Stimulation by 2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetates of hormonal secretion from the perfused rat pancreas.
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The effects of alpha- and beta-2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetate (1.7 and 8.5 mM) on insulin, somatostatin, and glucagon secretion from isolated rat pancreases perfused in the presence of 8.3 mM D-glucose were compared with those of unesterified 2-deoxy-D-glucose tested at the same two concentrations. The unesterified glucose analog caused, in a concentration-related manner, inhibition of glucose-induced insulin and somatostatin release and augmentation of glucagon secretion. The two anomers of 2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetate, however, increased the secretion rate of all three hormones; this effect was also related to the concentration of the esters. No obvious anomeric specificity of the secretory response to 2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetate was observed. These findings indicate that the insulinotropic action of hexose esters cannot be accounted for solely by the metabolic effect of their glucidic moieties. They suggest that the A, B, and D cells of the endocrine pancreas are each equipped with a receptor system responsible for the direct recognition of monosaccharide esters as secretagogues. They further support the view that a paracrine effect of insulin on glucagon-producing cells does not represent a major component in the regulation of their secretory activity. (+info)
Surgery-induced insulin resistance in human patients: relation to glucose transport and utilization.
(26/3774)
To investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms for surgery-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, six otherwise healthy patients undergoing total hip replacement were studied before, during, and after surgery. Patients were studied under basal conditions and during physiological hyperinsulinemia (60 microU/ml). Biopsies of vastus lateralis muscle were used to measure GLUT-4 translocation, glucose transport, and glycogen synthase activities. Surgery reduced insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (P < 0.05) without altering the insulin-stimulated increase in glucose oxidation or suppression of endogenous glucose production. Preoperatively, insulin infusion increased plasma membrane GLUT-4 in all six subjects (P < 0.05), whereas insulin-stimulated GLUT-4 translocation only occurred in three patients postoperatively (not significant). Moreover, nonoxidative glucose disposal rates and basal levels of glycogen synthase activities in muscle were reduced postoperatively (P < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that peripheral insulin resistance develops immediately postoperatively and that this condition might be associated with perturbations in insulin-stimulated GLUT-4 translocation as well as nonoxidative glucose disposal, presumably at the level of glycogen synthesis. (+info)
Vagus nerve modulates secretin binding sites in the rat forestomach.
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Secretin is well known for its inhibitory action on gastric motility. It has been reported that secretin in a physiological dose inhibits gastric motility through mediation by the vagal afferent pathway. Secretin also elicited relaxation of carbachol-stimulated rat forestomach muscle strips by binding to its receptors, suggesting a direct action on this peripheral tissue. We hypothesized that vagal input may affect the action of secretin by modulating the level of secretin receptor in the forestomach. Several treatments, including vagal ligation, vagotomy, perivagal application of capsaicin or colchicine, intravenous infusion of tetrodotoxin, and intraperitoneal injection of atropine, were performed to investigate their effects on secretin receptor binding to forestomach membranes. Specific binding of 125I-labeled secretin to forestomach membranes was significantly decreased (45%) by vagal ligation, vagotomy (50%), or perivagal colchicine treatment (40%). On the contrary, specific binding of 125I-secretin was not affected by perivagal capsaicin treatment, intravenous infusion of tetrodotoxin, or intraperitoneal injection of atropine. By Scatchard analysis of the binding data, the capacity of the high-affinity binding sites in forestomach membranes was found to decrease significantly after vagal ligation compared with membranes from the sham-operated group. However, the affinity at the high-affinity binding sites, the binding parameters of the low-affinity binding sites, and binding specificity were not changed. Vagal ligation but not perivagal capsaicin treatment reduced the inhibitory effect of secretin on bethanechol-stimulated contraction of isolated forestomach muscle strips, causing a right shift in the dose-response curve. These results suggest that vagal input through axonal transport plays a significant role on secretin action by modulating the capacity of secretin binding sites (but not affinity or specificity), at least in rat forestomach. (+info)
ADD1/SREBP-1c is required in the activation of hepatic lipogenic gene expression by glucose.
(28/3774)
The transcription of genes encoding proteins involved in the hepatic synthesis of lipids from glucose is strongly stimulated by carbohydrate feeding. It is now well established that in the liver, glucose is the main activator of the expression of this group of genes, with insulin having only a permissive role. While ADD1/SREBP-1 has been implicated in lipogenic gene expression through temporal association with food intake and ectopic gain-of-function experiments, no genetic evidence for a requirement for this factor in glucose-mediated gene expression has been established. We show here that the transcription of ADD1/SREBP-1c in primary cultures of hepatocytes is controlled positively by insulin and negatively by glucagon and cyclic AMP, establishing a link between this transcription factor and carbohydrate availability. Using adenovirus-mediated transfection of a powerful dominant negative form of ADD1/SREBP-1c in rat hepatocytes, we demonstrate that this factor is absolutely necessary for the stimulation by glucose of L-pyruvate kinase, fatty acid synthase, S14, and acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase gene expression. These results demonstrate that ADD1/SREBP-1c plays a crucial role in mediating the expression of lipogenic genes induced by glucose and insulin. (+info)
Identification of an oxygen-responsive element in the 5'-flanking sequence of the rat cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-1 gene, modulating its glucagon-dependent activation.
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The glucagon-stimulated transcription of the cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-1 (PCK1) gene is mediated by cAMP and positively modulated by oxygen in primary hepatocytes. Rat hepatocytes were transfected with constructs containing the first 2500, 493 or 281 bp of the PCK1 5'-flanking region in front of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. With all three constructs glucagon induced CAT activity with decreasing efficiency maximally under arterial pO2 and to about 65% under venous pO2. Rat hepatocytes were then transfected with constructs containing the first 493 bp of the PCK1 5'-flanking region in front of the luciferase (LUC) reporter gene, which were block-mutated at the CRE1 (cAMP-response element-1; -93/-86), putative CRE2 (-146/-139), promoter element (P) 1 (-118/-104), P2 (-193/-181) or P4 (-291/-273) sites. Glucagon induced LUC activity strongly when the P1 and P2 sites were mutated and weakly when the P4 site was mutated; induction of the P1, P2 and P4 mutants was positively modulated by the pO2. Glucagon also induced LUC activity strongly when the putative CRE2 site was altered; however, induction of the CRE2 mutant was not modulated by the pO2. Glucagon did not induce LUC activity when the CRE1 site was modified. These experiments suggested that the CRE1 but not the putative CRE2 was an essential site necessary for the cAMP-mediated PCK1 gene activation by glucagon and that the putative CRE2 site was involved in the oxygen-dependent modulation of PCK1 gene activation. To confirm these conclusions rat hepatocytes were transfected with simian virus 40 (SV40)-promoter-driven LUC-gene constructs containing three CRE1 sequences (-95/-84), three CRE2 sequences (-148/-137) or three CRE1 sequences plus two CRE2 sequences of the PCK1 gene in front of the SV40 promoter. Glucagon induced LUC activity markedly when the CRE1, but not when the CRE2, sites were in front of the SV40-LUC gene; however, induction of the (CRE1)3SV40-LUC constructs was not modulated by the pO2. Glucagon also induced LUC activity very strongly when the CRE1 and CRE2 sites were combined; induction of the (CRE1)3(CRE2)2SV40-LUC constructs was positively modulated by the pO2. These findings corroborated that sequences of the putative CRE2 site were responsible for the modulation by oxygen of the CRE1-dependent induction by glucagon of PCK1 gene transcription. (+info)
Homologous and heterologous asynchronicity between identified alpha-, beta- and delta-cells within intact islets of Langerhans in the mouse.
(30/3774)
1. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy to image [Ca2+]i within intact murine islets of Langerhans, we analysed the [Ca2+]i signals generated by glucose in immunocytochemically identified alpha-, beta- and delta-cells. 2. Glucagon-containing alpha-cells exhibited [Ca2+]i oscillations in the absence of glucose, which petered out when islets were exposed to high glucose concentrations. 3. Somatostatin-containing delta-cells were silent in the absence of glucose but concentrations of glucose as low as 3 mM elicited oscillations. 4. In pancreatic beta-cells, a characteristic oscillatory calcium pattern was evoked when glucose levels were raised from 3 to 11 mM and this was synchronized throughout the beta-cell population. Remarkably, [Ca2+]i oscillations in non-beta-cells were completely asynchronous, both with respect to each other and to beta-cells. 5. These results demonstrate that the islet of Langerhans behaves as a functional syncytium only in terms of beta-cells, implying a pulsatile secretion of insulin. However, the lack of a co-ordinated calcium signal in alpha- and delta-cells implies that each cell acts as an independent functional unit and the concerted activity of these units results in a smoothly graded secretion of glucagon and somatostatin. Understanding the calcium signals underlying glucagon and somatostatin secretion may be of importance in the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus since both glucagon and somatostatin appear to regulate insulin release in a paracrine fashion. (+info)
Interaction of islet hormones with cholecystokinin octapeptide-evoked secretory responses in the isolated pancreas of normal and diabetic rats.
