PAI-1 mRNA increased in a similar fashion. Treatment of hypopituitary patients with rhGH led to an increase in circulating IGF-1 from a mean value of 166 (range 41-324) ng/ml at baseline to 322 (77-575) ng/ml at 4 weeks and 259 (104-533) ng/ml after 8 weeks (p <0.02). Despite this, no changes in circulating PAI-1 or fibrinolysis occurred. Type II diabetic patients treated with rhIGF-1 showed an increase in circulating IGF-1 from a mean value of 120 ng/ml (range 109-196), at baseline to 823 ng/ml (585-894) after 5 days. This also was not associated with changes in circulating PAI-1 or in fibrinolysis. The results confirm that IGF-1 induces the synthesis of PAI-1 in Hep G2 cells. However, marked increases in IGF-1 had no effect on circulating PAI-1 or fibrinolysis.