Slow and fast oscillations of cytoplasmic Ca2+ in pancreatic islets correspond to pulsatile insulin release

Gonadal Feedback Alters the Relationship between Action Potentials and Hormone Release in Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons in Male Mice

In vertebrates, the pulsatile release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from neurons in the hypothalamus triggers secretion of anterior pituitary gonadotropins, which activate steroidogenesis, and steroids in turn exert typically homeostatic negative feedback on GnRH release. Although long-term episodic firing patterns of GnRH neurons in brain slices resemble the pulsatile release of GnRH and LH in vivo, neither the relationship between GnRH neuron firing and release nor whether this relationship is influenced by gonadal feedback are known. We combined fast-scan cyclic voltammetry and patch-clamp to perform simultaneous measurements of neuropeptide release with either spontaneous action potential firing or in response to neuromodulator or action-potential-spike templates in brain slice preparations from male mice. GnRH release increased with higher frequency spontaneous firing to a point; release reached a plateau after which further increases in firing rate did not elicit further increased release. Kisspeptin, a potent GnRH neuron activator via a Gq-coupled signaling pathway, triggered GnRH release before increasing firing rate, whether globally perfused or locally applied. Increasing the number of spikes in an applied burst template increased release; orchidectomized mice had higher sensitivity to the increased action potential number than sham-operated mice. Similarly, Ca2+ currents triggered by these burst templates were increased in GnRH neurons of orchidectomized mice. These results suggest removal of gonadal feedback increases the efficacy of the stimulus-secretion coupling mechanisms, a phenomenon that may extend to other steroid-sensitive regions of the brain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Pulsatile secretion of GnRH plays a critical role in fertility. The temporal relationship between GnRH neuron action potential firing and GnRH release remains unknown as does whether this relationship is influenced by gonadal feedback. By combining techniques of fast-scan cyclic voltammetry and patch-clamp we, for the first time, monitored GnRH concentration changes during spontaneous and neuromodulator-induced GnRH neuron firing. We also made the novel observation that gonadal factors exert negative feedback on excitation-secretion coupling to reduce release in response to the same stimulus. This has implications for the control of normal fertility, central causes of infertility, and more broadly for the effects of sex steroids in the brain.

ATP is an essential autocrine factor for pancreatic β-cell signaling and insulin secretion

ATP has been previously identified as an autocrine signaling factor that is co-released with insulin to modulate and propagate β-cell activity within islets of Langerhans. Here, we show that β-cell activity and insulin secretion essentially rely on the presence of extracellular ATP. For this, we monitored changes of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+ ]i oscillations) as an immediate read-out for insulin secretion in live cell experiments. Extensive washing of cells or depletion of extracellular ATP levels by recombinant apyrase reduced [Ca2+ ]i oscillations and insulin secretion in pancreatic cell lines and primary β-cells. Following ATP depletion, [Ca2+ ]i oscillations were stimulated by the replenishment of ATP in a concentration-dependent manner. Inhibition of endogenous ecto-ATP nucleotidases increased extracellular ATP levels, along with [Ca2+ ]i oscillations and insulin secretion, indicating that there is a constant supply of ATP to the extracellular space. Our combined results demonstrate that extracellular ATP is essential for β-cell activity. The presented work suggests extracellular ATPases as potential drug targets for the modulation of insulin release. We further found that exogenous fatty acids compensated for depleted extracellular ATP levels by the recovery of [Ca2+ ]i oscillations, indicating that autocrine factors mutually compensate for the loss of others. Thereby, our results contribute to a more detailed and complete understanding of the general role of autocrine signaling factors as a fundamental regulatory mechanism of β-cell activity and insulin secretion.

Glucose-dependent activation, activity, and deactivation of beta cell networks in acute mouse pancreas tissue slices

