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Endocrinology Vol. 140, No. 8 3790-3796
Copyright © 1999 by The Endocrine Society


ARTICLES

Colocalization of Somatostatin Receptor sst5 and Insulin in Rat Pancreatic ß-Cells1

Sudha Warrier Mitra, Éva Mezey, Bela Hunyady, LaShawn Chamberlain, Edward Hayes, Forrest Foor, Yining Wang, Agnes Schonbrunn and James M. Schaeffer

Department of Endocrinology and Chemical Biology, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc. (S.W.M., L.C., E.H., F.F., J.M.S.), Rahway, New Jersey 07065; the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Basic Neuroscience Program, National Institutes of Health (E.M., B.H.), Bethesda, Maryland 20892; and the Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Sciences Center (Y.W., A.S.), Houston, Texas 77030

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Sudha Warrier Mitra, Department of Endocrinology and Chemical Biology, Merck Research Laboratories, R80Y-310, P.O. Box 2000, Rahway, New Jersey 07065. E-mail: sudha_mitra{at}merck.com


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Somatostatin, also known as somatotropin release-inhibiting factor (SRIF), is secreted by pancreatic {delta}-cells and inhibits the secretion of both insulin and glucagon. SRIF initiates its actions by binding to a family of six G protein-coupled receptors (sst1, -2A, -2B, -3, -4, and -5) encoded by five genes. Messenger RNA for both sst2 and sst5 have been reported in the rat pancreas, and the sst2A receptor protein has been localized to rat pancreatic {alpha} and pancreatic polypeptide-secreting cells in the islets as well as to pancreatic acinar cells. In this study we have used double immunostaining to show that the sst5 protein is expressed exclusively in the ß-cells of rat pancreatic islets and localizes with insulin-secreting {alpha}-cells. The sst5 receptor is not colocalized with sst2A. Thus, in the rat SRIF inhibits pancreatic insulin and glucagon secretion via different sst receptor subtypes.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
SOMATOSTATIN (SRIF) is widely distributed in neuronal and endocrine tissues and exists in two biologically active forms, SRIF-14 and SRIF-28. Physiologically, SRIF has a potent inhibitory effect on the secretion of a large number of hormones, including GH, insulin, glucagon, gastrin, and cholecystokinin. These actions are mediated by high affinity interaction with a family of membrane-associated, G protein-coupled receptors. Five SRIF receptor genes (sst1–5) have been cloned and characterized (1, 2, 3, 4). The physiological role of each of these receptor subtypes has not been well resolved due at least in part to the lack of subtype-selective SRIF analogs.

By using sensitive RT-PCR analysis, Raulf et al. (5) demonstrated the presence of all sst subtypes in whole rat pancreas except sst-4. Immunohistochemical localization of sst2A to the glucagon-containing {alpha}-cells in rat pancreas (6) suggests that this receptor subtype has a role in regulating glucagon release in the rat. This hypothesis is consistent with the report of Rossowski and Coy (7), which demonstrated that moderately selective sst2A ligands lower serum glucagon levels in rats. Sst5-selective agonists were reported to lower serum insulin levels (7). These data suggest that sst5 may be associated with the insulin-containing ß-cells of the pancreatic islet. Only recently have agonists with subtype selectivity for binding greater than 100-fold become available (8). In this study we have characterized an sst5-selective antibody and used it to determine the distribution of sst5 in the rat pancreas.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Materials
Precast acrylamide gels and electrophoresis and transfer buffers were obtained from Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (Hercules, CA). Ultrafree-15,10K Biomax filter devices were purchased from Millipore Corp. (Bedford, MA),N-5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyloxysuccinimide and the Ultralink Carboxy kit were obtained from Pierce Chemical Co. (Rockford, IL), n-Dodecyl-ß-D maltoside (DßM), cholesteryl hemisuccinate, and general biochemicals were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO); all media and supplements were purchased from Life Technologies (Gaithersburg, MD); Immulon 2 plates were obtained from Dynatech Corp. (Chantilly, VA), and the enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) Western blotting kit was obtained from Amersham (Arlington, IL). Custom peptides were purchased from Research Genetics, Inc. (Huntsville, AL), and secondary antibodies were purchased from Cappel Laboratories (Durham, NC).

