Role of glucose and insulin in the dynamic regulation of glucagon release by the perfused rat pancreas

Alpha-cells of the endocrine pancreas: 35 years of research but the enigma remains

Glucagon, a hormone secreted from the alpha-cells of the endocrine pancreas, is critical for blood glucose homeostasis. It is the major counterpart to insulin and is released during hypoglycemia to induce hepatic glucose output. The control of glucagon secretion is multifactorial and involves direct effects of nutrients on alpha-cell stimulus-secretion coupling as well as paracrine regulation by insulin and zinc and other factors secreted from neighboring beta- and delta-cells within the islet of Langerhans. Glucagon secretion is also regulated by circulating hormones and the autonomic nervous system. In this review, we describe the components of the alpha-cell stimulus secretion coupling and how nutrient metabolism in the alpha-cell leads to changes in glucagon secretion. The islet cell composition and organization are described in different species and serve as a basis for understanding how the numerous paracrine, hormonal, and nervous signals fine-tune glucagon secretion under different physiological conditions. We also highlight the pathophysiology of the alpha-cell and how hyperglucagonemia represents an important component of the metabolic abnormalities associated with diabetes mellitus. Therapeutic inhibition of glucagon action in patients with type 2 diabetes remains an exciting prospect.

Differences in the time course of the metabolic response of B and non-B pancreatic islet cells to D-glucose and metabolized or non-metabolized hexose esters

The early (min </= 1) and late (min 45) changes in NAD(P)H fluorescence caused by alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate, beta-L-glucose pentaacetate, and beta-D-galactose pentaacetate (1.7 mM each), alone or together with either L-leucine (10.0 mM) or D-glucose (8.3 mM), were monitored in purified pancreatic B and non-B rat islet cells. Whilst D-glucose caused a rapid increase in the NAD(P)H signal in B-cells, but not so in non-B cells, alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate, but not the two other monosaccharide esters, rapidly augmented the NAD(P)H signal in both B and non-B cells. After 45 min, the NAD(P)H signal was increased by either D-glucose in both B and non-B islet cells or alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate. At this late time, beta-L-glucose pentaacetate also increased the NAD(P)H signal in B cells exposed to L-leucine. These findings emphasize the relevance of differences in the time course of D-glucose uptake by B and non-B islet cells as a determinant of rapid changes in redox state. They also provide further support for the role of intracellular Ca(2+) regulating the activity of key Ca(2+)-responsive mitochondrial dehydrogenases. Last, they reinforce the view that the effects of hexose pentaacetates upon insulin and glucagon release entail a dual modality, linked either to the catabolism of their hexose moiety or to a direct effect of the esters themselves upon a stereospecific receptor system.

Stimulation by 2-deoxy-D-glucose tetraacetates of hormonal secretion from the perfused rat pancreas

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.

Dual mode of action of glucose pentaacetates on hormonal secretion from the isolated perfused rat pancreas

Isolated perfused rat pancreases were exposed, in the presence of 10. 0 mM L-leucine, to either alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate, beta-L-glucose pentaacetate, or unesterified D-glucose, all tested at a 1.7 mM concentration. The pentaacetate ester of alpha-D-glucose and, to a lesser extent, that of beta-L-glucose stimulated both insulin and somatostatin release, whereas unesterified D-glucose failed to do so. In the case of insulin output, the two esters differed from one another not solely by the magnitude of the secretory response but also by its time course and reversibility. Compared with these data, the most salient difference found in the case of somatostatin release consisted of the absence of an early secretory peak in response to alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate administration and the higher paired ratio between the secretory responses evoked by the esters of glucose and by unesterified D-glucose (5.5 mM) administered at the end of the experiments. The two esters provoked an initial and short-lived stimulation of glucagon secretion, in sharp contrast to the immediate inhibitory action of unesterified D-glucose. Thereafter, alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate, but not beta-L-glucose pentaacetate, caused inhibition of glucagon release, such an effect being reversed when the administration of the ester was halted. These findings indicate a dual mode of action of glucose pentaacetate esters on hormonal secretion from the endocrine pancreas. The intracellular hydrolysis of alpha-D-glucose pentaacetate and subsequent catabolism of its hexose moiety may contribute to the early peak-shaped insulin response to this ester, to the persistence of a positive secretory effect in B and D cells after cessation of its administration, and to the late inhibition of glucagon release. However, a direct effect of the esters themselves, by some as-of-yet unidentified coupling process, is postulated to account for the stimulation of insulin and somatostatin release by beta-L-glucose pentaacetate and for the initial enhancement of glucagon secretion provoked by both glucose esters.

