The effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on insulin release by neonatal rat B cells in culture

The culture for 7 days in medium with 5.5 mM glucose and 1 mM 2-deoxy-D-glucose enhanced the glucose sensitivity of neonatal rat B cells, and even stimulated their growth in vitro. Also, 2-deoxy-D-glucose supplementation maintained insulin release evoked by leucine and 2-ketoisocaproate from B cells at day 7 at levels several times higher than at day 1. The effect of leucine was greatly augmented by glutamine, whereas that of the 2-keto acid remained almost unchanged irrespective of the presence of glutamine. These results suggest an increase in oxidative catabolism of medium nutrients in B cells grown in medium with 2-deoxy-D-glucose for 7 days, and such metabolic changes may promote the growth of B cells in vitro.     

Effects of phloretin and dextran-linked phloretin on pancreatic islet metabolism and insulin release.

The effects of phloretin on islet metabolism and insulin release have been studied in isolated pancreatic islets of the rat. At a concentration of 0.18 mM phloretin inhibited insulin release stimulated by glucose or leucine but did not affect the oxidation rates of glucose or leucine, the rate of glucose utilization and the islet content of ATP. Higher concentrations of phloretin caused inhibition of the rate of glucose metabolism, but stimulation of insulin release. Insulin release stimulated by phloretin was inhibited by mannoheptulose but was independent on extracellular Ca2+ and was not potentiated by caffeine. Both inhibitory and stimulatory effects of dextran-linked phloretin on insulin release were also seen; a concentration of dextran-linked phloretin that did not inhibit islet metabolism inhibited glucose-stimulated insulin release, but not release stimulated by leucine or glyceraldehyde. Higher concentrations of dextran-linked phloretin inhibited glucose oxidation but stimulated insulin release. These data are discussed in terms of current models of the beta-cell glucose-sensor mechanism.     

Development and function of B cells in monolayer islet cells of 3-week-old rat

Monolayer cultures of pancreatic B cells of 3-week-old rats were kept for 7 days in medium with 5.5 mM glucose plus 1 mM 2-deoxy-2-fluoroglucose or for 4 days in medium with 5.5 mM glucose alone, following exposure for 3 days to a medium with 5.5 mM glucose plus 5 microM iodoacetic acid. Addition of the deoxyglucose or iodoacetic acid caused a selective deletion of fibroblasts, yielding large clusters that consisted mostly of islet cells. At the early stage of culture in medium with 16.7 mM glucose (day 4), the response of B cells to 16.7 mM glucose included only a small rise in insulin secreted during the first and second phases, and that to 10 mM of leucine and 2-ketoisocaproate was monophasic. After culturing for 7 days, these three secretagogues markedly stimulated insulin secretion by B cells cultured in both media, with a significant rise in secondary phase secretion. However, quantitative relationships differed. Thus, the response (total insulin secreted during a 30-min stimulation) of B cells in 2-deoxy-2-fluoroglucose to glucose was 155%, to leucine 185% and 2-ketoisocaproate 126% of that of cells exposed to iodoacetic acid. In conclusion, the present results suggest that B cells of 3-week-old rat may be immature, and that medium containing 2-deoxy-2-fluoroglucose is beneficial to continued maturation of the response in vitro.     

Effects of phloretin and dextran-linked phloretin on pancreatic islet metabolism and insulin release

The effects of phloretin on islet metabolism and insulin release have been studied in isolated pancreatic islets of the rat. At a concentration of 0.18 mM phloretin inhibited insulin release stimulated by glucose or leucine but did not affect the oxidation rates of glucose or leucine, the rate of glucose utilization and the islet content of ATP. Higher concentrations of phloretin caused inhibition of the rate of glucose metabolism, but stimulation of insulin release. Insulin release stimulated by phloretin was inhibited by mannoheptulose but was independent of extracellular Ca²⁺ and was not potentiated by caffeine. Both inhibitory and stimulatory effects of dextran-linked phloretin on insulin release were also seen; a concentration of dextran-linked phloretin that did not inhibit islet metabolism inhibited glucose-stimulated insulin release, but not release stimulated by leucine or glyceraldehyde. Higher concentrations of dextran-linked phloretin inhibited glucose oxidation but stimulated insulin release. These data are discussed in terms of current models of the β-cell glucose-sensor mechanism.     

