Insulin-Glucose Dispersion and Interaction System: Liver Control Mechanisms

Data on the disposition of insulin I 131 are reviewed and analyzed to determine the mechanisms responsible for insulin dispersion phenomena. The liver is indicated as the primary organ responsible for controlling plasma clearance rates by the following two methods: chemical reaction that degrades intact insulin supplied by the plasma, and the presence of a region that controls the rate at which insulin I 131 is made available to the reaction sites. The degradation reaction is apparently second order with respect to intact insulin I 131, so that combination of two insulin I 131 molecules with insulin glutathione transhydrogenase appears to be required for degradation to occur. A proposed model describing the insulin and glucose dispersion systems and the interaction between them is capable of explaining qualitatively how plasma insulin and glucose levels are maintained.