This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by RALL, L. B. Articles by ROTTER, W. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by RALL, L. B. Articles by ROTTER, W. J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH

Synthesis and Accumulation of Proinsulin and Insulin during Development of the Embryonic Rat Pancreas^*

LESLIE B. RALL, RAYMOND L. PICTET and WILLIAM J. ROTTER

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, California 94143

Abstract

Endocrine B cells differentiate normally in embryonic rat pancreatic rudiments cultured in vitro. The specific concentration of immunoreactive insulin based on total protein increases by about 1000-fold during the developmental period, corresponding to days 13–20 of gestation. The rate of (pro)insulin synthesis, measured from the level of radioactive leucine incorporated into insulin, quantitatively accounts for the insulin accumulated during this period. In addition, the relative incorporation of leucine into proinsulin compared to insulin is constant during development and is similar to that found in the B cells of adult islets. Thus, there appears to be no significant change in the rate of conversion of proinsulin to insulin during B cell differentiation.

Footnotes

^* This work was supported by grants from the NSF (BM572-02222) and the National Foundation-March of Dimes.

Recipient of a NIH Career Development award.

To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received August 1, 1978.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. NANDI, Y. KITAMURA, C. R. KAHN, and D. ACCILI Mouse Models of Insulin Resistance Physiol Rev, April 1, 2004; 84(2): 623 - 647. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Nakae, Y. Kido, and D. Accili Distinct and Overlapping Functions of Insulin and IGF-I Receptors Endocr. Rev., December 1, 2001; 22(6): 818 - 835. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D Gu and N Sarvetnick Epithelial cell proliferation and islet neogenesis in IFN-g transgenic mice Development, January 5, 1993; 118(1): 33 - 46. [Abstract] [PDF]