Many details of glucose-stimulated intracellular calcium changes in β cells during activation, activity, and deactivation, as well as their concentration-dependence, remain to be analyzed. Classical physiological experiments indicated that in islets, functional differences between individual cells are largely attenuated, but recent findings suggest considerable intercellular heterogeneity, with some cells possibly coordinating the collective responses. To address the above with an emphasis on heterogeneity and describing the relations between classical physiological and functional network properties, we performed functional multicellular calcium imaging in mouse pancreas tissue slices over a wide range of glucose concentrations. During activation, delays to activation of cells and any-cell-to-first-responder delays are shortened, and the sizes of simultaneously responding clusters increased with increasing glucose concentrations. Exactly the opposite characterized deactivation. The frequency of fast calcium oscillations during activity increased with increasing glucose up to 12 mM glucose concentration, beyond which oscillation duration became longer, resulting in a homogenous increase in active time. In terms of functional connectivity, islets progressed from a very segregated network to a single large functional unit with increasing glucose concentration. A comparison between classical physiological and network parameters revealed that the first-responders during activation had longer active times during plateau and the most active cells during the plateau tended to deactivate later. Cells with the most functional connections tended to activate sooner, have longer active times, and deactivate later. Our findings provide a common ground for recent differing views on β cell heterogeneity and an important baseline for future studies of stimulus-secretion and intercellular coupling.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We assessed concentration-dependence in coupled β cells, degree of functional heterogeneity, and uncovered possible specialized subpopulations during the different phases of the response to glucose at the level of many individual cells. To this aim, we combined acute mouse pancreas tissue slices with functional multicellular calcium imaging over a wide range from threshold (7 mM) and physiological (8 and 9 mM) to supraphysiological (12 and 16 mM) glucose concentrations, classical physiological, and advanced network analyses.

Intercellular Communication in the Islet of Langerhans in Health and Disease

Blood glucose homeostasis requires proper function of pancreatic islets, which secrete insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin from the β-, α-, and δ-cells, respectively. Each islet cell type is equipped with intrinsic mechanisms for glucose sensing and secretory actions, but these intrinsic mechanisms alone cannot explain the observed secretory profiles from intact islets. Regulation of secretion involves interconnected mechanisms among and between islet cell types. Islet cells lose their normal functional signatures and secretory behaviors upon dispersal as compared to intact islets and in vivo. In dispersed islet cells, the glucose response of insulin secretion is attenuated from that seen from whole islets, coordinated oscillations in membrane potential and intracellular Ca2+ activity, as well as the two-phase insulin secretion profile, are missing, and glucagon secretion displays higher basal secretion profile and a reverse glucose-dependent response from that of intact islets. These observations highlight the critical roles of intercellular communication within the pancreatic islet, and how these communication pathways are crucial for proper hormonal and nonhormonal secretion and glucose homeostasis. Further, misregulated secretions of islet secretory products that arise from defective intercellular islet communication are implicated in diabetes. Intercellular communication within the islet environment comprises multiple mechanisms, including electrical synapses from gap junctional coupling, paracrine interactions among neighboring cells, and direct cell-to-cell contacts in the form of juxtacrine signaling. In this article, we describe the various mechanisms that contribute to proper islet function for each islet cell type and how intercellular islet communications are coordinated among the same and different islet cell types. © 2021 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 11:2191-2225, 2021.

Dual Mode of Action of Acetylcholine on Cytosolic Calcium Oscillations in Pancreatic Beta and Acinar Cells In Situ

Cholinergic innervation in the pancreas controls both the release of digestive enzymes to support the intestinal digestion and absorption, as well as insulin release to promote nutrient use in the cells of the body. The effects of muscarinic receptor stimulation are described in detail for endocrine beta cells and exocrine acinar cells separately. Here we describe morphological and functional criteria to separate these two cell types in situ in tissue slices and simultaneously measure their response to ACh stimulation on cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations [Ca2+]c in stimulatory glucose conditions. Our results show that both cell types respond to glucose directly in the concentration range compatible with the glucose transporters they express. The physiological ACh concentration increases the frequency of glucose stimulated [Ca2+]c oscillations in both cell types and synchronizes [Ca2+]c oscillations in acinar cells. The supraphysiological ACh concentration further increases the oscillation frequency on the level of individual beta cells, inhibits the synchronization between these cells, and abolishes oscillatory activity in acinar cells. We discuss possible mechanisms leading to the observed phenomena.

Assessing Different Temporal Scales of Calcium Dynamics in Networks of Beta Cell Populations

