Studies on the mechanism by which melittin stimulates insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

Incubation of isolated rat islets of Langerhans with melittin resulted in a dose-dependent stimulation of insulin secretion with half the maximal response occurring at 4 micrograms/ml melittin. The effect of melittin on insulin secretion was dependent on extracellular calcium, was inhibited by the phospholipase A2 inhibitor quinacrine and by the lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid. Stimulation of insulin secretion by melittin was associated with a calcium-dependent loss of [3H]arachidonic acid from phospholipids in islet cells prelabelled with [3H]arachidonic acid. Analysis of the islet phospholipids involved in this response revealed that the [3H]arachidonic acid was released predominantly from phosphatidylcholine. These results suggest that melittin may stimulate insulin secretion by activating phospholipase A2 in islet cells, causing the release of arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipid. The results are consistent with suggestions that the subsequent metabolism of arachidonic acid via the lipoxygenase pathway may be involved in regulating the insulin secretory response.

Large-scale purification of human islets utilizing discontinuous albumin gradient on IBM 2991 cell separator.

A new method is described for the large-scale purification of human pancreatic islets with a discontinuous gradient of bovine serum albumin formed on an IBM 2991 cell separator. Fifteen human pancreases were processed, and after density-gradient centrifugation, a mean of 2643 islets/ml pancreatic digest were recovered with a mean purity of 63% and contained in 430 microliter mean vol. Viability of gradient-isolated islets was compared with that of non-density-gradient islets (handpicked) and showed no difference in function. This technique allows isolation of intact, viable human islets of Langerhans of sufficient purity for potential human transplantation.

Effects of noradrenaline on 45Ca2+ efflux from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

Noradrenaline caused a prompt but transient increase in the rate of 45Ca2+ efflux from isolated rat islets of Langerhans perifused in Ca2+ depleted medium. The response was modest in size and was unaffected by isosmotic replacement of NaCl with choline chloride or by inclusion of 0.5 mM dibutyryl cAMP in the perifusion medium, suggesting that it was not mediated by Na+: Ca2+ exchange nor by lowered cAMP. Despite its effect on 45Ca2+ efflux, noradrenaline treatment did not alter the kinetics of 45Ca2+ efflux in response to the muscarinic agonist, carbamylcholine, nor did it change the magnitude of the response to this agent. Simultaneous introduction of 20 mM glucose with noradrenaline prevented a rise in 45Ca2+ efflux and indeed resulted in inhibition of 45Ca2+ efflux. The data suggest that noradrenaline does not directly activate the mechanisms which regulate Ca2+ extrusion from islets cells, and they do not support a primary role for the Ca2+ efflux response in mediating adrenergic inhibition of insulin secretion.

Studies on the role of inositol trisphosphate in the regulation of insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

Glucose (20 mM) and carbachol (1 mM) produced a rapid increase in [3H]inositol trisphosphate (InsP3) formation in isolated rat islets of Langerhans prelabelled with myo-[3H]inositol. The magnitude of the increase in InsP3 formation was similar when either agent was used alone and was additive when they were used together. In islets prelabelled with 45Ca2+ and treated with carbachol (1 mM), the rise in InsP3 correlated with a rapid, transient, release of 45Ca2+ from the cells, consistent with mobilization of 45Ca2+ from an intracellular pool. Under these conditions, however, insulin secretion was not increased. In contrast, islets prelabelled with 45Ca2+ and exposed to 20mM-glucose exhibited a delayed and decreased 45Ca2+ efflux, but released 7-8-fold more insulin than did those exposed to carbachol. Depletion of extracellular Ca2+ failed to modify the increase in InsP3 elicited by either glucose or carbachol, whereas it selectively inhibited the efflux of 45Ca2+ induced by glucose in preloaded islets. Under these conditions, however, glucose was still able to induce a small stimulation of the first phase of insulin secretion. These results demonstrate that polyphosphoinositide metabolism, Ca2+ mobilization and insulin release can all be dissociated in islet cells, and suggest that glucose and carbachol regulate these parameters by different mechanisms.