Activation of the KATP channel-independent signaling pathway by the nonhydrolyzable analog of leucine,BCH

Leucine and glutamine were used to elicit biphasic insulin release in rat pancreatic islets. Leucine did not mimic the full biphasic response of glucose. Glutamine was without effect. However, the combination of the two did mimic the biphasic response. When the ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel-independent pathway was studied in the presence of diazoxide and KCl, leucine and its nonmetabolizable analog 2-aminobicyclo[2,2,1]heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH) both stimulated insulin secretion to a greater extent than glucose. Glutamine and dimethyl glutamate had no effect. Because the only known action of BCH is stimulation of glutamate dehydrogenase, this is sufficient to develop the full effect of the KATP channel-independent pathway. Glucose, leucine, and BCH had no effect on intracellular citrate levels. Leucine and BCH both decreased glutamate levels, whereas glucose was without effect. Glucose and leucine decreased palmitate oxidation and increased esterification. Strikingly, BCH had no effect on palmitate oxidation or esterification. Thus BCH activates the KATP channel-independent pathway of glucose signaling without raising citrate levels, without decreasing fatty acid oxidation, and without mimicking the effects of glucose and leucine on esterification. The results indicate that increased flux through the TCA cycle is sufficient to activate the KATP channel-independent pathway.     

Regulation of RNA metabolism in relation to insulin production and oxidative metabolism in mouse pancreatic islets in vitro

This study was undertaken to investigate the long-term effects of different substrates, in particular glucose, on the regulation of islet RNA metabolism and the relationship of this regulation to the metabolism and insulin production of the islet B-cell. For this purpose collagenase-isolated mouse islets were used either in the fresh state or after culture for 2 or 5 days in RPMI 1640 plus 10% calf serum supplemented with various test compounds. Islets cultured with 16.7 mM glucose contained more RNA than those cultured with 3.3 mM glucose. Culture of islets in glucose at low concentrations inhibited glucose-stimulated RNA synthesis and this inhibitory effect was reversed by prolonged exposure to high glucose concentrations. Culture with 10 mM leucine and 3.3 mM glucose or with 10 mM 2-ketoisocaproate and 3.3 mM glucose increased the total RNA content of islets as compared to that of islets cultured with 3.3 mM glucose alone. Islets cultured with 5 mM theophylline maintained a high RNA content in the presence of 3.3 mM glucose. Theophylline also increased the islet RNA content when added together with 16.7 mM glucose, as compared to 16.7 mM glucose alone. Theophylline probably exerted this effect by decreasing the rate of RNA degradation. Changes in islet RNA metabolism showed a close correlation to changes in islet total protein biosynthesis, whereas islet (pro)insulin biosynthesis and insulin release exhibited different glucose-dependency patterns. The response of islet oxygen uptake to glucose was similar to that of islet RNA and protein biosynthesis. It is concluded that the RNA content of the pancreatic islets is controlled at the levels of both synthesis and degradation. Glucose stimulates the RNA synthesis and inhibits its degradation. Moreover, the results suggest that regulation of RNA synthesis may be mediated through islet metabolic fluxes and the cAMP system.     

Effect of thioloxidant diazene dicarboxylic acid bis-(N'-methylpiperazide) (DIP) on 45Ca2+ net uptake into rat pancreatic islets

The effect of DIP (an oxidant of glutathione) on 45Ca2+ net uptake induced by a variety of stimulators of insulin secretion was studied in rat pancreatic islets. In addition the effect of exogenous glutathione (GSH) on 45Ca2+ net uptake in response to glucose was tested. DIP (0.1 mM) inhibited the increase of 45Ca2+ net uptake in the presence of glucose (16.7 mM) and glyceraldehyde (10 mM). A similar inhibitory effect could be demonstrated, when 45Ca2+ net uptake was enhanced by tolbutamide (100 micrograms/ml), glibenclamide (0.5 micrograms/ml), b-BCH (20 mM), 2-ketoisocaproate (20 mM), arginine (20 mM) in the presence of 3 mM glucose or by high extracellular potassium (20 mM). The increase of 45Ca2+ net uptake stimulated by leucine (20 mM) plus glucose (3 mM) was further augmented by DIP. Exogenous GSH did not affect 45Ca2+ net uptake in the presence of (5.6-16.7 mM) glucose. It is suggested that 45Ca2+ net uptake of pancreatic islets depends on the redox state of islet thiols regardless of whether uptake is promoted via inhibition of potassium efflux (nutrients, sulfonylureas) or by high potassium and arginine. The voltage sensitive calcium-channel is the site of action of critical thiols. It is possible that these thiols are localized at the inner side of the plasma membrane.     

Chronic exposure to high leucine impairs glucose-induced insulin release by lowering the ATP-to-ADP ratio

Exposure of rat pancreatic islets to 20 mM leucine for 24 h reduced insulin release in response to glucose (16.7 and 22.2 mM). Insulin release was normal when the same islets were stimulated with leucine (40 mM) or glyburide (1 microM). To investigate the mechanisms responsible for the different effect of these secretagogues, we studied several steps of glucose-induced insulin secretion. Glucose utilization and oxidation rates in leucine-precultured islets were similar to those of control islets. Also, the ATP-sensitive K(+) channel-independent pathway of glucose-stimulated insulin release, studied in the presence of 30 mM K(+) and 250 microM diazoxide, was normal. In contrast, the ATP-to-ADP ratio after stimulation with 22.2 mM glucose was reduced in leucine-exposed islets with respect to control islets. The decrease of the ATP-to-ADP ratio was due to an increase of ADP levels. In conclusion, prolonged exposure of pancreatic islets to high leucine levels selectively impairs glucose-induced insulin release. This secretory abnormality is associated with (and might be due to) a reduced ATP-to-ADP ratio. The abnormal plasma amino acid levels often present in obesity and diabetes may, therefore, affect pancreatic islet insulin secretion in these patients.     

A new method for the simultaneous estimation of phosphate efflux and influx during glucose stimulation of isolated pancreatic islets

Isolated rat pancreatic islets were prelabeled with [33Pi] and then incubated with basal (2.8 mM) or stimulatory (16.7 mM) glucose in the presence of [32Pi]. Subsequent changes in islet [33P] and [32P] were utilized as respective indices of net efflux and influx. During the initial eight min, (the period usually spanning the first phase of stimulated insulin secretion) efflux was significantly greater with 16.7 than 2.8 mM glucose whereas the lesser amount of phosphate influx did not differ in the two systems. During the subsequent seven min (a time usually associated with the onset of the second phase of stimulated insulin secretion), efflux was dampened in the presence of 16.7 mM glucose and Pi influx significantly exceeded the 2.8 mM glucose values. Thus, acute stimulation with glucose effects an initial phosphate depletion in pancreatic islets as efflux exceeds influx and repletion occurs thereafter as efflux is attenuated and influx is enhanced. These oscillations in islet phosphate may contribute to the biphasic pattern of glucose-stimulated insulin release.     

Insulin release from pancreatic islets of fetal rats mediated by leucine b-BCH, tolbutamide, glibenclamide, arginine, potassium chloride, and theophylline does not require stimulation of Ca2+ net uptake

In pancreatic islets of fetal rats the effect of glucose (3 and 16.7 mM), glyceraldehyde (10 mM), leucine (20 mM), b-BCH (20 mM), tolbutamide (100 micrograms/ml), glibenclamide (0.5 and 5.0 micrograms/ml) arginine (20 mM), KCl (20 mM) and theophylline (2.5 mM) on 45Ca2+ net uptake and secretion of insulin was studied. All compounds tested failed to stimulate 45Ca2+ net uptake. However, in contrast to glucose and glyceraldehyde, leucine, b-BCH, tolbutamide, glibenclamide, arginine, KCl and theophylline significantly stimulated release of insulin. This effect could not be inhibited by the calcium antagonist verapamil (20 microM). Elevation of the glucose concentration from 3 to 5.6 mM did not alter 86Rb+ efflux of fetal rat islets but inhibited 86Rb+ efflux of adult rat islets. Stimulation of 86Rb+ efflux with tolbutamide (100 micrograms/ml), leucine (20 mM) or b-BCH (20 mM) in the presence of 3 mM glucose was also ineffective in fetal rat islets. Our data suggest that stimulation of calcium uptake via the voltage dependent calcium channel is not possible in the fetal state. They also provide evidence that stimulators of insulin release which are thought not to act through their metabolism, initiate insulin secretion from fetal islets by a mechanism which is different from stimulation of calcium influx.     

Co-secretion of carboxypeptidase H and insulin from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

The release of carboxypeptidase H activity from isolated rat islets was determined and compared to the secretion of immunoreactive insulin. Analysis of pancreatic islet cells sorted into beta and non-beta types indicated that approx. 80% of islet carboxypeptidase H activity is present in the beta cell. The release of both insulin and carboxypeptidase H was stimulated markedly by increasing the glucose concentration in the medium from 2.8 to 28 mM. The fractional release was in accordance with the observed cellular distribution of both proteins. The secretory response was biphasic with time, with an initial rapid transient phase of release within 5 min, followed by a more sustained response. The concentration-dependencies of glucose stimulation of release of insulin and carboxypeptidase H were similar, with a threshold for stimulation around 5.6 mM-glucose and maximal stimulatory response at 16.7-28 mM-glucose. The release of both proteins was inhibited by 20 mM-mannoheptulose, removal of Ca2+ from the medium and addition of 1 microM-noradrenaline. The combination of 10 mM-4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate and 10 mM-glutamine stimulated the release of carboxypeptidase H and insulin, as did 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and 350 microM-tolbutamide in the presence of glucose. It is evident that carboxypeptidase H is released from the pancreatic beta-cell by an exocytotic process from the same intracellular compartment as insulin. The release of carboxypeptidase H by a constitutive process was at best equivalent to 0.4%/h, or less than 2% of the maximal rate of release via the regulated pathway. It is concluded that carboxypeptidase H can be used as a sensitive index of beta-cell secretion and an alternative marker to the insulin-related peptides.     

Stimulation of protein kinase C and insulin release by 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol

The membrane-accessible diacylglycerol 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG, 5-500 microM) caused a dose-related activation of protein kinase C in rat islet homogenates. In islet cell membranes exposed to [gamma-32P]ATP, OAG (100 microM) stimulated the net production of labelled phosphatidate and inhibited that of labelled phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate. In intact islets exposed to 5.6 mM D-glucose, OAG (100 microM) decreased the outflow of 86Rb, increased that of 45Ca and caused a rapid stimulation of insulin release. The secretory response to OAG was dose-related in the 50-500 microM range, being most marked, in relative terms, at a glucose concentration close to the threshold value for stimulation of insulin release by this hexose. It was decreased but not abolished in the absence of CaCl2 and presence of EGTA. At variance with tumor-promoting phorbol esters, OAG failed to potentiate insulin release stimulated by a hypoglycaemic sulphonylurea. Although these findings support the view that activation of protein kinase C by diacylglycerol represents an efficient modality for stimulation of insulin release, they suggest that the effect of OAG upon islet function may not be solely attributable to such an activation.     

Newly synthesized proinsulin/insulin and stored insulin are released from pancreatic B cells predominantly via a regulated, rather than a constitutive, pathway

The pancreatic B cell has been used as a model to compare the release of newly synthesized prohormone/hormone with that of stored hormone. Secretion of newly synthesized proinsulin/insulin (labeled with [3H]leucine during a 5-min pulse) and stored total immunoreactive insulin was monitored from isolated rat pancreatic islets at basal and stimulatory glucose concentrations over 180 min. By 180 min, 15% of the islet content of stored insulin was released at 16.7 mM glucose compared with 2% at 2.8 mM glucose. After a 30-min lag period, release of newly synthesized (labeled) proinsulin and insulin was detected; from 60 min onwards this release was stimulated up to 11-fold by 16.7 mM glucose. At 180 min, 60% of the initial islet content of labeled proinsulin was released at 16.7 mM glucose and 6% at 2.8 mM glucose. Specific radioactivity of the released newly synthesized hormone relative to that of material in islets indicated its preferential release. A similar degree of isotopic enrichment of released, labeled products was observed at both glucose concentrations. Quantitative HPLC analysis of labeled products indicated that glucose had no effect on intracellular proinsulin to insulin conversion; release of both newly synthesized proinsulin and insulin was sensitive to glucose stimulation; 90% of the newly synthesized hormone was released as insulin; and only 0.5% of proinsulin was rapidly released (between 30 and 60 min) in a glucose-independent fashion. It is thus concluded that the major portion of released hormone, whether old or new, processed or unprocessed, is directed through the regulated pathway, and therefore the small (less than 1%) amount released via a constitutive pathway cannot explain the preferential release of newly formed products from the B cell.     