Cell lines
CHO-K1 cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA) and were grown in {alpha}MEM supplemented with penicillin, streptomycin, fungizone, 10 mM HEPES, and 10% FBS. Stably transfected CHO-DG44 cells expressing mouse sst1–3 were obtained from Drs. Terry Reisine (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA) and Graeme I. Bell (University of Chicago, Chicago, IL). These cells were maintained in the above media containing geneticin (G418) at 500 µg/ml. Rat sst4 and sst5 complementary DNA (cDNA) clones were provided by Dr. John Bruno (State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY). CHO-K1 cells expressing the haemagglutinin (HA) epitope-tagged rat sst5 receptor were provided by Dr. Kerry Koller (9).

Transfection
CHO-K1 cells were stably transfected with cloned cDNA encoding rat sst4, rat sst5, or human sst5 inserted into pcDNA3.1 vectors using lipofectamine, and G418-resistant clones were selected. Cells were assayed for receptor expression in a whole cell binding assay, and those populations expressing receptor were enriched by two cycles of recloning. Single clonal isolates were obtained by limiting dilution. Cells expressing each sst were maintained in medium containing G418 (500 µg/ml).

Whole cell binding assay
Selected clones were evaluated for the expression of each sst in a whole cell binding assay. Each clone was plated into four replicate wells of a View Plate-96 (Packard Instrument Co., Meriden, CT) and grown to confluence in the selection medium. The medium was aspirated, and the cells were washed once with 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.8, containing 1 mM EGTA, 5 mM MgCl2, and 0.1% BSA (buffer A) and maintained in buffer A at room temperature for 30 min. This buffer was aspirated and replaced with buffer B (buffer A containing 1 mg/ml bacitracin). For the selection of rat sst4 clones, duplicate wells were incubated with buffer B containing 1.0 nM 3-[125I]Tyr11-SRIF-14 (SA, 2000 Ci/mmol; Amersham, Arlington Heights, IL) with or without 1 µM unlabeled SRIF-14. For the selection of rat and human sst-5 clones, similar incubations were carried with 3-[125I]Tyr25-SRIF-28 (Leu8-DTrp22-Tyr25) at 0.3 nM in the presence or absence of 1 µM SRIF-28 (Sigma Chemical Co.). After a binding incubation at room temperature for 30 min, the cells were washed three times with buffer A and then air-dried. The cells were solubilized by the addition of 25 µl 1% SDS in 0.1 N NaOH to each well and then 200 µl MicroScint-40 scintillation fluid (Packard, Downers Grove, IL). Radioactivity was determined in a scintillation counter (Packard).

Membrane preparation
Membranes from cell lines and pancreatic tissue for immunoblot analysis were prepared as previously described (10). Briefly, cells and tissue were homogenized using the Tissue Tearor Homogenizer (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA) in buffer C(10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.8), 5 mM EDTA, 3 mM EGTA, 250 mM sucrose, 1 mM phenylmethysulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 10 µg/ml aprotinin, 50 µg/ml bacitracin, 10 µg/ml soybean trypsin inhibitor, and 10 µg/ml leupeptin). Unbroken cells and nuclei were removed by centrifugation at 500 x g for 5 min, and membranes were centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 30 min.

Antibody preparation
The peptide CAIEPRPDKSGRPQAT (representing the C-terminal amino acids 332–346 of rat sst5 with an added cysteine at the N-terminal end to facilitate conjugation) was conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin using m-maleimidobenzoyl-n-hydroxysuccinimide and used to immunize chickens. Custom peptide synthesis and custom antibody production were performed by Bio-Synthesis, Inc. (Lewisville, TX). This sequence is present in rat and mouse sst5, but not in sst1, sst2A, sst3, or sst4 (Fig. 1Go). The homologous region of human sst5 has a contiguous stretch of five identical residues. Eggs were collected from chickens at times when serum showed high antibody titers. The yolks were stored in 1:1 PBS (0.0017 M KH2PO4, 0.005 M Na2HPO4, pH 7.4, and 0.15 M NaCl) containing 0.05% sodium azide.



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Figure 1. Alignment of C-terminal amino acid sequences of the SRIF receptors. The published C-terminal sequences of SRIF receptors were aligned using the Bigpileup of GCG software. The C-terminal portion of the splice variant sst2B has not been shown. The antigenic peptide is highlighted. M, Mouse; R, rat; H, human.

