Endocrinology Vol. 143, No. 1 213-221
Copyright © 2002 by The Endocrine Society
INSULIN-GLUCAGON-GI PEPTIDES-DIABETES MELLITUS |
Prior Exposure to High Glucose Augments Depolarization-Induced Insulin Release by Mitigating the Decline of ATP Level in Rat Islets
Shimpei Fujimoto,
Eri Mukai1,
Yoshiyuki Hamamoto,
Tomomi Takeda,
Mihoko Takehiro,
Yuichiro Yamada and
Yutaka Seino
Department of Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition, Graduate School of
Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Shimpei Fujimoto, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. E-mail:
fujimoto{at}metab.kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
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Abstract
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A brief exposure to elevated glucose augments the insulin secretory
response of islets to subsequent stimulation. The site of this priming
effect of glucose in the mechanism of the regulation of insulin
secretion is not completely known, however. Insulin release triggered
by a depolarizing concentration of K+ in the presence of
basal glucose is markedly enhanced in primed rat islets. To clarify the
role of priming on Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in the exocytotic
apparatus, islets were electrically permeabilized to vary the
intracellular Ca2+ and ATP concentrations according to the
extracellular medium, and insulin release was evaluated.
Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in Ca2+- and
ATP-dependent insulin secretion was not affected by priming, and
alteration of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration after
depolarization cannot account for the phenomenon. There was no
difference in ATP content before depolarization between nonprimed and
primed islets. Moreover, the decline in ATP level after depolarization
with basal glucose was observed in both primed and nonprimed islets.
However, a reduced decline in ATP level in the early phase was observed
in primed islets. In addition, oligomycin, a mitochondrial metabolism
inhibitor, abolished the difference in ATP level between primed and
nonprimed islets, suggesting that mitochondrial ATP production may be
linked to the phenomenon.
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Introduction
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GLUCOSE IS THE most important physiological
secretagogue of insulin secretion from pancreatic ß-cells, and its
mechanism of action is complex.
Glucose by itself triggers insulin secretion from ß-cells by a
mechanism that is well documented: glucose entry into the ß-cells
accelerates glycolysis and glucose oxidation that generates metabolic
signals, including ATP, that close the ATP-sensitive
K+ channels (KATP channel).
Decrease in K+ conductance due to the closure
depolarizes the membrane and opens the voltage-dependent
Ca2+ channels. Ca2+ influx
then raises the intracellular Ca2+ concentration
([Ca2+]i) to the level
that triggers exocytosis of the insulin granule (1, 2). It
has been reported that glucose enhances insulin secretion
KATP channel-independently. This effect has been
confirmed by treatment of ß-cells with diazoxide that prevents the
KATP channels from closing and with a
depolarizing concentration of extracellular K+ to
restore Ca2+ influx (3, 4, 5). As
glucose does not increase
[Ca2+]i, but,
nevertheless, augments insulin release under these conditions, glucose
may exert its effects by increasing Ca2+ efficacy
in stimulation-secretion coupling, which may be due at least partly to
the direct effect of increased ATP derived from glucose metabolism on
exocytosis (4, 6). These results indicate that
[Ca2+]i, intracellular
ATP concentration, and Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in
exocytosis all are critical factors in insulin secretion.
It has been demonstrated that previous exposure within 60 min to a
stimulatory concentration of glucose augments the insulin secretory
response to a subsequent stimulation by glucose or other fuel and
nonfuel secretagogues. This enhancing effect on insulin secretion from
ß-cells is termed the priming effect, a time-dependent potentiation
or "memory effect" of glucose (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). The conditions
required for priming are various, including glucose metabolism
(9, 11) and possibly phosphoinositide metabolism
(13, 14, 15, 16, 17); it is not dependent on cAMP (9, 10), and its dependence on Ca2+ is
controversial (9, 11, 18, 19). However, there currently is
no information regarding the site of action of the augmentation of
depolarization-induced insulin secretion by the priming effect of
glucose.
In the present study insulin release,
[Ca2+]i, and
intracellular ATP level after depolarization, in addition to the
Ca2+ and ATP efficacy of the exocytotic system,
were compared in primed and nonprimed islets.
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Materials and Methods
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Materials
Oligomycin, ADP, AMP, adenylate kinase, phosphocreatine,
creatine kinase, NAD-dependent glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase,
12-O- tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA),
mannoheptulose, and potassium aspartate were obtained from
Sigma (St. Louis, MO). The oligomycin used is a
mixture of several oligomycins (A, B, and C). Fura-PE3/AM was obtained
from Calbiochem (La Jolla, CA). ATP was purchased from Kohjin (Tokyo,
Japan). All other reagents are analytical grade and were obtained from
Nacalai Tesque (Kyoto, Japan). Oligomycin was first prepared in
dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and then was diluted to 1:1000 with buffer.