Beta cells within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans respond to stimulation with coherent oscillations of membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentration that presumably drive the pulsatile exocytosis of insulin. Their rhythmic activity is multimodal, resulting from networked feedback interactions of various oscillatory subsystems, such as the glycolytic, mitochondrial, and electrical/calcium components. How these oscillatory modules interact and affect the collective cellular activity, which is a prerequisite for proper hormone release, is incompletely understood. In the present work, we combined advanced confocal Ca2+ imaging in fresh mouse pancreas tissue slices with time series analysis and network science approaches to unveil the glucose-dependent characteristics of different oscillatory components on both the intra- and inter-cellular level. Our results reveal an interrelationship between the metabolically driven low-frequency component and the electrically driven high-frequency component, with the latter exhibiting the highest bursting rates around the peaks of the slow component and the lowest around the nadirs. Moreover, the activity, as well as the average synchronicity of the fast component, considerably increased with increasing stimulatory glucose concentration, whereas the stimulation level did not affect any of these parameters in the slow component domain. Remarkably, in both dynamical components, the average correlation decreased similarly with intercellular distance, which implies that intercellular communication affects the synchronicity of both types of oscillations. To explore the intra-islet synchronization patterns in more detail, we constructed functional connectivity maps. The subsequent comparison of network characteristics of different oscillatory components showed more locally clustered and segregated networks of fast oscillatory activity, while the slow oscillations were more global, resulting in several long-range connections and a more cohesive structure. Besides the structural differences, we found a relatively weak relationship between the fast and slow network layer, which suggests that different synchronization mechanisms shape the collective cellular activity in islets, a finding which has to be kept in mind in future studies employing different oscillations for constructing networks.

The magnesium transporter NIPAL1 is a pancreatic islet-expressed protein that conditionally impacts insulin secretion

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and peripheral insulin resistance. Among individuals with type 2 diabetes, ∼30% exhibit hypomagnesemia. Hypomagnesemia has been linked to insulin resistance through reduced tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor; however, its impact on pancreatic β-cell function is unknown. In this study, through analysis of several single-cell RNA-sequencing data sets in tandem with quantitative PCR validation in both murine and human islets, we identified NIPAL1 (NIPA-like domain containing 1), encoding a magnesium influx transporter, as an islet-enriched gene. A series of immunofluorescence experiments confirmed NIPAL1's magnesium-dependent expression and that it specifically localizes to the Golgi in Min6-K8 cells, a pancreatic β-cell-like cell line (mouse insulinoma 6 clone K8). Under varying magnesium concentrations, NIPAL1 knockdown decreased both basal insulin secretion and total insulin content; in contrast, its overexpression increased total insulin content. Although the expression, distribution, and magnesium responsiveness of NIPAL1 in α-TC6 glucagonoma cells (a pancreatic α-cell line) were similar to the observations in Min6-K8 cells, no effect was observed on glucagon secretion in α-TC6 cells under the conditions studied. Overall, these results suggest that NIPAL1 expression is regulated by extracellular magnesium and that down-regulation of this transporter decreases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and intracellular insulin content, particularly under conditions of hypomagnesemia.

β Cells Operate Collectively to Help Maintain Glucose Homeostasis

Residing in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, β cells contribute to glucose homeostasis by managing the body's insulin supply. Although it has been acknowledged that healthy β cells engage in heavy cell-to-cell communication to perform their homeostatic function, the exact role and effects of such communication remain partly understood. We offer a novel, to our knowledge, perspective on the subject in the form of 1) a dynamical network model that faithfully mimics fast calcium oscillations in response to above-threshold glucose stimulation and 2) empirical data analysis that reveals a qualitative shift in the cross-correlation structure of measured signals below and above the threshold glucose concentration. Combined together, these results point to a glucose-induced transition in β-cell activity thanks to increasing coordination through gap-junctional signaling and paracrine interactions. Our data and the model further suggest how the conservation of entire cell-cell conductance, observed in coupled but not uncoupled β cells, emerges as a collective phenomenon. An overall implication is that improving the ability to monitor β-cell signaling should offer means to better understand the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus.

ER stress increases store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) and augments basal insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and increased peripheral insulin resistance. Unremitting endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress can lead to beta-cell apoptosis and has been linked to type 2 diabetes. Although many studies have attempted to link ER stress and T2DM, the specific effects of ER stress on beta-cell function remain incompletely understood. To determine the interrelationship between ER stress and beta-cell function, here we treated insulin-secreting INS-1(832/13) cells or isolated mouse islets with the ER stress-inducer tunicamycin (TM). TM induced ER stress as expected, as evidenced by activation of the unfolded protein response. Beta cells treated with TM also exhibited concomitant alterations in their electrical activity and cytosolic free Ca2+ oscillations. As ER stress is known to reduce ER Ca2+ levels, we tested the hypothesis that the observed increase in Ca2+ oscillations occurred because of reduced ER Ca2+ levels and, in turn, increased store-operated Ca2+ entry. TM-induced cytosolic Ca2+ and membrane electrical oscillations were acutely inhibited by YM58483, which blocks store-operated Ca2+ channels. Significantly, TM-treated cells secreted increased insulin under conditions normally associated with only minimal release, e.g. 5 mm glucose, and YM58483 blocked this secretion. Taken together, these results support a critical role for ER Ca2+ depletion-activated Ca2+ current in mediating Ca2+-induced insulin secretion in response to ER stress.