 
Affinity purification
Total antibody was isolated from egg yolk using minor modifications of a procedure previously described (11). All isolation steps before affinity chromatography were carried out at room temperature. Briefly, the buffered egg yolk was mixed with 4 vol TBS buffer [0.14 M NaCl2, 0.01 M Tris-HCl (pH 7.2), and 0.1% sodium azide] and centrifuged at 2,000 rpm for 20 min and the sediment was discarded. The supernatant was mixed with 0.6 vol 10% dextran sulfate in TBS and 2 M CaCl2 to a final concentration of 0.12 M and stirred for 30 min. The precipitate was separated by centrifugation at 10,000 x g for 30 min, and the supernatant A was collected by filtration through four layers of cheesecloth. The pellet was washed with an equal volume of TBS and the supernatant B pooled with the supernatant A from the previous step. Anhydrous sodium sulfate was added to the pooled supernatants to a final concentration of 20%, stirred for 30 min at room temperature, and centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 30 min. The supernatant was discarded and the pellet was washed with TBS (0.1 vol of pooled supernatant) and centrifuged again for 30 min at 10,000 x g. The washed pellet was discarded and 36% sodium sulfate was added to the supernatant to attain a final concentration of 14% , stirred, and centrifuged at 10,000 x g. The pellet was dissolved in TBS and dialyzed overnight against 40 vol PBS with two changes of PBS.

Peptide affinity columns were prepared by covalently linking the peptide, synthesized as multiple antigenic peptide (MAP) (Research Genetics, Inc., Huntsville, AL) to Ultralink-Carboxyl supports [2 mg peptide/2 ml packed column, with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide] as recommended by the manufacturer and stored in PBS containing 0.05% azide. Columns were washed with 15 vol PBS, and total crude antibody was incubated with the support (15 mg/ml column) for 3–6 h at room temperature. Nonspecifically bound proteins were removed by washing with 20 vol PBS. Specific antibody was eluted with 5 ml 0.1 M triethylamine-HCl, pH 11.5. The eluate was dialyzed against PBS and concentrated to 1 ml by centrifugation through a Biomax filter 10,000 (Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA). Affinity-purified antibody was stored at 4 C in PBS containing 0.05% azide and was designated SWM-479. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed using (Pierce Chemical Co.) starter kit ELISA according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Two hundred and fifty nanograms of the immunogenic peptide (synthesized as MAP) was bound to each well of an Immulon 2 microtiter plate and incubated at room temperature with SWM-479 antibody fractions. The amount of primary antibody bound was determined by incubation with 10 ml of a 1:2000 dilution of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated rabbit antichicken antibody (Cappel Laboratories) and developed with diaminobenzidine (Pierce Chemical Co.).

Immunoadsorption of ligand-bound receptor
Equal volumes (10 µl) of affinity-purified anti-sst5 antibody were bound to microtiter wells, (Immulon) in carbonate buffer (0.2 M carbonate/bicarbonate buffer, pH 9.4; ELISA starter kit, Pierce Chemical Co.). The wells were preincubated with PBS containing 1% BSA to prevent nonspecific binding. Appropriate wells were incubated with either 50 µg antigenic MAP peptide AIEPRPDKSGRPQAT or the unrelated MAP peptide, PCQQEPMQAEPAC. Cross-linking of radiolabeled SRIF to receptor was carried out as previously described (10) with minor modifications. Briefly, membranes prepared from CHO-K1-derived stable cell lines expressing sst4 and sst5 were incubated with 3-[125I]Tyr25-SRIF-28 (Leu8-DTrp22-Tyr25) at 1 or 3 nM, respectively, in the presence or absence of unlabeled SRIF-28 at 1 µM. The samples were centrifuged at 96,000 x g for 1 h, and the unbound label remaining in the supernatant was discarded. Bound ligands were cross-linked in the presence of N-5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyloxysuccinimide at 30 µM using UV irradiation for 10 min at a distance of 8 cm. Membranes were solubilized with DßM at 4 mg/ml and cholesteryl hemisuccinate at 200 µg/ml in PBS, and insoluble material was removed by centrifugation at 96,000 x g. Equal amounts (~78,000 cpm) of radiolabeled solubilized membrane proteins were added to each well and incubated overnight at 4 C. After incubation with receptor, wells were washed four times with 200 µl PBS containing 1% BSA and 0.1% Tween-20. The wells were allowed to dry, and bound receptor was solubilized with 1% SDS and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide and counted in the Packard {gamma}-counter.