Altered anomeric specificity of glucose-induced insulin release in rabbits with duct-ligated pancreas

Ligation of the pancreatic duct in rabbits provokes a decrease in the insulin and glucagon content of the pancreas, and may lead to chronic hyperglycemia. The insulin secretory behavior of the perfused pancreas is perturbed in duct-ligated animals, and this is illustrated in several respects: 1. The steady-state insulin output evoked by L-leucine (10 mM) is higher in duct-ligated than control rabbits; 2. In the presence of the amino acid, the response to D-glucose is characterized by a delayed onset, the absence of an early secretory peak, and a sluggish return towards basal value upon removal of the hexose from the perfusate; and 3. Whereas control rabbits display a higher secretory response to alpha- than beta-D-glucose, such is no more the case in duct-ligated rabbits. The perturbation of the anomeric specificity in secretory response is most obvious in diabetic duct-ligated rabbits, in which case beta-D-glucose stimulates insulin release more efficiently than alpha-D-glucose. In both control and duct-ligated rabbits, however, the alpha-anomer is more potent than the beta-anomer in suppressing leucine-stimulated glucagon secretion. These findings are compatible with the view that chronic hyperglycemia leads to alteration in the anomeric preference of the pancreatic B-cell for alpha-D-glucose, possibly as a result of the nonenzymatic glycation of glycolytic enzymes in insulin-producing, but not glucagon-producing, islet cells.

Stimulus-secretion coupling of arginine-induced insulin release. Functional response of islets to L-arginine and L-ornithine

L-Arginine and L-ornithine stimulate insulin release from pancreatic islets exposed to D-glucose. This coincides with an increased outflow of 86Rb and 45Ca from prelabelled islets and an increased net uptake of 45Ca by the islets. In the presence of D-glucose, L-lysine stimulates insulin secretion to the same extent as L-arginine or L-ornithine, but the hormonal release is not further enhanced by combinations of these cationic amino acids. L-Arginine or L-ornithine failed to enhance insulin release evoked by either L-leucine or 2-ketoisocaproate. The inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase D,L-alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine failed to affect the metabolism and insulinotropic action of D-glucose in pancreatic islets, and only caused a partial inhibition of the secretory response to either L-arginine or L-ornithine. The latter amino acids inhibited modestly but significantly D-glucose utilization and oxidation by pancreatic islets. These and complementary findings suggest that the secretory response to L-arginine and L-ornithine is not attributable to any major change in the overall oxidative catabolism of nutrients, but involves mainly a biophysical component, such as the depolarization of the plasma membrane by these cationic amino acids.

Paradoxical glucagon response in perifused islets of the diabetic Chinese hamster

Dynamic insulin and glucagon response to glucose was examined in the perifusion system to investigate the relationship between pancreatic hormone content and the pattern of hormone secretion in diabetic Chinese hamsters of the Asahikawa colony (CHA). Isolated islets of normals and diabetics from the CHA were perifused. When the medium was changed to high glucose (500 mg/dl), a low insulin response and paradoxical glucagon response were seen in diabetics compared with normals. Positive correlations were found between pancreatic insulin and the amount of perifusate insulin, and glucagon content and glucagon release, respectively. It is suggested, accordingly, that pancreatic hormone content is related to the amount of hormone release in CHA. A negative correlation between the amount of perifusate insulin and glucagon release was found. It is suggested, therefore, that an impaired suppression of glucagon release in the diabetic CHA animals could be attributed at least to insulin deficiency. These findings agree with the histological discovery of decreased B-cells and increased A-cells in the diabetic islets. Both decreased B-cells and islet numbers could be the cause of the low insulin response to glucose. Increased numbers of A-cells with hyperfunction resulting from local insulin deficiency could be the cause of the paradoxical glucagon response.

Effect of sodium salicylate on hormonal responses to hypoglycaemia in type II diabetics

Prostaglandins and prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors are known to influence the secretion of a number of hormones. More specifically, sodium salicylate is known to increase insulin secretion in Type II diabetics in response to a glucose stimulus. To challenge the hypothesis that prostaglandins may be instrumental in a generalized defect of glucose recognition in Type II diabetics, the effect of sodium salicylate on the hormonal counter-regulatory response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia was examined. Before salicylate treatment, seven Type II diabetics had brisk increases (mean +/- SEM) in circulating adrenaline (time 0 = 50 +/- 7 pg/ml; peak = 1630 +/- 330 pg/ml), noradrenaline (time 0 = 260 +/- 46 pg/ml; peak = 770 +/- 140 pg/ml), glucagon (time 0 = 38 +/- 6 pg/ml; peak = 75 +/- 10 pg/ml) and pancreatic polypeptide (time 0 = 149 +/- 30 pg/ml; peak = 1170 +/- 180 pg/ml) in response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia. In contrast to previous studies in normal subjects, treatment with sodium salicylate failed to augment hypoglycaemia-induced secretion of adrenaline, noradrenaline or pancreatic polypeptide in Type II diabetics. The glucagon response to hypoglycaemia was augmented by sodium salicylate when the data were expressed as the incremental area under the glucagon vs. time curve, but not when peak response was used for analysis. These results are inconsistent with a prostaglandin-related generalized defect in glucose recognition in Type II diabetics and suggest that augmentation of hormone secretion in these patients by sodium salicylate may be specific for glucose-induced insulin secretion.