The final concentration of DMSO did not exceed 0.1%, and the same
concentration of DMSO was added to controls.
Animals
Male Wistar rats were obtained from Shimizu Co. (Kyoto, Japan).
The animals were fed standard lab chow ad libitum and
allowed free access to water in an air-conditioned room with a 12-h
light, 12-h dark cycle until used in the experiments. All experiments
were carried out with rats aged 812 wk. The animals were maintained
and used in accordance with the Guideline for Animal Experiments of
Kyoto University.
Islet isolation and culture
Islets of Langerhans were isolated from Wistar rats by
collagenase digestion as described previously (20). Islets
were cultured for 12 h in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% FBS,
100 U/ml penicillin, 100 µg/ml streptomycin, and 5.5 mM
glucose.
Measurement of insulin release from intact islets
Insulin release from intact islets was monitored using static
incubation and perifusion conditions described previously with
Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer (KRBB) supplemented with 0.2% BSA
(20). For static incubation experiments, the islets were
preincubated at 37 C for 30 min with 2.8 mM glucose. One
group of islets was exposed to 16.7 mM glucose for 30 min
(priming); the other group continued to be exposed to 2.8
mM glucose with subsequent incubation with the buffer
containing 2.8 mM glucose for 15 min (interval), after
which insulin release was stimulated with 30 mM
K+ in the presence of 2.8 mM glucose
with or without test materials for 30 min (final incubation). At the
end of the final incubation period, islets were pelleted by
centrifugation (10,000 x g, 180 sec), and aliquots of
the buffer were sampled. For perifusion experiments, groups of islets
were placed in each of the parallel chambers (400 µl each) of a
perifusion apparatus and perifused with KRBB supplemented with 2.8
mM glucose and 0.2% BSA, with 10
mM HEPES adjusted to pH 7.4, at a rate of 0.7
ml/min at 37 C. The medium was continuously gassed with 95%
O2 and 5% CO2. Islets
usually were perifused for 30 min to establish a stable insulin
secretory rate at the basal level of glucose, and then the priming
process, interval process, and final incubation were performed. The
time intervals at which perifusate samples were collected and detailed
protocols are indicated in the figures. The amount of immunoreactive
insulin was determined by RIA using rat insulin as standard
(20). Experiments using the same protocol were repeated at
least three times to ascertain reproducibility.
Measurement of insulin release from permeabilized islets
(20)
Cultured islets were preincubated with KRBB containing 2.8
mM glucose and 0.2% BSA for 30 min. The islets were then
divided into two groups; one was exposed to 16.7 mM glucose
(priming), and the other continued to be incubated with 2.8
mM glucose for an additional 30 min. After both groups of
islets were incubated again with 2.8 mM glucose for 15 min
(interval), they were washed twice in cold potassium aspartate buffer
(KA buffer) containing 140 mM potassium aspartate, 7
mM MgSO4, 2.5 mM EGTA, 30
mM HEPES, and 0.5% BSA (pH 7.0), with
CaCl2 added to a Ca2+
concentration of 30 nM. The islets were then permeabilized
by high voltage discharge (four exposures, each of 450 µsec duration,
to an electrical field of 4.0 kV/cm) in KA buffer and washed once with
the same buffer. Groups of electrically permeabilized islets then were
batch-incubated for 30 min at 37 C in 0.4 ml KA buffer with various
concentrations of Ca2+ and ATP. The
Ca2+ concentrations were determined as previously
described (21) and were verified using
Ca2+ electrode (Horiba, Kyoto, Japan). At the end
of the incubation period, permeabilized islets were pelleted by
centrifugation (15,000 x g, 180 sec), and aliquots of
the buffer were sampled for immunoreactive insulin determination. The
amount of immunoreactive insulin was determined as described above.
Experiments using the same protocol were repeated three times to
ascertain reproducibility.
Measurement of adenine nucleotide and phosphocreatine
contents
After groups of cultured intact islets were preincubated with
2.8 mM glucose for 30 min, they were incubated in KRBB
supplemented with 0.2% BSA and 10 mM HEPES adjusted to pH
7.4 containing 2.8 or 16.7 mM glucose at 37 C for 30 min
(priming). After both of them were exposed to 2.8 mM
glucose for 15 min (interval), they were batch-incubated in 1 ml medium
containing 30 mM K+ and 2.8
mM glucose. The incubation was stopped by the addition of
0.2 ml trichloroacetic acid to a final concentration of 5% at the
intervals indicated in Table 1
. The tubes were immediately mixed with
vortex and then sonicated in ice-cold water for 3 min. They were then
centrifuged (2000 x g, 180 sec), and a fraction (0.9
ml) of the supernatant was mixed with 1 ml water-saturated diethyl
ether. The ether phase containing trichloroacetic acid was discarded.