Immunoblot analysis
Proteins in membrane extracts were reduced and denatured by incubation at 37 C for 30 min in sample buffer [32 mM Tris-HCl (pH 6.8), 0.5% SDS, 12.5% glycerol, 0.01% bromophenol blue, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.] containing 10% mercaptoethanol and 5 M urea, separated by PAGE on 4–15% gradient gels, and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes, in transfer buffer (10 mM sodium bicarbonate, 3 mM sodium carbonate, 0.1% SDS, and 20% methanol). Transferred proteins were immunoblotted as previously described (10). Briefly, polyvinylidene difluoride membranes were preincubated for 2 h with blocking buffer (10% nonfat dry milk, 10% glycerol, and 0.2% Tween-20 in PBS) and incubated overnight at 4 C with a 1:2500 dilution of SWM-479. Nonspecifically bound antibody was removed by repeated washing with blocking buffer, followed by incubation for 1 h at room temperature with a 1:2000 dilution of rabbit HRP-conjugated antichicken antibody (Cappel Laboratories). The membranes were washed alternately with PBS with and without 1% IGEPAL (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO) developed with ECL substrates.

Tissue preparation for immunohistochemistry
For immunohistochemistry, four adult male Sprague Dawley rats (Taconic Farms, Inc., Germantown, NY; 250–300 g) were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde (Polysciences, Warrington, PA) in PBS at 4 C as described previously (12). The pancreas was removed; postfixed with the same fixative for 30 min; cryoprotected with 5% (2 h), 10% (4 h), then 20% (overnight, at 4 C) sucrose in PBS; and frozen in 2-methylbutane (Aldrich, Milwaukee, WI). Ten-micron thick sections were cut in a cryostat, then thaw-mounted, air-dried at 37 C onto silanized slides, frozen, and stored at -80 C until used.

Unless otherwise noted, all the procedures were performed at room temperature (20 C). NIH Guidelines for Animal Care and Use were followed in all animal procedures (http://intramural.nimh..nih.g/icmr/snge).

Immunohistochemical/immunocytochemical methods
Immunofluorescent double labeling (13) was used for cellular colocalization of sst5 receptor with insulin, glucagon, SRIF, pancreatic polypeptide, and the sst2A receptor. For immunohistochemistry all primary and secondary antibodies were diluted in BSA-diluent (PBS, containing 1% BSA and 0.6% Triton X-100). The specification and the dilution of the primary and secondary antibodies are listed in Tables 1 and 2 (6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18).

The steps of the double immunolabeling were as follows, with three 5-min washes in PBS between steps: 1) postfixation in 4% formaldehyde fixative for 10 min, 2) blocking of nonspecific staining with BSA-diluent for 30 min, 3) incubation with the antiserum to sst5 receptor overnight at 4 C, 4) incubation with Cy3-conjugated antichicken IgY for 1 h, 5) incubation with the second primary antibody raised in rabbit (glucagon, SRIF, and pancreatic polypeptide) or guinea pig (insulin), and 6) incubation with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated antirabbit or antiguinea pig IgG for 1 h.

The tyramide signal amplification (TSA) method (NEN, Boston, MA) was used to label sst2A receptor (6). The manufacturer’s protocol was followed in this procedure as detailed in our previous papers (6, 13). Steps of this labeling after 1) postfixation and 2) blocking were: 3) incubation with the primary antibody to sst2A overnight at 4 C, 4a) incubation with FITC-conjugated antirabbit IgG secondary antibody for 1 h, 4b) incubation with HRP-conjugated anti-FITC antibody for 1 h, and 4c) final signal amplification using tyramide-FITC conjugate for 10 min. The subsequent immunolabeling for sst5 was completed as described above.

SRIF receptor-transfected CHO-K1 cells were tested for sst5 receptor according to steps 1–4 of the immunohistochemical protocol. After immunostaining, the sections were washed in distilled water, air-dried, and coverslipped using Cytoseal 60 medium (Stephens Scientific, Riverdale, NJ). Immunofluorescent labeling was viewed with a fluorescent microscope (Dialux 20, Leitz Co., Stuttgart, Germany) using fluorescent filters for FITC (appears green) and Cy3 (appears red). Photomicrographs were taken using an Axiphot fluorescent microscope (Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany). Double color images were generated using a double pass fluorescent filter, allowing detection of both FITC-green and Cy3-red. Color figures were mounted and printed using a slide scanner (Lacie Silverscanner III, Seiko Epson, Nagano, Japan) and Adobe Photoshop 3.0 software ( Mountain View, CA) with 400-2500 dpi resolution.