Beta-cell hubs maintain Ca2+ oscillations in human and mouse islet simulations

Islet β-cells are responsible for secreting all circulating insulin in response to rising plasma glucose concentrations. These cells are a phenotypically diverse population that express great functional heterogeneity. In mice, certain β-cells (termed 'hubs') have been shown to be crucial for dictating the islet response to high glucose, with inhibition of these hub cells abolishing the coordinated Ca2+ oscillations necessary for driving insulin secretion. These β-cell hubs were found to be highly metabolic and susceptible to pro-inflammatory and glucolipotoxic insults. In this study, we explored the importance of hub cells in human by constructing mathematical models of Ca2+ activity in human islets. Our simulations revealed that hubs dictate the coordinated Ca2+ response in both mouse and human islets; silencing a small proportion of hubs abolished whole-islet Ca2+ activity. We also observed that if hubs are assumed to be preferentially gap junction coupled, then the simulations better adhere to the available experimental data. Our simulations of 16 size-matched mouse and human islet architectures revealed that there are species differences in the role of hubs; Ca2+ activity in human islets was more vulnerable to hub inhibition than mouse islets. These simulation results not only substantiate the existence of β-cell hubs, but also suggest that hubs may be favorably coupled in the electrical and metabolic network of the islet, and that targeted destruction of these cells would greatly impair human islet function.

Critical and Supercritical Spatiotemporal Calcium Dynamics in Beta Cells

A coordinated functioning of beta cells within pancreatic islets is mediated by oscillatory membrane depolarization and subsequent changes in cytoplasmic calcium concentration. While gap junctions allow for intraislet information exchange, beta cells within islets form complex syncytia that are intrinsically nonlinear and highly heterogeneous. To study spatiotemporal calcium dynamics within these syncytia, we make use of computational modeling and confocal high-speed functional multicellular imaging. We show that model predictions are in good agreement with experimental data, especially if a high degree of heterogeneity in the intercellular coupling term is assumed. In particular, during the first few minutes after stimulation, the probability distribution of calcium wave sizes is characterized by a power law, thus indicating critical behavior. After this period, the dynamics changes qualitatively such that the number of global intercellular calcium events increases to the point where the behavior becomes supercritical. To better mimic normal in vivo conditions, we compare the described behavior during supraphysiological non-oscillatory stimulation with the behavior during exposure to a slightly lower and oscillatory glucose challenge. In the case of this protocol, we observe only critical behavior in both experiment and model. Our results indicate that the loss of oscillatory changes, along with the rise in plasma glucose observed in diabetes, could be associated with a switch to supercritical calcium dynamics and loss of beta cell functionality.

The triggering pathway to insulin secretion: Functional similarities and differences between the human and the mouse β cells and their translational relevance

In β cells, stimulation by metabolic, hormonal, neuronal, and pharmacological factors is coupled to secretion of insulin through different intracellular signaling pathways. Our knowledge about the molecular machinery supporting these pathways and the patterns of signals it generates comes mostly from rodent models, especially the laboratory mouse. The increased availability of human islets for research during the last few decades has yielded new insights into the specifics in signaling pathways leading to insulin secretion in humans. In this review, we follow the most central triggering pathway to insulin secretion from its very beginning when glucose enters the β cell to the calcium oscillations it produces to trigger fusion of insulin containing granules with the plasma membrane. Along the way, we describe the crucial building blocks that contribute to the flow of information and focus on their functional role in mice and humans and on their translational implications.

COEXISTENCE OF THREE OSCILLATORY MODES OF INSULIN SECRETION: MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND RELEVANCE TO GLUCOSE REGULATION

Insulin secretion in pancreatic [Formula: see text]-cells exhibits three oscillatory modes with distinct period ranges, called fast, slow, and ultradian modes. To unveil the mechanism underlying such oscillatory behaviors and their roles in blood glucose regulation, we propose a combined model for the glucose–insulin regulation system, incorporating both the cell-level insulin secretion mechanism and inter-organ interactions in the blood glucose regulation. Special emphasis is placed on the identification of the mechanism of the slow oscillation and its role associated with the whole-body glucose regulation. Via extensive numerical simulations, we obtain macroscopic behaviors of the three types of insulin/glucose oscillations in the whole-body as well as microscopic behaviors of the membrane potential and the calcium concentration in the [Formula: see text]-cell. Finally, optimal regulatory strategies for the blood glucose level are discussed on the basis of the quantitative information obtained from the mathematical modeling and numerical simulations.