The step was repeated four times. After the extracts (0.4 ml) were
diluted with 0.1 ml 40 mM HEPES solution (final
pH 7.4), they were frozen at -80 C until assays. ATP, ADP, and AMP
were assayed by a luminometric method (22, 23, 24). For
measurement of the sum of ATP + ADP, ADP was converted into ATP by
adding 210 µl solution containing 20 mM HEPES
(pH 7.75), 3 mM MgCl2, 1.5
mM phosphoenolpyruvate, and 2.2 U/ml pyruvate
kinase to 70 µl of the thawed extracts, with incubation at 37 C for
15 min. For measurement of the sum of ATP + ADP + AMP, AMP was
converted into ADP before conversion to ATP by adding 210 µl solution
containing HEPES (pH 7.75), MgCl2,
phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate kinase, and 36 U/ml adenylate kinase to
70 µl of the thawed extracts, with incubation at 37 C for 15 min. The
ATP concentration in the solutions was measured by adding 200 µl
luciferin-luciferase solution (Turner Designs, Sunnyvale, CA) to a
fraction of sample (100 µl) in a bioluminometer (luminometer model
20e, Turner Designs, Sunnyvale, CA). The ATP concentration was shown as
a signal that was the integrated luminescence strength for 10 sec from
5 sec after the reaction started. For the measurement of ATP, the same
procedure was performed, except that the incubation step was performed
without pyruvate kinase and adenylate kinase. The ADP concentration and
AMP concentration were calculated as the difference between the value
of ATP + ADP and that of ATP and between the value of ATP + ADP + AMP
and that of ATP + ADP from the same sample, respectively. For
measurement of phosphocreatine (25), in a first step the
ATP present in the sample was removed by adding 100 µl solution
containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.75), 3
mM MgCl2, 1.4
mM glucose, 0.6 mM NAD, 0.5
U/ml hexokinase, and 0.7 U/ml NAD-dependent glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase to 100 µl of the thawed extracts, with incubation at 37
C for 30 min (26). This was followed by boiling for 1 min
to destroy the enzyme. Measurement of the efficacy of this procedure
showed that 100% of the ATP was removed. In a second step,
phosphocreatine was converted into ATP by adding 100 µl solution
containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.75), 3
mM MgCl2, 1.25
µM ADP, and 60 U/ml creatine kinase with
incubation at 37 C for 30 min. Finally, the ATP formed was measured by
the luminometric method described above. To draw a standard curve,
blanks, AMP, ADP, ATP, and phosphocreatine standards were run through
the entire procedure, including the extraction steps. Experiments using
the same protocol were repeated three times to ascertain
reproducibility.
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Table 1. Time course of changes of ATP content in 16.7
mM glucose-primed and nonprimed intact islets after
depolarization by 30 mM K+
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Measurement of intracellular Ca2+
Cultured islets were loaded with fura-PE3 during 2 h of
preincubation in the presence of 2 µM fura-PE3. The
islets were then divided into two groups; one was exposed to 16.7
mM glucose (priming), and the other group continued to be
incubated with 2.8 mM glucose for another 30 min in KRBB
supplemented with 0.2% BSA in humidified air containing 5%
CO2 at 37 C. Afterward this group of islets was
immediately placed in a heat-controlled chamber on the stage of an
inverted microscope kept at 36 ± 1 C, superfused with KRBB
supplemented with 2.8 mM glucose and 10 mM
HEPES adjusted to pH 7.4 for 15 min (interval period), and subsequently
exposed to the medium containing a high concentration of
K+. These islets were exited successively at 340
and 380 nm, and the fluorescence emitted at 510 nm was captured by CCD
camera (Micro Max 5 MHz System, Roper Industries, Trenton, NJ). The
images were analyzed with a Meta Fluor image analyzing system
(Universal Imaging Corp., West Chester, PA). The 340-nm (F340) and
380-nm (F380) fluorescence signals were detected every 20 sec, and the
ratios (F340/F380) were calculated. In vitro calibration was
performed using fura-PE3, and F340/F380 was converted into calibrated
values of [Ca2+]i.
Statistical analysis
Results are expressed as the mean ± SE.
Statistical significance was evaluated by unpaired t test.
P < 0.05 was considered significant.
