Possible Interaction: Chloroquine and Glucose

“We advocate that, during clinical usage of CQ and HCQ in critically ill patients, it is very essential to strengthen the CQ or HCQ with glucose infusion.”

“… chloroquine … glucose flux through the hexose monophosphate shunt but resulted in only slightly lower NADPH levels, and the turnover of NADPH in control red cells in … ten times the total NADPH content, it follows that chloroquine both decreases utilization of NADPH and inhibits flux through the hexose monophosphate shunt.”

“Background/Aims: Chloroquine can induce an increase in the cellular uptake of glucose ; however, the underlying mechanism is unclear.”

“Islets isolated from rats treated with chloroquine showed significantly enhanced (P less than 0.05) insulin release when incubated with 16.7 mM glucose but not with lower glucose concentrations (3 and 8 mM).”

“Similarly, at 24 hrs after chloroquine injection (100 mumol/kg), the plasma insulin response to glucose was reduced.”

“When injected together with glucose, chloroquine (2 or 10 mumol/kg) inhibited the peak plasma insulin response.”

“Culture in the presence of chloroquine also reduced both the oxidative rate of glucose and the insulin content of the islets, and abolished glucose stimulation of the insulin release.”

“In vivo dissociation of the V-ATPase in response to glucose removal is also blocked by chloroquine , a weak base that neutralizes the acidic pH of the vacuole.”