The effects of a short term (2 hour) incubation of 5 microM triiodothyronine (T3) on 125I-insulin binding and insulin stimulated (14C)-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake in rat adipocytes was investigated. In the presence of 5 microM T3, (14C)-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake was significantly decreased by 11 to 24% at insulin concentrations of 5 to 1000 microU/ml. The concentration of insulin eliciting a half maximal response for insulin stimulated (14C)-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake was 11.5 microU/ml in the control, and 14.3 microU/ml in the T3 treated cells (p less than 0.01). T3 treated adipocytes bound 9 to 22% less 125I-labeled insulin yet the concentration of native insulin necessary to displace 50% of the bound 125I-labeled insulin was the same in the control and T3 treated cells (75 and 70 ng/ml, respectively). These studies indicate that the decreased sensitivity of T3 treated cells to insulin is in accordance with a decreased number of receptors with the same binding characteristics as those of the control cells. The decreased maximal uptake of (14C)-2-deoxy-D-glucose at saturating insulin levels is likely to be independent of receptor number and result from a second, undetermined alteration in the hexose transport system of adipocytes treated with T3.

We have previously demonstrated the ability of the sulfonylurea tolazamide to potentiate insulin action in primary cultures of hepatocytes prepared from normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats. To determine whether the pirogliride derivative linogliride, a non-sulfonylurea orally effective hypoglycemic agent, can potentiate insulin action, we evaluated the ability of linogliride to affect insulin-stimulated lipogenesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes prepared from normal rats. In addition, we also evaluated the ability of the sulfonylurea chlorpropamide to affect insulin-stimulated lipogenesis in the same in vitro system. The exposure of hepatocytes for 18 h to either linogliride (100 ug/ml) or chlorpropamide (175 ug/ml) resulted in dose-dependent (0.1 to 100 nM insulin) increases in insulin-stimulated lipogenesis, although the effects of chlorpropamide are approximately two times those of linogliride. This increase in insulin responsiveness was not associated with any change in insulin sensitivity (ED50) or insulin binding. The results provide evidence for an extra-pancreatic effect of linogliride and chlorpropamide in the liver and indicate that these structurally unrelated oral hypoglycemic agents enhance insulin responsiveness through postbinding mechanisms.