Subjects with high fasting insulin also have higher postprandial GLP-1 and glucagon levels than controls with lower insulin

• Published in: Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 72; pp. 111 - 120
• Main Authors: Albinsson-Stenholm, Erina, Bergsén, Johannes, Ingves, Simon, Vilhelmsson, Nathalie, Guldbrand, Hans, Nystrom, Fredrik H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2019
• Subjects: beverages; blood serum; Carbohydrate content; carbohydrate metabolism disorders; carbohydrates; cross-over studies; energy; fasting; Ghrelin; Glucagon; Glucagon-like peptide-1; insulin; insulin resistance; Meal distribution; men; protein content; Satiety; statistical models; statistics; women; Meal distribution; EE; GLP-1; Glucagon; RLI; AUC; Glucagon-like peptide-1; RHI; Ghrelin; LC; Satiety; SEM; HC; Carbohydrate content; BMI
• ISSN: 0271-5317; 1879-0739; 1879-0739
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2019.10.009

Little is known about postprandial release of serum ghrelin, glucagon, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in relation with differing fasting insulin levels. We hypothesized that these hormones are affected by insulin resistance, and hence, we compared different postprandial responses of GLP-1, glucagon, and ghrelin in subjects with relatively high (RHI) or relatively low (RLI) fasting insulin levels. The trial was a randomized crossover study with 4 different meal conditions. Fourteen nonobese or obese, healthy, men and 14 women were randomly assigned to the order of supervised intake of a 750 kcal drink with the same protein contents but with 20 energy-percent (E%) or 55 E% from carbohydrates, and the remaining energy from fat. Participants were also randomized to consume the drinks as 1 large beverage or as five 150-kcal portions every 30 minutes. The 28 subjects were divided into 2 equally sized groups based on fasting insulin levels. Statistics were done with general linear mixed model. Fasting insulin levels were 3-fold higher in the group with RHI compared with the RLI group (RHI: 1004 ± 510 pg/mL, RLI: 324 ± 123 pg/mL, P < .0005). Serum GLP-1 was highest in the RHI group after both single meals and after 5 drinks and following high- and low-carbohydrate meals (both P ≤ .002), and this was the case also for glucagon levels (both P ≤ .018), whereas ghrelin levels did not differ between groups. Thus, subjects with RHI displayed both higher postprandial serum GLP-1 and glucagon than the participants with RLI, suggesting that glucagon could play a role in the advent of dysglycemia by insulin resistance.