Figure 3. Sympathectomized mice exhibit impaired glucose tolerance but normal insulin sensitivity.

(A) Elevated blood glucose levels in one month-old TH-Cre;TrkA^f/f compared to control mice when fed ad libitum. n=9 mice per genotype; mean ± SEM; *p < 0.05, t test. (B) Glucose intolerance in TH-Cre;TrkA^f/f mice. Mice, at one month of age, were fasted overnight, then injected i.p with a bolus of 2g/kg glucose at t=0. Blood glucose measurements were made from tail vein at the indicated time intervals after glucose injection. n=10 mice per genotype; mean ± SEM; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, t test. (C) Reduced plasma insulin levels in response to a glucose injection (3g/kg glucose in TH-Cre;TrkA^f/f mice compared to control mice. n=8 control, 10 mutant mice, mean ± SEM; *p<0.05, ***p<0.001, t test. (D) Normal insulin sensitivity in TH-Cre;TrkA^f/f mice. A significant decrease (p<0.001, t test) in blood glucose levels was seen in both TH-Cre;TrkA^f/f and control mice at 30 minutes after insulin injection compared to t=0). Mice were treated with 0.75U/kg of insulin, and blood glucose measurements made from tail blood at the indicated times post-injection. n=5 mice per genotype, t test, mean ± SEM,