The patients cells are challenged with glucose and their ability to grow in the presence or absence of insulin is determined. A significant decrease of cell growth is indicative of reduced ability to metabolize glucose.
A stimulation of lymphocyte growth by insulin may indicate a functional deficiency of insulin in vivo, or a metabolic defect in glucose utilization. At suboptimal glucose concentrations, supplementation of lymphocyte cultures with insulin exerted a sparing effect. This means that insulin addition makes uptake or utilization of glucose and amino acids more efficient, producing more cellular energy, and thus, a greater growth response. At optimal concentrations of glucose, insulin does not exert a sparing effect in healthy persons.
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