Immunohistochemical controls
Preabsorption of the antibody to sst5 receptor with 100 µg/ml immunizing receptor peptide (4 C, overnight) completely abolished the signal in pancreatic islet cells. Preabsorption with 10 or 1.0 µg/ml receptor peptide resulted in incomplete signal reduction. CHO-K1 cells transfected with the individual SRIF receptor subtypes (sst1–5) were used to verify the specificity of the sst5 antibody. The antibody selectively labeled the cells transfected with the rat sst5 receptor (not shown). The signal in sst5 receptor-transfected cells was abolished by preabsorption of the antibody with 100 µg/ml immunizing receptor peptide.

We used fluorochrome-labeled affinity-purified F(ab)2-fragment IgY and IgG secondary antibodies, developed in donkey (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc., West Grove, PA). The appropriate species recognition of these secondary antibodies was confirmed in our hands by the lack of specific labeling in controls when noncorresponding secondary antibodies were used after the primary antibody.

Further controls included immunostaining with the primary antibodies substituted by nonimmune sera, nonimmune IgGs, or BSA diluent in step 3. Finally, all of the double immunostainings gave identical results when we reversed the order of the primary antibody incubations.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
SWM-479 recognizes rat sst5
To determine the ability of the antibody to bind receptors, radiolabeled solubilized membranes were prepared from CHO-K1 cells expressing the rat sst5 receptor and immunoadsorbed to SWM-479 bound to microtiter plates (Fig. 2Go, lane 1). The presence of a 1000-fold excess of unlabeled SRIF-28 during binding incubation reduced the counts bound to the antibody by 20-fold compared with that in membranes labeled in the absence of competing ligand (lane 2). Preincubation of the SWM-479 antibody with antigenic peptide (as MAP) virtually eliminated immunoadsorption of the receptor-ligand complex, whereas preincubation with a nonantigenic peptide failed to prevent immunoadsorbtion (lane 4). There was only negligible adsorption of radiolableled sst4 membrane extracts (lane 5). These immunoadsorption studies show that SWM-479 recognizes functional sst5 receptor, but fails to recognize functional sst4 receptor.



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Figure 2. Specific immunoadsorption of radiolabeled sst5 by anti-sst5 (SWM-479) antibody. Equal amounts (10 µl) of anti-sst5 was immobilized in microtiter wells. 3-[125I]Tyr25-SRIF-28 (Leu8-DTrp22-Tyr25) cross-linked membrane preparations from rat sst5/CHO-K1 stable cell lines were added to lanes 1, 3, and 4 (78,000 cpm). Sst5 membranes radiolabeled in the presence of 50 µg unlabeled SRIF-28 were added to lane 2. 3-[125I]Tyr25-SRIF-28 (Leu8-DTrp22-Tyr25) cross-linked extracts from sst4/CHO-K1 stable cell lines were added to lane 5 (38,800 cpm). Lane 3 was preincubated with antigenic MAP peptide (50 µg), and lane 4 was preincubated with nonantigenic peptide (50 µg) before addition of radiolabeled membranes. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM of two separate experiments performed in duplicate. The maximum number of counts bound ranged from 3000–4000 cpm.

 
Immunoblot analysis of anti-sst5
The specificity of the SWM-479 antibody for sst5 was further tested by immunoblot analysis. Immunoblotting of membranes from CHO-K1 cells expressing an HA-tagged rat sst5 receptor identified proteins with apparent molecular masses of 50 and 32 kDa (Fig. 3Go, lane 7). Preadsorption of the antibody with the antigenic peptide blocked both of these interactions (lane 8). Anti-HA antibody reacted with the 50-kDa protein, but not with the 32-kDa protein (data not shown), suggesting that the latter is a proteolysis product containing the C-terminal, but not the N-terminal, region of the sst5 receptor. The sst5 antibody failed to detect any immunoreactive proteins in membrane extracts from untransfected CHO-K1 cells (lane 1) or membrane extracts from CHO-K1 cells transfected with mouse sst1, -2, or -3 or rat sst4 (Fig. 3Go, lanes 2–5). The sst5 antibody also failed to recognize any proteins from cells transfected with human sst5 (lane 6). We conclude that SWM-479 specifically recognizes the rat sst5 receptor.