Maintenance of pancreatic endocrine cells of the neonatal rat: VII. The effect of 3-amino-3-deoxyglucose on insulin secretion from perifused B cells

Monolayer cultures of the pancreas of the neonatal rat were maintained in TCM 199 medium, supplemented with 5.5 mM glucose, with or without 5 mM 3-amino-3-deoxyglucose, and perifused to examine the changes which occurred in the insulin secretory response during culture. On day 0, B cells showed a monophasic insulin secretion in response to 16.7 mM glucose, whereas in the presence of 200 nM 12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate, 40 microM lysophosphatidylcholine, 10 microM forskolin or 1 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, the same dose of glucose stimulated insulin secretion in a biphasic fashion. Under culture conditions without 3-amino-3-deoxyglucose, the response to glucose totally disappeared after 7 days, and that to 10 mM of either leucine or 2-ketoisocaproate was as low as that of day 0. In contrast, B cells that had been cultured for 7 days in medium with 3-amino-3-deoxyglucose showed an adult-like biphasic pattern in response to glucose. When stimulated by glucose at a linear gradient concentration running from 0 to 20 mM, the B cells responded to increasing concentrations of glucose in a dose-dependent fashion. Further, the response of cAMP to glucose was increased by adding forskolin or 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, which also enhanced the secretion of insulin under either a step-wise or slow-rise stimulation with glucose. The effect of 12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate was also outstanding. Likewise, the addition of either leucine or 2-keptoisocaproate induced a striking increase in the secondary phase secretion as well as promoting the rates of glutamine oxidation within the cells. In conclusion, it is suggested that the high response to a wider variety of stimuli may represent the reaction of neonatal B cells to the cultural milieu rather than a process of physiological development, and these effects exhibited by 3-amino-3-deoxyglucose would be related to a change in the constituents of glycoproteins in the cells.     

Regulation of leucine-stimulated insulin secretion and glutamine metabolism in isolated rat islets

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is regulated by both positive (leucine and ADP) and negative (GTP and ATP) allosteric factors. We hypothesized that the phosphate potential of beta-cells regulates the sensitivity of leucine stimulation. These predictions were tested by measuring leucine-stimulated insulin secretion in perifused rat islets following glucose depletion and by tracing the nitrogen flux of [2-(15)N]glutamine using stable isotope techniques. The sensitivity of leucine stimulation was enhanced by long time (120-min) energy depletion and inhibited by glucose pretreatment. After limited 50-min glucose depletion, leucine, not alpha-ketoisocaproate, failed to stimulate insulin release. beta-Cells sensitivity to leucine is therefore proposed to be a function of GDH activation. Leucine increased the flux through GDH 3-fold compared with controls while causing insulin release. High glucose inhibited flux through both glutaminase and GDH, and leucine was unable to override this inhibition. These results clearly show that leucine induced the secretion of insulin by augmenting glutaminolysis through activating glutaminase and GDH. Glucose regulates beta-cell sensitivity to leucine by elevating the ratio of ATP and GTP to ADP and P(i) and thereby decreasing the flux through GDH and glutaminase. These mechanisms provide an explanation for hypoglycemia caused by mutations of GDH in children.     

Regulation of insulin release by factors that also modify glutamate dehydrogenase

Leucine and monomethyl succinate initiate insulin release, and glutamine potentiates leucine-induced insulin release. Alanine enhances and malate inhibits leucine plus glutamine-induced insulin release. The insulinotropic effect of leucine is at least in part secondary to its ability to activate glutamate oxidation by glutamate dehydrogenase (Sener, A., Malaisse-Lagae, F., and Malaisse, W. J. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 78, 5460-5464). The effect of these other amino acids or Krebs cycle intermediates on insulin release also correlates with their effects on glutamate dehydrogenase and their ability to regulate inhibition of this enzyme by alpha-ketoglutarate. For example, glutamine enhances insulin release and islet glutamate dehydrogenase activity only in the presence of leucine. This could be because leucine, especially in the presence of alpha-ketoglutarate, increases the Km of glutamate and converts alpha-ketoglutarate from a noncompetitive to a competitive inhibitor of glutamate. Thus, in the presence of leucine, this enzyme is more responsive to high levels of glutamate and less responsive to inhibition by alpha-ketoglutarate. Malate could decrease and alanine could increase insulin release because malate increases the generation of alpha-ketoglutarate in islet mitochondria via the combined malate dehydrogenase-aspartate aminotransferase reaction, and alanine could decrease the level of alpha-ketoglutarate via the alanine transaminase reaction. Monomethyl succinate alone is as stimulatory of insulin release as leucine alone, and glutamine enhances the action of both. Succinyl coenzyme A, leucine, and GTP are all bound in the same region on glutamate dehydrogenase, where GTP is a potent inhibitor and succinyl coenzyme A and leucine are comparable activators. Thus, the insulinotropic properties of monomethyl succinate could result from it increasing the level of succinyl coenzyme A and decreasing the level of GTP via the succinate thiokinase reaction.     

