Publication
Antecedent hypoglycaemia attenuates vascular endothelial growth factor response to subsequent hypoglycaemia in healthy men
Journal Paper/Review - Sep 1, 2005
Merl V, Peters A, Oltmanns K M, Kern W, Hubold C, Fehm H L, Born J, Schultes Bernd
Units
PubMed
Doi
Citation
Type
Journal
Publication Date
Issn Print
Pages
Brief description/objective
AIM: The plasma concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has recently been shown to increase sharply in response to hypoglycaemia and, thus, has been proposed as having a role in hypoglycaemia counter-regulation. Many counter-regulatory hormones show a reduced response after antecedent hypoglycaemia. We therefore investigated whether this decrease in responsiveness with repetitive hypoglycaemia also pertains to VEGF. METHODS: Three hypoglycaemic clamp experiments were performed on two consecutive days in 15 healthy men. VEGF response was assessed during the first and last hypoglycaemic period. RESULTS: As expected, plasma VEGF concentrations rose markedly during the clamps (P < 0.001). The increase was distinctly blunted during the third (+13 +/- 8 pg/ml) as compared with the first (+54 +/- 18 pg/ml) hypoglycaemic clamp (P = 0.046). CONCLUSION: This data confirms that circulating VEGF concentrations increase acutely during hypoglycaemia. Like the counter-regulatory hormones, the hypoglycaemia-induced rise in VEGF is attenuated after antecedent hypoglycaemia. The origin of increased systemic VEGF concentration during hypoglycaemia and its physiological role remains to be defined.