Insulin Binding to Circulating Erythrocytes in Nonobese Diabetic Mice

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Abstract
Insulin binding to circulating erythrocytes was studied in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice which develop insulinopenic diabetics mellitus spontaneously. NOD mice with a short duration of diabetes mellitus and mild insulinopenia did not show any change in insulin binding, while those with a long duration of diabetes mellitus and severe insulinopenia showed an increase in insulin binding compared with nondiabetic NOD Mice (6.85 .+-. 0.38% bound vs. 4.19 .+-. 0.24% bound, p < 0.01). This increase in insulin binding was due to an increase in the number of receptors. Insulin treatment of diabetic NOD mice significantly reduced the insulin binding by 64%, which resulted from a decrease in the number of the receptors. These results indicate that insulin binding to erythrocytes in NOD mice is controlled mostly by up-and-down regulation.