The state of sulphydryl groups in lenses of insulin-induced hypoglycemic rats.

The level of non-protein sulphydryl compounds (NP-SH) and protein sulphydryls (P-SH) was investigated in lenses of rats with an acute and extended insulin induced hypoglycemia. No difference was found in the level of NP-SH between the controls and the rats with an acute hypoglycemia induced by cristalline insulin. After 10 hours of hypoglycemia induced by NPH insulin, the decrease of NP-SH was very significant (P less than 0.001). The level of P-SH in lenses of the animals treated with cristalline insulin was found to be lower than in the controls (P less than 0.01), the difference being more significant in the animals treated with NPH insulin (P less than 0.001). The possible reason for these findings is discussed.