Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of General Physiology logoLink to The Journal of General Physiology
. 1966 Jan 1;49(3):433–456. doi: 10.1085/jgp.49.3.433

Effect of Insulin on Potassium Flux and Water and Electrolyte Content of Muscles from Normal and from Hypophysectomized Rats

Kenneth L Zierler 1, Ellen Rogus 1, Carlton F Hazlewood 1
PMCID: PMC2195489  PMID: 5938822

Abstract

It was reported previously that insulin hyperpolarized rat skeletal muscle and decreased K+ flux in both directions. The observations on K+ flux are now extended to take advantage of the greater sensitivity to insulin of hyperphysectomized rats. Insulin caused a shift of water from extracellular to intracellular space if glucose was present, but not in its absence. Insulin caused net gain of muscle fiber K+, though not necessarily an increase in K+ concentration in fiber water. It probably also decreased intrafiber Na+ and Cl-. Insulin decreased K+ efflux. The effect was dose-dependent. Muscles from hypophysectomized rats were more sensitive to the action of insulin on K+ flux than were those from normal rats. The effect was demonstrable within the time resolution of the system, suggesting that insulin's action is on cell surfaces. K+ influx was also decreased by insulin. Bookkeeping suggests that some K+ influx be called active. Insulin seemed to decrease active K+ influx and passive K+ efflux. It is not resolved whether insulin has a true dual effect or whether it acts only on passive fluxes in both directions (the apparent action on active K+ influx being an artefact of incomplete definition of passive flux) or whether a single alteration in the membrane may affect both active and passive fluxes.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.4 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BALL E. G., MARTIN D. B., COOPER O. Studies on the metabolism of adipose tissue. I. The effect of insulin on glucose utilization as measured by the manometric determination of carbon dioxide output. J Biol Chem. 1959 Apr;234(4):774–780. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BERSON S. A., YALOW R. S., BAUMAN A., ROTHSCHILD M. A., NEWERLY K. Insulin-I131 metabolism in human subjects: demonstration of insulin binding globulin in the circulation of insulin treated subjects. J Clin Invest. 1956 Feb;35(2):170–190. doi: 10.1172/JCI103262. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CREESE R., NORTHOVER J. Maintenance of isolated diaphragm with normal sodium content. J Physiol. 1961 Feb;155:343–357. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1961.sp006632. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. CREESE R. SODIUM EXCHANGE IN RAT MUSCLE. Nature. 1964 Feb 1;201:505–506. doi: 10.1038/201505b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DE BODO R. C., ALTSZULER N. Insulin hypersensitivity and physiological insulin antagonists. Physiol Rev. 1958 Jul;38(3):389–445. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1958.38.3.389. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. FRITZ G. R., KNOBIL E. THE EFFECT OF INSULIN ON EXTRACELLULAR SPACE AND TISSUE-WATER CONTENT OF THE ISOLATED RAT DIAPHRAGM. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1963 Dec 13;78:773–774. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(63)91057-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HODGKIN A. L., HOROWICZ P. The influence of potassium and chloride ions on the membrane potential of single muscle fibres. J Physiol. 1959 Oct;148:127–160. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1959.sp006278. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HODGKIN A. L., KEYNES R. D. The potassium permeability of a giant nerve fibre. J Physiol. 1955 Apr 28;128(1):61–88. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1955.sp005291. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. JOHNSEN V. K., USSING H. H. The influence of the corticotropic hormone from ox on the active salt uptake in the axolotl. Acta Physiol Scand. 1949 Jan 31;17(1):38–43. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.1949.tb00551.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. KERNAN R. P. The role of lactate in the active excretion of sodium by frog muscle. J Physiol. 1962 Jun;162:129–137. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1962.sp006919. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. KEYNES R. D., MAISEL G. W. The energy requirement for sodium extrusion from a frog muscle. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1954 May 27;142(908):383–392. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1954.0031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ZIERLER K. L. A model of a poorly-permeable membrane as an alternative to the carrier hypothesis of cell membrane penetration. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp. 1961 Jul;109:35–48. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. ZIERLER K. L. Effect of insulin on membrane potential and potassium content of rat muscle. Am J Physiol. 1959 Sep;197:515–523. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1959.197.3.515. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. ZIERLER K. L. Effect of insulin on potassium efflux from rat muscle in the presence and absence of glucose. Am J Physiol. 1960 May;198:1066–1070. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1960.198.5.1066. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. ZIERLER K. L. Hyperpolarization of muscle by insulin in a glucose-free environment. Am J Physiol. 1959 Sep;197:524–526. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1959.197.3.524. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. ZIERLER K. L. Increased muscle permeability to aldolase produced by depolarization and by metabolic inhibitors. Am J Physiol. 1958 Jun;193(3):534–538. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1958.193.3.534. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Zierler K. L. Interpretation of tracer washout curves from a population of muscle fibers. J Gen Physiol. 1966 Jan;49(3):423–431. doi: 10.1085/jgp.49.3.423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of General Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES