Sildenafil amplifies calcium influx and insulin secretion in pancreatic ß cells.

Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitor, has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in animal models and prediabetic patients. However, its other metabolic effects remain poorly investigated. This study examines the impact of sildenafil on insulin secretion in MIN6-K8 mouse clonal ß cells. Sildenafil amplified insulin secretion by enhancing Ca2+ influx. These effects required other depolarizing stimuli in MIN6-K8 cells but not in KATP channel-deficient ß cells, which were already depolarized, indicating that sildenafil-amplified insulin secretion is depolarization-dependent and KATP channel-independent. Interestingly, sildenafil-amplified insulin secretion was inhibited by pharmacological inhibition of R-type channels, but not of other types of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCCs). Furthermore, sildenafil-amplified insulin secretion was barely affected when its effect on cyclic GMP was inhibited by PDE5 knockdown. Thus, sildenafil stimulates insulin secretion and Ca2+ influx through R-type VDCCs independently of the PDE5/cGMP pathway, a mechanism that differs from the known pharmacology of sildenafil and conventional insulin secretory pathways. Our results reposition sildenafil as an insulinotropic agent that can be used as a potential antidiabetic medicine and a tool to elucidate the novel mechanism of insulin secretion.

Low-carbohydrate diet by staple change attenuates postprandial GIP and CPR levels in type 2 diabetes patients.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a low-carbohydrate staple food (i.e., low-carbohydrate bread) on glucose and lipid metabolism and pancreatic and enteroendocrine hormone secretion in comparison with meals containing normal-carbohydrate bread, without consideration of the carbohydrate content of the side dishes. METHODS: T2DM patients (n = 41) were provided meals containing low-carbohydrate bread (LB) together with side dishes or normal-carbohydrate bread (NB) together with side dishes every other day as a breakfast. Blood glucose levels were evaluated by using a continuous glucose monitoring system; blood samples were collected before and 1 and 2 h after the breakfast. RESULTS: Postprandial blood glucose levels, plasma insulin, plasma glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and plasma triglyceride were significantly lower and plasma glucagon levels were significantly higher in LB compared with those in NB. Plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels did not differ in the LB and NB groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that changing only the carbohydrate content of the staple food has benefits on glucose and lipid metabolism in T2DM patients concomitant with the decrease of insulin and GIP secretion, which ameliorate body weight gain and insulin resistance.

Adsorption kinetic and mechanistic studies for pharmaceutical spherical carbon adsorbents: comparison of a brand product and two generics.

The kinetic and mechanistic profiles of three pharmaceutical spherical carbon adsorbents, Kremezin as the brand product and two generics (Merckmezin and spherical carbon adsorbent "Mylan"), were compared. Five non-ionic active pharmaceutical ingredients with molecular weights of 136.1-424.1 Da were used as adsorbates. The results of Boehm titration, the standard method to qualify acidic or basic functional groups on a carbon surface, suggested distinctly different quantitative characteristics of each functional group among the three adsorbents. But those differences do not affect the adsorption to non-ionic adsorbates. The amount of theophylline adsorbed at equilibrium and surface area well correlated, suggesting that adsorptive ability was defined by surface area. In the tested molecular weight range, the order in terms of adsorption kinetics was spherical carbon adsorbent "Mylan">Kremezin>Merkmezin. The adsorption profile in the equilibrium and kinetic experiments, and the lack of an effect of pH on adsorption quantity suggested that the mechanism of adsorption for non-ionic substances to be Langmuir type monolayer adsorption. Kremezin and spherical carbon adsorbent "Mylan" are more likely to adsorb co-administered drugs than Merckmezin.