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Figure 3. Anti-sst5 specifically recognizes rat sst5 proteins expressed in CHO-K1 cells. One hundred micrograms each of membrane proteins from untransfected CHO-K1 (lane 1) or cells expressing mouse sst1 (lane 2), mouse sst2A (lane 3), mouse sst3 (lane 4), rat sst4 (lane 5), or human sst5 (lane 6) and 37 mg HA-tagged rat sst5 (lanes 7 and 8) were reduced, denatured, and separated by SDS-PAGE (4–15% acrylamide). Immunoblotting was performed with anti-sst5 antibody (1:2500 dilution) without (lanes 1–7) or after preincubation with antigenic peptide (lane 8).

 
Immunolocalization of sst5 receptors in rodent pancreas
Immunostaining with anti-sst5 showed that the sst5 receptor is localized in discrete regions of the rat pancreatic islet (Fig. 4AGo). Preadsorption of the antibody with the antigenic peptide abolished the labeling in pancreatic islets (Fig. 4PGo). All sst5 staining colocalized with insulin (Fig. 4Go, A–C). Glucagon-, SRIF-, and pancreatic polypeptide-immunoreactive cells were not labeled by the sst5 antibody (Fig. 4Go, D–L). Double immunostaining showed no colocalization between sst2A and sst5 receptor labeling (Fig. 4Go, M–O). According to our previous report (6), sst2A receptor is expressed in exocrine cells and in certain peripheral islet cells, such as glucagon-producing A cells and pancreatic polypeptide-producing cells but not in SRIF-producing D cells. In contrast, here we demonstrate that sst5 immunoreactivity is localized to insulin-producing ß-cells in the center area of rat pancreatic islets.



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Figure 4. Localization of rat sst5 in the rat pancreas. A-B-C, D-E-F, G-H-I, J-K-L, and M-N-O, Photomicrograph triplets of the same fields with sst5 labeled in red (A, D, G, J, and M); insulin (B), glucagon (E), somatostatin (H), pancreatic polypeptide (K), and SRIF receptor subtype sst2A (N) are labeled in green. C, F, I, L, and O, Combined red and green fluorescent fields, where both the sst5 labeling (red) and the labeling for the other peptides/proteins (green) are shown. A–C, All insulin-immunoreactive B cells (green) are labeled for sst5 receptor (red). Some of these cells are pointed out with arrows. In the combined fluorescent field (C), overlapping red and green labeling appears in orange. D–L, None of the glucagon (D–F)-, SRIF (G–I)-, and pancreatic polypeptide (J–L)-immunoreactive cells shown in green (arrowheads) are labeled for the sst5 receptor (red). M–O, The labeling for sst5 (red) does not overlap the labeling for sst2A (green) in the exocrine pancreas (arrowheads) and in peripheral islet cells (arrows). P, SRIF-immunoreactive cells (green, arrowheads) demarcate a pancreatic islet, whereas no red labeling for sst5 receptor can be seen after preabsorption of the antibody with 100 µg/ml immunizing receptor peptide. The scale bar represents 200 µm in all panels.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
An sst5-selective antibody directed against a unique C-terminal peptide sequence has been raised and used to immunohistochemically localize this receptor within the insulin-containing ß-cells of rat pancreas. The antibody did not cross-react with membrane extracts from untransfected CHO-K1 cells or CHO-K1 cells expressing mouse sst1–3 or rat sst4. The amino acid sequences of mouse and rat sst1 are 98.5% identical, whereas those of mouse and rat sst2A are 98.1% identical, and those of mouse and rat sst3 are 96.2% identical (2). The lack of cross-reactivity of SWM-479 to rat sst2A is further apparent from the observation that the staining pattern in rat pancreas with the sst5 antibody is very different from that obtained with the sst2A antibody, as shown in Fig. 4Go and reported previously (6). In addition, the peptide used to generate the antibody is not represented anywhere in the rat or mouse sst1–3. We, therefore, believe we are justified in substituting mouse sst1, -2, and -3 for rat sst1, -2, and -3. Competition by the antigenic peptide further confirms the selectivity of the antibody.

