Effects of 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose on Insulin-Secretory Responses to Intravenous Glucose, Glucagon, Tolbutamide and Arginine in Man

The effects of prior administration of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on insulin secretory responses to insulin secretagogues were studied. Following 2-deoxy-D-glucose administration to eight subjects including two maturity-onset diabetics, the stimulatory effects of both glucose and glucagon were markedly obtunded by comparison with control studies in the same subjects. In another group of eight subjects including one maturity-onset diabetic, the mean plasma insulin responses to tolbutamide and arginine were only very slightly but not significantly reduced following 2-deoxy-D-glucose as compared to control studies. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on insulin secretory responses to glucose and glucagon is not related to epineplirine discharge and that the mechanism of stimulation of insulin secretion does not follow identical pathways for all secretagogues.