1. This study was designed to investigate the influence of insulin and glucose on the distribution of trivalent chromium in human plasma and blood cells and in human and rat insulin-sensitive and -insensitive tissues.
2. Evidence is provided that, in the rat in vitro, a clear difference exists in chromium binding between insulin-sensitive and -insensitive tissues in that chromium binding is significantly enhanced by glucose in insulin-sensitive tissues.
3. Glucose-dependent association of chromium with human adipose tissue was blocked by inhibitors of glucose transport.
4. Addition of insulin slightly increased the response to glucose in muscle and reduced the response to glucose in adipose tissue; such effects were less marked than those seen in response to glucose alone.
5. The results of this study in vitro support the hypothesis that, in vivo, chromium translocates from the blood compartment to insulin-sensitive tissues.
