Porcine somatotropin alters insulin response in growing pigs by reducing insulin sensitivity rather than changing responsiveness

Abstract

Exogenous porcine somatotropin (pST) treatment consistently improves growth performance and reduces fat deposition in pigs, and it is hypothesized that one component of the mechanism is through altering the sensitivity and/or responsiveness to insulin. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the effect of pST treatment on whole-body glucose metabolism in response to varying doses of insulin. Eight barrows were surgically prepared with indwelling catheters and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (0 or 120 μg pST/kg BW · d) for 13 d. Whole-body glucose kinetics were measured during infusion of [6- 3H]-glucose under basal conditions and during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic cl..