(31/3774)
This study investigates the effects of the islet hormones, insulin (Ins), glucagon (Glu) and somatostatin (Som) with cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) on amylase secretion and intracellular free calcium concentration [Ca2+]i and their pattern of distribution in the isolated pancreas of normal and diabetic rats. Ins and Glu evoked small increases in amylase output from pancreatic segments compared with a much enhanced effect of CCK-8. In contrast, Som induced a biphasic response comprising an initial decrease followed by a secondary increase and this biphasic response may be dependent upon the concentration. Combining the islet hormones with CCK-8 resulted in marked potentiation in amylase output compared with either CCK-8 alone or the individual hormone. Genistein and tyrphostin A25, the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, evoked a small decrease in amylase output from pancreatic segments. They had no effect on the CCK-8-evoked secretory response but markedly inhibited the potentiation of the islet hormones with CCK-8. In pancreatic acini and acinar cells Ins, Glu and Som individually evoked small increases in amylase output compared with a much larger response with CCK-8. When the islet hormones were combined with CCK-8 there was no potentiation of amylase output. Similarly, when rats were rendered diabetic by prior treatment with streptozotocin Ins, Glu and Som failed to potentiate the secretory response of CCK-8. In fura-2-loaded pancreatic acinar cells Ins or Glu evoked small increases in [Ca2+]i compared with a much larger elevation with CCK-8. Ins, Glu and Som each enhanced the CCK-8-evoked [Ca2+]i. Genistein elicited a decrease in [Ca2+]i both in the absence and presence of the islet hormones. It also decreased the elevation in [Ca2+]i resulting from the combined presence of CCK-8 with either Ins or Glu but it had no effect on CCK-8 in combination with Som. In pancreatic acinar cells from diabetic rat Ins, Glu and Som had no detectable effect on CCK-8-evoked elevation in [Ca2+]i compared with the response obtained with CCK-8 alone. CCK-8-immunopositive cells were distributed around the walls of blood vessels, numerous Ins-positive cells in the central and peripheral parts of the islets of Langerhans, Glu-immunoreactive cells in the periphery of islets and Som-positive cells in the outer part of the islets. During diabetes, the number of CCK-immunopositive cells remained unchanged whereas the number of Ins-positive cells decreased coupled with an increase in the number of Glu-positive cells. The results indicate that both tyrosine kinase and cellular Ca2+ seem to be the intracellular mediators involved with the enhanced secretory responses obtained with a combination of the islet hormones with CCK-8. Moreover, the presence of viable pancreatic islets of Langerhans seems to be associated with the potentiation of the islet hormones with CCK-8. (+info)
Impaired differentiation of endocrine and exocrine cells of the pancreas in transgenic mouse expressing the truncated type II activin receptor.
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Activin A is expressed in endocrine precursor cells of the fetal pancreatic anlage. To determine the physiological significance of activins in the pancreas, a transgenic mouse line expressing the truncated type II activin receptor under the control of beta-actin promoter was developed. Histological analyses of the pancreas revealed that the pancreatic islets of the transgenic mouse were small in size and were located mainly along the pancreatic ducts. Immunoreactive insulin was detected in islets, some acinar cells, and in some epithelial cells in the duct. In addition, there were abnormal endocrine cells outside the islets. The shape and the size of the endocrine cells varied and some of them were larger than islets. These cells expressed immunoreactive insulin and glucagon. In the exocrine portion, there were morphologically abnormal exocrine cells, which did not form a typical acinar structure. The cells lacked spatial polarity characteristics of acinar cells but expressed immunoreactive amylase, which was distributed diffusely in the cytoplasm. Plasma glucose concentration was normal in the transgenic mouse before and after the administration of glucose. The insulin content of the pancreas in transgenic and normal mice was nearly identical. These results suggest that activins or related ligands regulate the differentiation of the pancreatic endocrine and exocrine cells. (+info)