Objective To study the effect and mechanism of
intensive insulin therapy on stress hyperglycemia in
rabbits with sepsis.
Methods Rabbits were subjected to cecal ligation plus puncture (CLP) to reproduce sepsis. Sixty rabbits were randomly divided into three groups, control group (n=12), CLP group, and
intensive insulin therapy group (n=24). The following parameters were measured with the method indicated in parentheses: blood
glucose (blood sugar meter), glucose transporter 4 (GluT4) mRNA expression (RT-PCR), GluT4 protein level (Western blot). Results Compare with the control group, the level of blood glucose was significantly increased at 2h after CLP and reached its peak 12h after CLP (P<0.05), and GluT4 mRNA and protein levels were markedly decreased. Intensive insulin therapy maintained blood glucose at the normal level and markedly increased the levels of GluT4 mRNA and protein. Conclusion The results suggested that early treatment with intensive insulin therapy might decrease the stress hyperglycemia through an increase in the expression of GluT4 in muscle in rabbits with sepsis.