2013 Volume 75 Issue 11 Pages 1449-1454
Free fatty acids play an important role in regulating animal insulin secretion response. Acute elevated free fatty acids increased animal insulin secretion and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. In the present study, we perfused the rat pancreas to explore the effect of unsaturated fatty acids on insulin secretion. The results showed that linoleic acid, γ-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid significantly stimulated insulin secretion. Glucose (10 mM) alone induced a biphasic insulin secretion response. The peak effluent insulin concentrations increased by 444% and 800% compared with the baseline in the first and second insulin secretion phases, respectively. Based on comparison of the percentage increases, arachidonic acid, γ-linolenic acid or linoleic acid increased glucose-induced insulin release by 555% and 934%, 522% and 995% and 463% and 1,105% in the first and second insulin secretion phases, respectively. However, the percentage increases of insulin secretion decreased significantly to 402% and 564% in the first and second phases in the rats fed a high-fat diet for 13 weeks. Linoleic acid alone stimulated a 391% increase in the peak insulin concentration compared with the baseline in the rats fed a normal diet. The peak insulin concentration decreased significantly to183% in the rats fed a long-term high-fat diet. All the results suggested that unsaturated fatty acids stimulated insulin secretion and additively increased glucose-induced insulin secretion in the perfused rat pancreas. However, the rats fed a high-fat diet had a decreased linoleic acid-induced insulin secretion response.