Our immunohistochemical studies complement previous work demonstrating the localization of sst2A on glucagon-containing {alpha}-cells (6) and reports of sst5 messenger RNA in rat pancreas (5) and are also consistent with the report of Rossowski et al. (7), in which moderately selective sst5 agonists were reported to lower insulin levels in the rat. However, our observations are not in agreement with those reported by Moldovan et al. (19), who have reported that the sst2A-selective compound inhibits insulin release from human pancreatic islets using a perfusion system. The subtype selectivity of the compound used in these experiments, DC-32–87, is somewhat controversial, and other groups have reported that this compound has high affinity for sst2, -3, and -5, which might explain the differences in our results (20, 21). Another possibility is the different localization of ssts in different species. Species-specific differences in sst messenger RNA distribution between rodent and human tissues are well documented. For instance, sst2 message is found in human liver, but not in rat liver (22), whereas sst3 message is detectable in rat liver, but undetectable in human liver (5, 23). Recently, immunohistochemistry with anti-sst2A antibodies has indicated that ß-cells of human pancreatic islets express sst2A, in contrast to their total absence from ß-cells of rat (24). As a result, great caution has to be exercised in extrapolating information from animal models to humans.

Although we were able to detect sst5 protein in immunoblots of extracts from CHO-K1 cells overexpressing rat sst5, we were unable to detect proteins of appropriate size in rat pancreatic membrane extracts. This was probably due to the relatively sparse distribution of sst5-expressing cells in the pancreas. As the sst5-staining cells were located exclusively in the central area of the islets, and the islets represent no more than 1–2% of the pancreas (25, 26), the level of expression in the pancreas is presumably below the level of detection by immunoblotting. Helboe et al. have also reported detecting a broadly migrating band approximately 50 kDa in size in sst5-transfected BHK tk-ts13 cells using antibodies raised against glutathione-S-transferase fusion proteins with C-terminal amino acids (27). They have also detected faster migrating proteins, including one approximately 30 kDa in size. SWM-479 has been reported to detect a 64-kDa band in the rat pituitary (28), which is significantly larger than that seen in CHO-K1 cells overexpressing sst5 receptor. Dournaud et al. reported that in the rat the antipeptide antibody against sst2A detects a broad band at about 85 kDa in CHO-K1 cells expressing sst2A, whereas it detects a broad band of approximately 72 kDa in the rat cortex (14). A similar variation in the size distribution of sst2A has been seen in human pituitary adenoma, which had a broad size distribution of approximately 80 kDa, whereas sst2A in human meningioma was about 60 kDa (29). We attribute this size discrepancy to differential tissue-specific posttranslational modifications.

Subtype-selective SRIF agonists/antagonists may provide a pharmacological approach for the regulation of glucose levels (8). Although differential expression of sst5 on ß-cells suggests that sst5 agonists could directly inhibit insulin secretion in the rat without affecting glucagon secretion, the situation in the human pancreas seems more complicated (29). It is entirely possible that sst5 and sst2 are colocalized in the same ß-cell of the human pancreas. On the other hand, colocalization of more than one receptor on a cell does not preclude independent signaling pathways and, hence, independent regulation. In rat insulinoma 1046–38, which express both sst1 and sst2A, sst1-selective agonists show inhibition of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, whereas moderately sst2A-selective agonists inhibited adenylyl cyclase activity (30). Sst2A-specific agonists may be effective in inhibiting glucagon secretion without affecting insulin secretion, or alternatively, sst5-specific antagonists alone or in combination with specific sst2A agonists may prove to be promising approaches to the treatment of diabetes and the maintenance of glucose homeostasis. Two endogenous ligands for these receptors are known, SRIF-14 and SRIF-28. Both peptides bind to sst2A with similar affinities. However, SRIF-28 has approximately a 5-fold higher affinity for sst5 than does SRIF-14, suggesting that SRIF-28 may be the endogenous regulator of insulin release from the pancreas.


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Table 1. Characteristics of the antibodies used for immunohistochemistry

 

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Table 2. Components of the immunohistochemical signal detection systems

 

    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by NIH Grant DK-32234 (to A.S.) and Hungarian OTKA Grant T025847 (to B.H.). Back

Received August 6, 1998.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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