Leucocyte Mobilization and Release of Neutrophil Elastase Following Acute Insulin‐induced Hypoglycaemia in Normal Humans

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Abstract
Insulin‐induced hypoglycaemia in humans is associated with the rapid mobilization of leucocytes in peripheral blood. The aim of the present study was to determine whether neutrophil activation, manifested in plasma by neutrophil elastase concentration, occurs in response to insulin‐induced hypoglycaemia. Acute hypoglycaemia (mean blood glucose 1.3 ± 0.2 mmol I−1; mean ± SD) was induced with intravenous insulin in 15 normal human subjects, and provoked an increase in the neutrophil count from 3.4 (range 1.9‐6.5) to 10.7 (9.4–16.3) × 109 I−1 (p9 I−1 (p−1 (p−1 (p<0.001). As neutrophil elastase is implicated in the development of vascular disease, this rise in response to hypoglycaemia may be of pathological importance in insulin‐treated diabetic patients.