WHOLE-BODY INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN OSBORNE-MENDEL AND S 5B/PL RATS EATING A LOW-FAT OR HIGH-FAT DIET

To determine whether whole body insulin sensitivity differs between a rat strain that does not (S 5B/Pl) and a strain that does [Osborne-Mendel (OM)] become obese when eating a high-fat diet, we performed euglycemic clamp studies in animals from each strain during low- and high-fat feeding. Clamps were performed after 2 days ("initial clamp") and 9 days ("final clamp") on each diet. Plasma glucose and insulin levels during the final 60 min of initial and final clamps were similar in S 5B/Pl and OM rats regardless of diet. Insulin sensitivity, measured as the glucose clearance rate during the final 60 min of the clamp, averaged 35 +/- 3 ml.kg-1.min-1 in S 5B/Pl rats after 2 days on a low-fat diet. This did not change significantly during an additional 7 days on the low-fat diet. The high-fat diet was associated with a 13% reduction in insulin sensitivity after 2 days and a 30% reduction after 9 days in S 5B/Pl rats. OM rats exhibited similar patterns of insulin sensitivity during low- and high-fat diets, albeit at lower insulin sensitivity overall (P < 0.0005 vs. S 5B/Pl). Mean glucose clearance after 2 days on the low-fat diet was 27 +/- 2 mg.kg-1.min-1 and did not change significantly during seven more days of low-fat feeding. The high-fat diet was associated with a 19% reduction in glucose clearance after 2 days and a 38% reduction after 9 days in OM rats. The magnitude of reduction in insulin sensitivity during high-fat diets did not differ significantly between strains. Thus OM rats were resistant to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin compared with S 5B/Pl rats of similar age. By contrast, the two strains exhibited parallel changes in whole body insulin sensitivity in response to high-fat diets. These data do not implicate interstrain differences in the response of whole body insulin sensitivity to dietary fat as an explanation for the different responses of body weight to high-fat diets in OM and S 5B/Pl rats.