Glucagon levels in pancreatic extracts and plasma of the lizard (1)

Effects of leptin administration on the endocrine pancreas and liver in the lizardPodarcis sicula

In this study, we investigated the presence of leptin receptor in pancreatic islets and the effect of exogenous leptin administration in Podarcis sicula on glucose metabolism. Our data show the presence of leptin receptor immunoreactivity in the endocrine pancreas suggesting that leptin may act at a peripheral level as previously postulated in mammals. The effects of short- and long-term and dose-response treatment with supraphysiological concentrations of leptin on circulating levels of insulin, glucagon and glucose in the blood have been evaluated. Taken together, our results indicate that leptin treatment was followed by an increase in insulin, glucagon and glucose in the blood, depending on the dose of leptin. Moreover, leptin treatment brought about a decrease of glycogen and the appearance of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in the liver. This study shows that in the lizard P. sicula leptin is involved in glucose metabolism.

Isolation and characterization of reptilian insulin, glucagon, and pancreatic polypeptide: complete amino acid sequence of alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) insulin and pancreatic polypeptide

The insulin, glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide, and somatostatin contents of acid-alcohol extracts of alligator pancreas have been estimated by heterologous radioimmunoassay, and the insulin, glucagon, and pancreatic polypeptide have been isolated. The amino acid sequences of the insulin and pancreatic polypeptide were determined. The sequence of the insulin A chain is identical to that of chicken insulin A chain, while the B chain exhibits three conservative substitutions when compared to that of the chicken. Pancreatic polypeptide from the alligator is similar in sequence to that of chicken PP, but contains seven substitutions, most of which are conservative and preserve characteristics essential for conformation. The amino acid composition of alligator glucagon is identical to that of duck glucagon.

Differential secretion of glucagon-like and somatostatin-like immunoreactivity from the perfused eel pancreas in response to D-glucose

The effects of D-glucose on the differential secretion of glucagon-like (GLI) and somatostatin-like (SLI) immunoreactivity have been studied using the perfused eel pancreas. During control perfusions with 2.7 mM glucose, basal secretion of GLI and SLI remained essentially stable for a period of 46 min, with an overall mean rate of 381 +/- 20 and 268 +/- 23 pg/min/100 mg dry wt of pancrease, respectively. An acute increase in perfusate glucose to 8.3, 16.7, and 33.3 mM resulted in a monophasic, dose-dependent decline in GLI secretion over 30 min. However, acute return of control glucose concentrations (2.7 mM) from 16.7 or 33.3 mM did not result in return of GLI to control levels, whereas from 8.3 mM glucose this was achieved slowly. By contrast, 8.3 mM glucose was without effect on SLI secretion, but at 16.7 and 33.3 mM a dose-dependent, biphasic pattern of release was evident, with a rapid return to control SLI levels during the terminal perfusion period with 2.7 mM glucose. The results suggest that the A and D cells of teleosts are sensitive to changes in glucose concentration, and, in terms of secretory profiles, release of GLI, and SLI, are qualitatively similar to those of mammals.

Biosynthesis of a proinsulin-like molecule in the pancreas of a lizard

The biosynthesis of insulin, in particular the occurrence of a proinsulin-like molecule (PILM), in the pancreas of the green anole, Anolis carolinensis, was investigated. The laboratory rat was used for comparison and validation of the procedures. Anolian pancreases were incubated in vitro with radiolabeled leucine or proline. Radioactivity incorporated into the acidic ethanol-soluble (AES) phase increased in an essentially linear manner with time. Selective incorporation of labeled amino acids into AES material was not enhanced by a high concentration of glucose (6 mg/ml), by the addition of glucagon, which increases cyclic AMP levels, or by the addition of cytochalasin B; yet all three conditions result in stimulated insulin secretion. Gel filtration of the AES material on columns of Bio-Gel P-30 revealed a major peak of radioactivity whose apex followed closely the apogee of porcine proinsulin. When this presumptive PILM was treated with trypsin and carboxypeptidase B, the radioactivity was shifted towards later elution volumes, but the peak of the converted anolian material was not coincidental with marker insulin. Immunopurification techniques and additional molecular filtrations resulted in the isolation of fractions with both insulin-like immunoreactivity (IRI) and radioactivity derived from tritium-labeled leucine. One peak of radiolabel was present in the region of the proinsulin standards. The level of radioactivity in the region of the insulin standards was relatively high after two days of organ culture of splenic pancreases. By polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis proteins that incorporated radiolabeled amino acids and had insulin-like immunoreactivity possessed migration patterns similar to those of mammalian proinsulin and insulin. The insulin-like component was less readily demonstrated than the proinsulin-like component and raises the possibility that anolian PILM may be a major storage form in this species. The results are consistent with the synthesis of a proinsulin-like precursor in the beta cells of the green anole. The results also provide evidence for a precursor-product relationship in the anolian beta cell.

