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Glucose toxicity (i.e., glucose-induced reduction in insulin secretion and action) may be mediated by an increased flux through the hexosamine-phosphate p a t hw a y. Glucosamine (GlcN) is widely used to accelerate the hexosamine pathway flux, independently of glucose. We tested the hypothesis that GlcN can aff e c t insulin secretion and/or action in humans. In 10 healthy subjects, we sequentially performed an intravenous g l ucose (

SummaryThe adhesion of leucocytes to the endothelium, an early step in atherogenesis, is mediated by cell adhesion molecules. In this study we evaluated the concentration of soluble adhesion molecules in patients with insulin-dependent (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and studied its relation to glycaemic control. Soluble adhesion molecules E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were measured in 31 diabetic patients (18 with IDDM and 13 with NIDDM), 20 hyperlipoproteinaemic patients (10 with type IIa and 10 with type IIb) and 20 healthy subjects. Increased Eselectin concentrations were found in the patients with IDDM and NIDDM and in the hyperlipoproteinaemic patients when compared to the control subjects (p < 0.01 for all the groups). ICAM-1 was found to be elevated only in the patients with NIDDM (p <0.01). No significant differences in VCAM-1 concentration were found in the different groups of subjects. The concentration of plasma E-selectin was positively correlated with the glycated haemoglobin (r = 0.54, p < 0.01) in patients with IDDM and NIDDM. In the same patients E-selectin was not related to the concentrations of plasma lipids in spite of the fact that it was found to be elevated in hyperlipoproteinaemic subjects. The results though preliminary suggest that in diabetic patients the concentration of soluble adhesion molecules and especially of E-selectin may be related to metabolic control. [Diabetologia (1995[Diabetologia ( ) 38: 1122[Diabetologia ( -1124 Key words Diabetes mellitus, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, adhesion molecules, E-selectin, ICAM-1, VCAM-1.A large body of evidence shows that leucocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis [1]. The earliest morphological evidence of the disease is the attachment of monocytes to the intact endothelium, that is followed by subendothelial accumulation of macrophages, which become lipid-laden foam cells [2]. This enhanced recruitment of monocytes to endothelium is likely to be due to the appearance at the cell surface of adhesion molecules, which include E-selectin (a specific product of endothelial cells), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) (both the product of endothelial cells and other cells). E-selectin is of particular interest because, in contrast to other adhesion molecules, it is expressed only on activated endothelium [3]. The demonstration of soluble E-selectin in the blood would therefore be taken as evidence of endothelial activation. Recent studies have reported increased levels of E-selectin in patients with hypertension [4] and diabetes mellitus [5]. In the latter paper, however, the type of diabetes and the possible relation to glycaemic control were not mentioned.In this study we evaluated the concentrations of the soluble adhesion molecules and particularly of E-selectin in patients with insulin-dependent (IDDM)

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Analogically modelling beta-cell function during the OGTT provides a simple, useful tool for the physiological assessment of beta-cell function.