Mechanisms involved in intracellular calcium mobilization in isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

1. The rate of 45Ca2+ efflux from prelabelled rat islets of Langerhans was stimulated by carbachol in a dose-dependent manner. 2. Significant stimulation occurred in the presence of 0.2 microM-carbachol; the response was half-maximal at 3-5 microM and was maximal at 20 microM. 3. Stimulation of 45Ca2+ efflux by carbachol was not dependent on the presence of extracellular Ca2+ and was enhanced in Ca2+-depleted medium. 4. Stimulation of 45Ca2+ efflux by 5 microM-carbachol occurred independently of any change in [3H]arachidonic acid release in prelabelled islets, and probably reflected generation of inositol trisphosphate in the cells. 5. The amphipathic peptide melittin failed to increase islet-cell 45Ca2+ efflux at a concentration of 1 microgram/ml, and caused only a modest increase at 10 micrograms/ml. 6. Despite its failure to increase 45Ca2+ efflux, melittin at 1 microgram/ml caused a marked enhancement of 3H release from islets that had been prelabelled with [3H]arachidonic acid. 7. The stimulation of 3H efflux caused by melittin correlated with a dose-dependent increase in the unesterified [3H]arachidonic acid content of prelabelled islets and with a corresponding decrease in the extent of labelling of islet phospholipids. 8. Combined addition of melittin (1 microgram/ml) and 5 microM-carbachol to perifused islets failed to augment 45Ca2+ efflux relative to that elicited by carbachol alone. 9. The data indicate that melittin promotes an increase in arachidonic acid availability in intact rat islets. They do not, however, support the proposal that this can either directly reproduce or subsequently modify the extent of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization induced by agents that cause an increase in inositol trisphosphate.

Effects of the calcium-channel agonist CGP 28392 on insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

The rate of insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans was affected by a number of dihydropyridine derivatives known to interact with voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels in excitable cells. The channel antagonists nifedipine and nitrendipine were potent inhibitors of glucose-induced insulin secretion in response to both 8 mM- and 20 mM-glucose, although they did not lower the basal secretion rate observed in the presence of 4 mM-glucose. The Ca2+-channel agonist, CGP 28392, also failed to alter the basal rate of insulin secretion. In the presence of 8 mM-glucose, however, 1 microM-CGP 28392 enhanced the insulin-secretion rate to a value approximately double that with 8 mM-glucose alone. This effect was dose-dependent, with half the maximal response elicited by 0.1 microM-CGP 28392, and full enhancement at 10 microM. The response was rapid in onset, with an increase in insulin secretion evident within 2 min of CGP 28392 infusion in perifused islets. Stimulation of insulin secretion by CGP 28392 was correlated with a rapid enhancement of glucose-stimulated 45Ca2+ uptake into islets cells, and with a transiently increased rate of 45Ca2+ efflux from pre-loaded islets. Stimulation of insulin secretion by CGP 28392 was abolished in the presence of noradrenaline, although under these conditions the rapid stimulation of 45Ca2+ influx induced by CGP 28392 was only partially inhibited. In contrast with these results, when islets were incubated in the presence of 20 mM-glucose, CGP 28392 caused a dose-dependent inhibition of insulin secretion. Half-maximal inhibition required approx. 0.2 microM-CGP 28392, with maximal effects observed at 10 microM. Under these conditions, however, the extent of insulin secretion was still only decreased by about 50%, to a value which was similar to that seen in the presence of 8 mM-glucose and CGP 28392. These results suggest that dihydropyridine derivatives can alter the activity of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in islet cells, and are consistent with the possibility that gating of these channels plays an important role in regulating the rate of insulin secretion after glucose stimulation.

Effect of glucose on polyphosphoinositide metabolism in isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

The metabolism of inositol-containing phospholipids during insulin secretion was studied in rat islets of Langerhans preincubated with [3H]inositol to label their phospholipids. Glucose (20 mM) caused a rapid breakdown of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and an accumulation of inositol trisphosphate and inositol bisphosphate. This effect was maximal at 60s, did not require the presence of extracellular Ca2+, and was abolished by mannoheptulose (15 mM), but not by noradrenaline (1 microM). Mannose (20 mM) and DL-glyceraldehyde (10 mM) produced similar effects to those of glucose, but galactose (20 mM) and KCl (30 mM) were without effect. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that an early event in the stimulus-secretion coupling mechanism in the pancreatic B-cell is the rapid breakdown of polyphosphoinositides catalysed by phospholipase C. Moreover, they suggest that the breakdown of polyphosphoinositides is linked to sugar metabolism in the B-cell. This observation is important, since it demonstrates that events in a cell other than plasma-membrane receptor occupancy can promote polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis.