Corticosterone and insulin interact to regulate glucose and triglyceride levels during stress in a bird

Abstract

Captive European starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris) were exposed to the stress of handling and restraint while corticosterone, glucose, and triglyceride concentrations were monitored in blood plasma. In saline-injected controls, basal samples were taken within 3 min of disturbance with subsequent samples taken at 40, 70, and 150 min. This was repeated at two times during the daily cycle (day and night) on two different photoperiods: short and long days. During both photoperiods, corticosterone concentrations approximately tripled (compared with a sixfold increase in free-living starlings) and triglyceride concentrations decreased 25–45% in response to stress at both times of the day, whereas an ∼25% stress-induced hyperglycemia occurred only at night. Exogenous corticosterone (200 μg), 1.0 or 4.0 IU/kg of insulin, or a combination of corticosterone with each insulin dose was then separately administered to alter the above responses. Insulin did not affect corticosterone or triglyceride concentrations but resulted in a dose-dependent hypoglycemia of 10–40%. Injected corticosterone resulted in supraphysiological corticosterone concentrations (three- to fivefold higher than normal), yet it did not affect the already altered plasma glucose or triglyceride concentrations. This suggests that glucose output and triglyceride decreases were already maximal in response to handling and restraint. However, the low glucose concentrations resulting from exogenous insulin returned to basal quicker with exogenous corticosterone but only during the day. No response to either hormone showed photoperiodic differences. These data suggest that corticosterone's role in metabolism changes to meet varying energetic demands throughout the day.