J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 262, Issue 14, 6663-6667, May, 1987
Polymyxin B is an inhibitor of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in the whole animal model. Studies on the mode of inhibitory action
S Amir, S Sasson, N Kaiser, J Meyerovitch and Y Shechter
The cyclic decapeptide, polymyxin B (PMXB), was found to inhibit
hypoglycemia in mice receiving exogenous insulin (Amir, S., and Shechter,
Y. (1985) Eur. J. Pharmacol. 110, 283-285). In this study, we have extended
this observation to rats. Insulin-dependent hypoglycemia in rats is
efficiently blocked at a 12:1 molar ratio of PMXB to insulin. This effect
is highly specific, as it could not be mimicked by a variety of antibiotics
or positively charged substances. Chemical modifications of PMXB have
revealed that the ring structure, rather than the tail structure, is
important for anti-insulin-like activity. Colistin A, which differs from
PMXB by one conservative amino acid substitution in the ring structure, is
devoid of this activity. Polymyxin B does not interact with insulin, nor
does it alter the rate of insulin absorption and/or degradation, or the
ability of insulin to bind to target tissues. This peptide inhibits
hypoglycemia by blocking insulin-dependent activation of the hexose
transport mechanism, as deduced by in vitro studies. The effect of insulin
in stimulating hexose uptake (and subsequent glucose metabolism) in both
isolated muscle tissue and adipocytes is blocked with little or no effect
on the basal activities of these processes. Colistin A has no significant
inhibiting effect. Other insulin-dependent activities, such as inhibition
of lipolysis in adipocytes or synthesis of DNA in muscle cells, are not
inhibited. It is concluded that PMXB inhibits, in a highly specific manner,
the action of insulin in stimulating hexose transport and subsequent
glucose metabolism, both in vitro and in the whole animal model.