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Results
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Time course of glucose-induced or a depolarizing concentration of
K+-induced insulin release from high concentration
glucose-primed intact islets
One group of islets was exposed to 16.7 mM glucose for
30 min (priming period) while the other continued to be exposed to 2.8
mM glucose. In 16.7 mM glucose-primed islets,
the typical biphasic glucose-induced insulin release was observed
during the priming period. Both groups of islets were then exposed to
2.8 mM glucose for 15 min (interval period). During that
period in the 16.7 mM glucose-primed group, a gradual
decrease in insulin secretion for the first 10 min became constant for
the last 5 min. However, the insulin secretion during this 5-min period
remained significantly greater than that in the control group (at 0
min: 16.7 mM glucose-primed, 0.23 ± 0.02; control,
0.14 ± 0.01 ng/10 islets·min; n = 7; P <
0.01). After the interval period, both groups of islets were
simultaneously stimulated with 16.7 mM glucose to
determine the biphasic glucose-induced insulin release. The first phase
of insulin release was remarkably increased in the 16.7
mM glucose-primed group (insulin secretion within
the initial 10 min: control, 4.29 ± 0.01; 16.7
mM glucose-primed, 11.11 ± 0.04 ng/10
islets·10 min; n = 7; P < 0.01). However,
during the second phase of insulin release, the insulin release was
similar in the two groups 22 min after introduction of 16.7
mM glucose (Fig. 1A
). The effect of the 16.7
mM glucose-induced priming also was observed when
both groups of islets were exposed to a depolarizing concentration (30
mM) of K+ in the presence
of 2.8 mM glucose. The 30
mM K+-induced monophasic
insulin release also was prominently augmented in 16.7
mM glucose-primed islets. Peak values of insulin
secretion and total insulin secretion for the initial 10 min after
stimulation in the 16.7 mM glucose-primed group
were significantly greater than those in controls [peak value (at 2
min): 16.7 mM glucose-primed, 1.41 ± 0.14;
control, 0.56 ± 0.05 ng/10 islets·min; n = 7;
P < 0.01; insulin release for initial 10 min: 16.7
mM glucose-primed, 5.68 ± 0.43; control,
2.14 ± 0.09 ng/10 islets·10 min; n = 7; P
< 0.01; Fig. 1B
].

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Figure 1. Glucose-induced priming effect on glucose-induced
biphasic insulin secretion (A) and on a depolarizing concentration (30
mM) of K+-induced monophasic insulin secretion
in the presence of 2.8 mM glucose (B). Two groups of
cultured islets were preincubated with 2.8 mM glucose for
30 min (from -75 to -45 min). One group of islets then was exposed to
16.7 mM glucose, and the other group of islets continued to
be incubated with 2.8 mM glucose for another 30 min (from
-45 to -15 min; priming period). After both groups of islets were
incubated with 2.8 mM glucose again for the following 15
min (from -15 to 0 min; interval period), they were stimulated
simultaneously with 16.7 mM glucose (A) or 30
mM K+ in the presence of 2.8 mM
glucose (B), and the biphasic insulin release (A) or the monophasic
insulin release (B) in each group was measured for 30 min (from 030
min; final incubation period). Values in A and in B represent the
mean ± SE of seven determinations in the same
experiment. G, Glucose. A, All values measured, except those at -48,
-45, -44, 22, 25, 28, and 30 min, were significantly greater in 16.7
mM glucose-primed islets than the corresponding values in
control islets (P < 0.01). B, All indicated values
from -5 to 30 min measured, except that at 30 min, were significantly
greater with 16.7 mM glucose-primed islets than the
corresponding values in control islets (P <
0.01).
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[Ca2+]i elevation induced by
depolarization in the presence of a basal level of glucose in
glucose-primed intact islets
Two minutes before depolarization during the 15-min interval,
[Ca2+]i in the presence
of 5 mM K+ and 2.8 mM
glucose in 16.7 mM glucose-primed islets was significantly
higher than that in nonprimed islets [average for 2 min before
depolarization: primed, 104.5 ± 4.0 (n = 20); nonprimed,
76.2 ± 7.2 nM (n = 21); P <
0.01]. After depolarization induced by 30 mM
K+ in the presence of 2.8
mM glucose,
[Ca2+]i was slightly
higher in primed islets than in nonprimed islets [average for 10 min
after depolarization: primed, 171.5 ± 4.1 (n = 20);
nonprimed, 155.5 ± 7.2 nM (n = 21);
P < 0.05]. However, there was no difference between
the increment induced by depolarization in primed islets and that in
nonprimed islets (primed, 67.0 ± 5.0 (n = 20); nonprimed,
79.3 ± 8.4 nM; n = 21, not
significant; Fig. 2
).