Continuous-perifusion tissue culture of fetal and adult pancreas of the lizard Anolis carolinensis

The differentiation of the fetal saurian pancreas in continuous-perifusion tissue culture (CPTC) was examined. Splenic pancreases from 24-day postoviposition fetuses of the green anole, Anolis carolinensis, were grown for 8 to 31 days by CPTC following successful preliminary studies with adult pancreas. Adult anolian endocrine pancreas was maintained by up to 7 days by CPTC. The pancreatic explants were examined morphologically by light and electron microscopy. The functional integrity of the endocrine cells was evaluated by measuring hormone levels of the explants and in the basal medium and by determining the kinetics of hormone release. The pancreatic endocrine cells from fetal and adult anoles were functionally and morphologically intact after CPTC. The exocrine pancreas was not maintained during cultures. This study demonstrates for the first time the growth of the reptilian endocrine pancreas in culture.

An immunocytochemical study of the cytogenesis of pancreatic endocrine cells in the lizard, Anolis carolinensis

The differentiation of the pancreatic endocrine cells in the lizard Anolis carolinensis following oviposition was examined. Immediately postoviposition (PO) there was no apparent differentiation of epithelioid cells into endocrine or exocrine components. Individual subpopulations of the endocrine-like cells, which could not be identified during the early PO period on the basis of either their tinctorial properties at the light-microscopic level or their granule morphologies at the electron-microscopic level, exhibited specific hormonal localization by peroxidase-antiperoxidase complex immunocytochemistry. All four hormones searched for, insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP), were present in epithelioid cells shortly after oviposition. However, the immunostained secretory granules in the early PO period were smaller than those of the adult. Secretory granule morphologies that are typical of the adult were acquired at different times during development. Delta granules were observed first and were followed by alpha granules, and beta granules which appeared shortly before birth. The secretory granules of the PP-containing F cells could not be readily placed within this maturation sequence. Mosaic cells (containing more than one hormone) were not seen. Levels of immunoreactive insulin and glucagon in the pancreas increased several fold from day 10 to day 28 PO, but the attainment of adult beta-granule morphologies did not appear to be directly related to insulin itself. The results show that cytodifferentiation of the anolian endocrine pancreas occurs postoviposition and that immunocytochemical methods can be used to follow an organelle sequence during development. These findings suggest that subcellular organelles undergo structural remodeling during maturation which, at least in the case of secretory granules, may have functional significance.

Four hormones in the pancreas of the lizard, Anolis carolinensis

The electron microscopic localization of insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) in the pancreas of the iguanid lizard, Anolis carolinensis was studied by the unlabeled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunocytochemical technique. Insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin were localized absolutely to those cells previously identified on the basis of the characteristics of their secretory granules as being beta cells, alpha cells, and D cells, respectively. The secretory granule cores of the PP-containing cells appeared to be ellipsoidal with a semi-major axis of 450 nm and a semi-minor axis of 365 nm. This previously unidentified cell type is named the F cell, in keeping with the localization of PP to the original F cell of the canine pancreas. Without immunocytochemical staining, the qualitative ultrastructural characteristics of the F cell secretory granules were inadequate to permit identification of the F cell, especially with regard to the D cell.

Localization of four polypeptide hormones in the saurian pancreas

Glucagon, insulin, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide have been localized in the anolian pancreas using peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunocytochemistry. The most abundant endocrine cell type contains glucagon. Insulin-containing cells are the next most numerous. Somatostatin-immunoreactive cells tend to be localized at the periphery of the islet cords. Pancreatic polypeptide-containing cells are a minor endocrine component scattered throughout the exocrine pancreas and occasionally within the islet areas. No staining was observed after application of antigastrin serum.