Decreased insulin receptor number and affinity in subcutaneous adipose tissue in a patient with primary hyperaldosteronism

: In the present work we study the binding of insulin to its receptors in adipocytes from subcutaneous adipose tissue of left hypochondria extracted during an adrenalectomy carried out in a patient with Conn's Syndrome (left adrenal adenoma), comparing it to insulin binding to its receptors in adipocytes from subcutaneous adipose tissue of right hypochondria, obtained during a cholecystectomy because of cholelithiasis (controls). According to our results, there is an evident decrease in insulin binding to its receptors in adipocytes of the patient with Conn's Syndrome in relation to control group. This decrease in binding would be based both in a decrease in insulin receptor number as in an affinity loss of these receptors for the hormone. These facts at the receptor level could be originating a decrease in tissue response to insulin and be the base for glucose intolerance observed in patients with this pathology.