Effects of inhibitors of eicosanoid synthesis on insulin release by neonatal pancreatic islets

In the pancreatic islet, eicosanoids may arise from both cyclooxygenase- and lipoxygenase-dependent metabolism of arachidonic acid. The inclusion of inhibitors of selective steps in these pathways indicated that in cultured neonatal rat islets, arachidonic acid may be metabolised through both pathways, concurrent with insulin release stimulated by D-glucose, D-glyceraldehyde and 2-ketoisocaproate. The effects of the inhibitors suggested that the products of the lipoxygenase pathway were necessary for the stimulatory effects of nutrients to be observed. In contrast to glucose, where insulin release was stimulated in the presence of inhibitors of cyclooxygenase, the stimulatory action of D-glyceraldehyde, 2-ketoisocaproate and melittin was only minimally affected by these inhibitors, although it was inhibited by lipoxygenase inhibition. These findings support a major stimulatory role for products of the lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism in nutrient-induced secretion, and a negative or modulatory role of cyclooxygenase pathway products on glucose-stimulated insulin release in the neonatal islet.     

Glucose dependent stimulation by prostaglandin D2 of glucagon and insulin in perfused rat pancreas

Effects of prostaglandin D2 on pancreatic islet function in perfused rat pancreas were examined in comparison with those of prostaglandin E2, which has hitherto been suggested to be a modifier of pancreatic hormone release. In the presence of 2.8 mM glucose, only glucagon release was strongly stimulated by 14 microM of prostaglandin D2, while release of both glucagon and insulin was augmented by 14 microM of prostaglandin E2. When the glucose concentration was elevated to 11.2 mM, insulin release was accelerated by 14 microM of prostaglandin D2 but there was no effect upon glucagon release. Again, release of both glucagon and insulin was augmented by 14 microM of prostaglandin E2 in the presence of 11.2 mM of glucose. The regulation of glucagon and insulin release through prostaglandin D2 is apparently adapted to glycemic changes, and may be a physiological modulator of pancreatic islet function.     

Distinct effects of various amino acids on 45Ca2+ fluxes in rat pancreatic islets.

The effects of three types of amino acids on 45Ca2+ fluxes in rat pancreatic islets have been compared. Alanine, a non-insulinotropic neutral amino acid, transported with Na+, increased 45Ca2+ efflux in the presence or in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, but not in the absence of Na+. Its effects in Na+-solutions were practically abolished by 7 mM-glucose. Alanine slightly stimulated 45Ca2+ influx (5 min uptake) only when Na+ was present. Two insulinotropic cationic amino acids (arginine and lysine) triggered similar changes in 45Ca2+ efflux. They accelerated the efflux in the presence of Ca2+ and inhibited the efflux in a Ca2+-free medium, whether glucose was present or not. In an Na+-free Ca2+-medium, arginine and lysine markedly accelerated 45Ca2+ efflux, but this effect was suppressed by 7 mM-glucose. Arginine stimulated 45Ca2+ influx irrespective of the presence or absence of glucose and Na+. Leucine, a neutral insulinotropic amino acid well metabolized by islet cells, inhibited 45Ca2+ efflux from the islets in a Ca2+-free medium; this effect was potentiated by glutamine. In the presence of Ca2+ and Na+, leucine was ineffective alone, but triggered a marked increase in 45Ca2+ efflux when combined with glutamine. In an Na+-free Ca2+-medium, leucine accelerated 45Ca2+ efflux to the same extent with or without glutamine. Leucine also stimulated 45Ca2+ influx in the presence or in the absence of Na+, but its effects were potentiated by glutamine only in the presence of Na+. The results show that amino acids of various types cause distinct changes in 45Ca2+ fluxes in pancreatic islets. Certain of these changes involve an Na+-mediated mobilization of cellular Ca2+ from sequestering sites where glucose appears to exert an opposite effect.     

Studies of insulin release and rat pancreatic islet metabolism with diastereomers of D-glucose

Studies of insulin release with diastereomers and other analogues of D-glucose demonstrated that only sugars which undergo oxidation to CO₂ stimulate insulin release by the pancreatic islet. None of the non-metabolizable diastereomers of glucose stimulated insulin release in the presence of a substimulatory concentration of glucose for fuel. Although 5.5 mM glucose formed 77% as much CO₂ as 16.7 mM mannose and twice that of 16.7 mM fructose, 5.5 mM glucose did not stimulate insulin release whereas 16.7 mM mannose and fructose did stimulate insulin release. These results indicate that the important stimulus for glucose-induced insulin release involves metabolism of glucose, but that the stimulus does not involve solely a fuel function of glucose.