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Figure 2. [Ca2+]i elevation
induced by 30 mM K+-induced depolarization in
the presence of 2.8 mM glucose in primed and nonprimed
islets. Two groups of cultured islets were preincubated with 2.8
mM glucose for 30 min. One group of islets then was exposed
to 16.7 mM glucose, and the other group of islets continued
to be incubated with 2.8 mM glucose for another 30 min
(priming period). After both groups of islets were incubated with 2.8
mM glucose again for the following 15 min (interval
period), they were stimulated with 30 mM K+ in
the presence of 2.8 mM glucose at time zero. A, Time course
of [Ca2+]i. Values represent the mean ±
SE of 20 (for primed) or 21 (for nonprimed) determinations
from the several experiments. B, Average values calculated from the
data from A. Basal, average value from -2 to 0 min in the presence of
5 mM K+ with 2.8 mM glucose.
Stimulated, average value from 010 min in the presence of 30
mM K+ with 2.8 mM glucose. ,
Stimulated value minus basal value. *, P < 0.01
vs. basal, nonprimed. , P < 0.05
vs. stimulated, nonprimed.
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Insulin release from electrically permeabilized islets primed with
a high concentration of glucose
In the presence of 5 mM ATP, raising the
Ca2+ concentration from 30 nM to 3
µM elicited a dose-dependent increase in insulin release
from electrically permeabilized islets. However, in the absence of ATP,
raising the Ca2+ concentration had no effect on
the increase in insulin secretion (Fig. 3A
). In the presence of 1000
nM Ca2+, raising the ATP
concentration from 0 to 5 mM produced a dose-dependent
increase in insulin release from permeabilized islets. However, in the
presence of 30 nM Ca2+, raising the
ATP concentration had no effect on the increase in insulin secretion
(Fig. 3B
).

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Figure 3. Dose-dependent effects of Ca2+ and ATP
on insulin release from electrically permeabilized islets. After
preincubation with 2.8 mM glucose for 75 min, islets were
electrically permeabilized and incubated with medium containing
Ca2+ and ATP at the concentrations indicated in the figure.
A, Ca2+ dose-response curve in the presence of 5
mM ATP and in the absence of ATP. Values represent the
mean ± SE of five determinations in the same
experiment. B, ATP-dose-response curve in the presence of 1000 and 30
nM Ca2+. Values represent the mean ±
SE of eight determinations in the same experiment.
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In the absence of ATP, insulin release was greater in primed islets
than in nonprimed islets, independent of the Ca2+
concentration; however, no increment in insulin release induced by the
elevation of Ca2+ was observed in either primed
or nonprimed islets [at 30 nM Ca2+:
nonprimed, 0.24 ± 0.04; primed, 0.42 ± 0.03 (n = 5;
P < 0.01); at 100 nM: nonprimed,
0.23 ± 0.02; primed, 0.40 ± 0.03 (n = 5;
P < 0.01); at 1000 nM:
nonprimed, 0.25 ± 0.03; primed, 0.42 ± 0.03 ng/islet·30
min (n = 5; P < 0.01)]. In the presence of 5
mM ATP, insulin release at 30, 100, and 1000
nM Ca2+ was greater in 16.7
mM glucose-primed islets than in nonprimed
islets, and the Ca2+-dependent increase in
insulin secretion was observed in both primed and nonprimed islets
(Fig. 4A
). In the presence of 5
mM ATP, when the increment in insulin release in
the presence of 30 nM Ca2+
due to the priming effect was subtracted from the value of insulin
release from primed islets, there was no difference in the values of
insulin secretion at 100 and 1000 nM compared
with the values from nonprimed islets (Fig. 4A
). In the presence of
1000 nM Ca2+, insulin
release at 0, 1, 3, and 5 mM ATP was greater in
primed islets than in nonprimed islets, and the ATP-dose-dependent
increase in insulin secretion was observed in both primed and nonprimed
islets (Fig. 4B
). In the presence of 1000 nM
Ca2+, however, when the increment in insulin
release in the absence of ATP due to the priming effect was subtracted
from the value of insulin release from primed islets, no significant
augmentation was observed in the values of insulin secretion at 1, 3,
and 5 mM ATP compared with the values from
nonprimed islets (Fig. 4B
).

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Figure 4. Effect of 16.7 mM glucose-induced
priming on insulin release from electrically permeabilized islets in
the presence of 5 mM ATP and various concentrations of
Ca2+ (A) and in the presence of 1000 nM
Ca2+ and various concentrations of ATP (B). Two groups of
cultured islets were preincubated with 2.8 mM glucose for
30 min. One group of islets then was exposed to 16.7 mM
glucose, and the other group of islets was incubated with 2.8
mM glucose for another 30 min (priming period). After both
groups of islets were incubated with 2.8 mM glucose again
for 15 min (interval period), they were electrically permeabilized and
incubated with medium containing ATP and Ca2+ at the
concentrations indicated in the figure. The values obtained by
subtracting the increment in insulin release in the presence of 30
nM Ca2+ due to the priming effect from insulin
release from primed islets and the values obtained by subtracting the
increment in insulin release in the absence of ATP due to the priming
effect from insulin release from primed islets are also indicated in A
and B, respectively. All values represent the mean ±
SE of 20 (A) and 9 (B) determinations in the same
experiment. *, P < 0.01 vs.
corresponding nonprimed control.
