Abstract
The brain has generally been considered an insulin-independent organ, because insulin does not apparently exert a direct effect on brain glucose consumption1. Recently, however, insulin receptors have been detected throughout the central nervous system (CNS) of several species2,3. Since important insights into the functional significance of brain insulin receptors might be provided by identification of the cell type(s) possessing these receptors, we have attempted to localise them morphologically using light and electron microscope autoradiography. We report here results indicating that blood vessels throughout the CNS of the rat bind plasma insulin rapidly and with considerable specificity.
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van Houten, M., Posner, B. Insulin binds to brain blood vessels in vivo. Nature 282, 623–625 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/282623a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/282623a0
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