EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid) Potentiation of Insulin Activity as Assayed by the Epididymal Adipose Tissue Technique. ∗

Abstract

Summary

High concentrations of EDTA (10^-2 M) when added to the incubation medium produced a several-fold increase in glucose oxidation, by epididymal fat pads. Thus 10^-2 M EDTA has an “insulin-like” activity. By contrast lower concentrations of EDTA (10^-3 to l0^-5 M) did not significantly affect glucose oxidation. However, lower concentrations of EDTA (10^-3 M) produced a 2-fold potentiation of the effect of insulin on the epididymal fat pad; this potentiation was observed with crystalline bovine insulin, low zinc amorphous insulin, acid-alcohol pancreatic extracts (rat), and preparations of microdissected rat islet tissue. With a goosefish islet insulin preparation the EDTA potentiation was over 3-fold. By contrast EDTA did not potentiate the “insulin-like” activity of rat plasma acid-alcohol extracts.