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Time course of ATP level changes after depolarization in the
presence of basal level of glucose in glucose-primed islets
Insulin content and DNA content at the end of the interval period
(time zero) was the same in nonprimed and primed islets (data not
shown). ATP content at time zero was the same in nonprimed and primed
islets. Twenty minutes after 30 mM
K+-induced depolarization, the ATP content was
the same in primed and nonprimed islets, but it was significantly
decreased in both primed and nonprimed islets compared with that in
islets that continued to be incubated in the presence of 5
mM K+. On the other hand, ATP content
2 and 4 min after depolarization was significantly greater in primed
islets than that in nonprimed islets (Table 1A
).
Adenine nucleotide and phosphocreatine content in glucose-primed
islets
ATP, ADP, AMP, and phosphocreatine contents at the end of the
interval period (before depolarization) were similar in primed and
nonprimed islets (Table 2
).
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Table 2. Adenine nucleotide and phosphocreatine contents in
primed and nonprimed islets in the presence of 2.8 mM
glucose and 5 mM K+
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Effects of oligomycin on ATP level and on insulin release after
depolarization in glucose-primed islets
To investigate a role of mitochondrial metabolism in the reduced
decline in ATP and the augmented insulin release in primed islets, 2
µg/ml oligomycin were used. Two minutes after
K+-induced depolarization in the presence of 2.8
mM glucose, the ATP level was significantly greater in 16.7
mM glucose-primed islets. Addition of 2 µg/ml oligomycin
during depolarization significantly reduced the ATP level in both
primed and nonprimed islets; however, no significant difference in ATP
level between nonprimed and primed islets was observed (Table 3
). Basal insulin release and a
depolarizing concentration of K+-induced insulin
release from primed islets were significantly increased compared with
those from nonprimed islets [basal, nonprimed, 0.25 ± 0.05;
basal, primed, 0.43 ± 0.04 (n = 7; P <
0.01); stimulated, nonprimed, 0.76 ± 0.07; stimulated, primed,
1.24 ± 0.09 ng/islet·30 min (n = 7; P <
0.01)]. Addition of 2 µg/ml oligomycin during depolarization
completely suppressed stimulated insulin release to the basal level in
both nonprimed and primed islets (Fig. 5
).
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Table 3. Effects of 2 µg/ml oligomycin on ATP content in
primed and nonprimed islets after 2-min exposure to a depolarizing
concentration of K+ in the presence of 2.8 mM
glucose
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Depolarization-induced insulin release and time course of ATP level
changes in mannoheptulose-preexposed islets
One group of islets was exposed to 16.7 mM glucose
with 20 mM mannoheptulose for 30 min, and the other was
exposed to 2.8 mM glucose with 20 mM
mannoheptulose during the priming period. Basal insulin release in the
presence of 2.8 mM glucose and 5 mM
K+ and depolarization-induced insulin release in
the presence of 2.8 mM glucose and 30 mM
K+ were not significantly augmented from those in
16.7 mM glucose- and 20 mM
mannoheptulose-preexposed intact islets compared with those from 2.8
mM glucose and 20 mM mannoheptulose-preexposed
islets [basal release: 2.8 mM glucose-preexposed,
0.23 ± 0.04; 16.7 mM glucose-preexposed, 0.26 ±
0.05 (n = 6; not significant); stimulated release: 2.8
mM glucose-preexposed, 0.60 ± 0.06; 16.7
mM glucose-preexposed, 0.63 ± 0.08 ng/islet·30 min
(n = 6; not significant)]. ATP content at 0, 2, and 8 min after
depolarization was the same in 16.7 mM glucose- and 20
mM mannoheptulose-preexposed islets and 2.8 mM
glucose- and 20 mM mannoheptulose-preexposed islets (Table 1B
).
Depolarization-induced insulin release and time course of ATP level
changes in TPA-primed islets
One group of islets was exposed to 2.8 mM glucose with
10 nM TPA for 30 min while the other continued to be
exposed to 2.8 mM glucose during the priming period.
Depolarization-induced insulin release was significantly augmented from
TPA-primed intact islets compared with that from nonprimed islets
(Table 4A
). In the presence of 5
mM ATP, insulin release at 30, 100, and 1000 nM
Ca2+ was greater in 10 nM TPA-primed
permeabilized islets than in nonprimed islets, and the
Ca2+-dependent increase in insulin secretion was
observed in both primed and nonprimed permeabilized islets (Fig. 6A
). In the presence of 30 nM
Ca2+ and the absence of ATP, the increment in
insulin release due to the priming effect was not observed (Fig. 6A
).
In the presence of 5 mM ATP, when the increment in insulin
release in the presence of 30 nM Ca2+
due to the priming effect was subtracted from the insulin release from
primed permeabilized islets, there was a significant increase in
insulin secretion at 100 and 1000 nM compared with that
from nonprimed islets (Fig. 6A
). In the presence of 1000 nM
Ca2+, insulin release at 1, 3, and 5
mM ATP was greater in primed permeabilized islets than in
nonprimed islets, and the ATP dose-dependent increase in insulin
secretion was observed in both primed and nonprimed permeabilized
islets (Fig. 6B
). In the presence of 1000 nM
Ca2+ and the absence of ATP, however, no
increment in insulin release due to the priming effect was observed
(Fig. 6B
). ATP content at 0, 2, and 8 min after depolarization was the
same in nonprimed and TPA-primed islets (Table 4B
).
View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Table 4. TPA (10 nM)-induced priming effect on
insulin release from intact islets (A) and time course of changes of
ATP content in 10 nM TPA-primed islets after depolarization
by 30 mM K+ (B)
|
|
 |
Discussion
|
|---|
We have shown that the difference in ATP level in the early phase
after depolarization between primed and nonprimed islets may contribute
to the difference in depolarization-induced insulin secretion.
In the perifusion experiments the first phase of glucose-induced
insulin release from primed islets was remarkably augmented; during the
second phase the insulin secretion from nonprimed and primed islets was
similar. Aizawa et al. (5, 27) proposed that
glucose-induced biphasic insulin secretion is the sum of
glucose-induced triggering of insulin release produced solely by
cytosolic Ca2+ elevation (first phase) and
self-augmentation of insulin release by the glucose-induced priming
effect (second phase). Therefore, as a secretagogue to quantify the
priming effect during final incubation, a depolarizing concentration of
K+ in the presence of the basal level of glucose
was chosen to avoid self-augmentation during the final incubation.
The monophasic insulin release triggered by a depolarizing
concentration of K+ in the presence of basal
levels of glucose also was markedly enhanced in primed islets.
Accordingly, [Ca2+]i and
intracellular ATP in this condition in addition to
Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in the exocytotic system
were evaluated in both nonprimed and primed islets to identify the
mechanism involved in stimulation-secretion coupling.
To quantify the priming effect on Ca2+ and ATP
efficacy in the exocytotic process of insulin secretory granules
directly, high concentration glucose-primed islets were electrically
permeabilized to manipulate the intracellular
Ca2+ and ATP concentrations according to the
extracellular medium, and insulin release was examined. Both the
Ca2+ dose-response curve in the presence of 5
mM ATP and the ATP dose-response curve in the presence of 1
µM Ca2+ were shifted to the left by
priming. However, the shift due to priming also was observed in the
Ca2+ dose-response curve in the absence of ATP in
which no increment in insulin release induced by
Ca2+ elevation was observed. In a recent study
(24) we found that prior exposure to high glucose enhanced
basal insulin release from rat pancreatic islets and suggested that
this enhancement was due to ATP-independent and
Ca2+-independent insulin release, because it was
not affected by reduction of the intracellular ATP or
Ca2+ concentration. The GTP-sensitive site may
play a role, as no augmentation was observed in GTP-depleted islets,
and GDP analog significantly suppressed the augmentation in ATP- and
Ca2+-depleted permeabilized islets. Accordingly,
the leftward shift of the Ca2+ and ATP
dose-response curves due to priming should be derived from the
augmented ATP-independent and Ca2+-independent
insulin release. When Ca2+-independent and
ATP-independent insulin release enhanced by priming was subtracted from
these dose-response curves in primed islets, there was no difference
between nonprimed and primed islets. These results indicate that
Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in
Ca2+- and ATP-dependent insulin secretion is not
affected by priming. It should be emphasized that no
Ca2+-triggered insulin secretion was observed
even from primed islets without ATP, contrary to the report that the
priming process increased Ca2+-triggered
exocytosis in the absence of ATP in permeabilized adrenal chromaffin
cells (28) and PC12 cells (29). Our results
are consistent with the report of capacitance measurements showing that
the pool of insulin secretory granules that can be released by
Ca2+ triggering in the absence of ATP is
considerably smaller in pancreatic ß-cells compared with other
neuroendocrine cells (30, 31). Those results also suggest
that the Ca2+ dependency and the ATP dependency
of exocytosis in the pancreatic ß-cell are tightly linked.
Because the observed differences in
[Ca2+]i elevation after
depolarization and in Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in
the exocytotic system cannot account for the enhanced
depolarization-induced insulin release due to preexposure to a high
concentration of glucose, the ATP level after 30 mM
K+-induced depolarization in the presence of
basal glucose was examined. The ATP content before depolarization was
the same in nonprimed and primed islets, and the decline in ATP level
after depolarization in the presence of a basal level of glucose, which
reflects a larger consumption than production of ATP produced by
increased [Ca2+]i
(32), was observed in both primed and nonprimed islets.
However, a reduced decline in ATP in the early phase was observed in
primed islets. Even in the presence of a low concentration of ATP that
cannot close the KATP channel and cannot trigger
Ca2+ influx by itself, insulin release occurs
when Ca2+ influx is produced by membrane
depolarization (6, 33). Moreover, the ATP dose-response
curve in the presence of a clamped sufficient concentration of
Ca2+ clearly shows that the increment in ATP
level increases Ca2+ efficacy in exocytosis. In
addition, in mannoheptulose-preexposed islets, in which no augmentation
of depolarization-induced insulin release due to a glucose-induced
priming effect was observed, the decline in ATP level in the early
phase was the same in high glucose-preexposed islets and control
islets. The difference in ATP level in the early phase, therefore, may
affect depolarization-induced monophasic insulin release by a direct
effect on the exocytotic apparatus.
We then investigated the mitigated decline of ATP level in primed
islets. Because pancreatic ß-cells contain creatine kinase (34, 35) and adenylate kinase (36), intracellular
phosphocreatine and ADP might function as an ATP reservoir in islets by
the following reaction: phosphocreatine + ADP
creatine + ATP by
creatine kinase, and 2ADP
AMP + ATP by adenylate kinase. If such an
ATP reservoir pool were increased by preexposure to high glucose and
its level maintained before depolarization, it would prevent the
intracellular ATP level from decreasing even when ATP consumption is
increased by depolarization. The fact that ADP, AMP, and
phosphocreatine contents before depolarization in islets were the same
in nonprimed and primed islets suggests that the reduced decline in ATP
level in primed islets is not derived from an increase in ADP or the
phosphocreatine pool. A rise in
[Ca2+]i stimulates
mitochondrial metabolism by activating enzymes, including pyruvate
dehydrogenase, NAD+-isocitrate dehydrogenase, and
oxoglutarate dehydrogenase in the Krebs cycle (37) and
mitochondrial glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase in the glycerol
phosphate shuttle (38, 39, 40). To determine whether
mitochondrial ATP production plays a role in the reduced decline in ATP
level and augmented insulin release in primed islets, 2 µg/ml
oligomycin, a mitochondrial H+-adenosine
triphosphatase inhibitor, at which concentration the elevation of
[Ca2+]i after
depolarization is not affected (41), was used during high
concentration K+-induced depolarization. The ATP
level 2 min after depolarization in the presence of basal glucose was
suppressed by the reagent in both primed and nonprimed islets, which
indicates that mitochondrial ATP production may participate in
regulation of the ATP level after depolarization even in nonprimed
islets. The facts that the difference in ATP level between primed and
nonprimed islets in the early phase was abolished in the presence of
oligomycin and that high K+-induced insulin
release was completely suppressed to the basal level in both primed and
nonprimed islets in the presence of the reagent suggest that
mitochondrial ATP production may play a role in both the reduced
decline in ATP level and the enhanced insulin release in primed
islets.
As the involvement of PLC and PKC activation has been reported in the
glucose-induced priming effect (13, 14, 15, 16, 17), the intracellular
ATP level, in addition to Ca2+ and ATP efficacy
in the exocytotic system in islets pretreated by TPA, a PKC activator,
was examined. Depolarization-induced insulin release from islets primed
by TPA at a basal level of glucose was significantly augmented compared
with that from nonprimed islets, as previously reported
(16). Interestingly, although ATP decline after
depolarization was the same in TPA-primed and nonprimed islets,
increased Ca2+ and ATP efficacy in insulin
release was observed in TPA-primed islets. These results indicate at
the least that a different mechanism is involved in the glucose-induced
priming effect and the priming effect induced by the PKC activator and
that multiple priming mechanisms are functional within the islet.
Whether ATP and phorbol ester are common activators of the same
downstream signaling molecule ultimately required for priming remains
unknown.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
The authors thank Mr. S. Nawata for his technical
assistance.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific
Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture
of Japan; a Grant-in-Aid for Creative Basic Research (NP10NP0201) from
the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan; and a
grant from the Research for the Future Program of the Japan Society for
the Promotion of Science (JSPS-RFTF97I00201).
1 Research fellow of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science. 
Abbreviations: [Ca2+]i, Intracellular
Ca2+ concentration; DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide; KA buffer,
potassium aspartate buffer; KATP channel, ATP-sensitive
K+ channel; KRBB, Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer; TPA,
12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate.
Received May 16, 2001.
Accepted for publication September 12, 2001.
 |
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