Photoswitchable diacylglycerols enable optical control of protein kinase C

Increased levels of the second messenger lipid diacylglycerol (DAG) induce downstream signaling events including the translocation of C1-domain-containing proteins toward the plasma membrane. Here, we introduce three light-sensitive DAGs, termed PhoDAGs, which feature a photoswitchable acyl chain. The PhoDAGs are inactive in the dark and promote the translocation of proteins that feature C1 domains toward the plasma membrane upon a flash of UV-A light. This effect is quickly reversed after the termination of photostimulation or by irradiation with blue light, permitting the generation of oscillation patterns. Both protein kinase C and Munc13 can thus be put under optical control. PhoDAGs control vesicle release in excitable cells, such as mouse pancreatic islets and hippocampal neurons, and modulate synaptic transmission in Caenorhabditis elegans. As such, the PhoDAGs afford an unprecedented degree of spatiotemporal control and are broadly applicable tools to study DAG signaling.

Fatty acids stimulate insulin secretion from human pancreatic islets at fasting glucose concentrations via mitochondria-dependent and -independent mechanisms

Background

Free fatty acids (FFAs) acutely stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic islets. Conflicting results have been presented regarding this effect at non-stimulatory glucose concentration, however. The aim of our study was to investigate how long-chain FFAs affect insulin secretion from isolated human pancreatic islets in the presence of physiologically fasting glucose concentrations and to explore the contribution of mitochondria to the effects on secretion.

Methods

Insulin secretion from human pancreatic islets was measured from short-term static incubation or perfusion system at fasting glucose concentration (5.5 mM) with or without 4 different FFAs (palmitate, palmitoleate, stearate, and oleate). The contribution of mitochondrial metabolism to the effects of fatty acid-stimulated insulin secretion was explored.

Results

The average increase in insulin secretion, measured from statically incubated and dynamically perifused human islets, was about 2-fold for saturated free fatty acids (SFAs) (palmitate and stearate) and 3-fold for mono-unsaturated free fatty acids (MUFAs) (palmitoleate and oleate) compared with 5.5 mmol/l glucose alone. Accordingly, MUFAs induced 50 % and SFAs 20 % higher levels of oxygen consumption compared with islets exposed to 5.5 mmol/l glucose alone. The effect was due to increased glycolysis. When glucose was omitted from the medium, addition of the FFAs did not affect oxygen consumption. However, the FFAs still stimulated insulin secretion from the islets although secretion was more than halved. The mitochondria-independent action was via fatty acid metabolism and FFAR1/GPR40 signaling.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that long-chain FFAs acutely induce insulin secretion from human islets at physiologically fasting glucose concentrations, with MUFAs being more potent than SFAs, and that this effect is associated with increased glycolytic flux and mitochondrial respiration.

Fasiglifam (TAK-875) has dual potentiating mechanisms via Gαq-GPR40/FFAR1 signaling branches on glucose-dependent insulin secretion

Fasiglifam (TAK‐875) is a free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFAR1)/G‐protein–coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) agonist that improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes with minimum risk of hypoglycemia. Fasiglifam potentiates glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from pancreatic β‐cells glucose dependently, although the precise mechanism underlying the glucose dependency still remains unknown. Here, we investigated key cross‐talk between the GSIS pathway and FFAR1 signaling, and Ca²⁺ dynamics using mouse insulinoma MIN6 cells. We demonstrated that the glucose‐dependent insulinotropic effect of fasiglifam required membrane depolarization and that fasiglifam induced a glucose‐dependent increase in intracellular Ca²⁺ level and amplification of Ca²⁺ oscillations. This differed from the sulfonylurea glimepiride that induced changes in Ca²⁺ dynamics glucose independently. Stimulation with cell‐permeable analogs of IP₃ or diacylglycerol (DAG), downstream second messengers of Gαq‐FFAR1, augmented GSIS similar to fasiglifam, indicating their individual roles in the potentiation of GSIS pathway. Intriguingly, the IP₃ analog triggered similar Ca²⁺ dynamics to fasiglifam, whereas the DAG analog had no effect. Despite the lack of an effect on Ca²⁺ dynamics, the DAG analog elicited synergistic effects on insulin secretion with Ca²⁺ influx evoked by an L‐type voltage‐dependent calcium channel opener that mimics glucose‐dependent Ca²⁺ dynamics. These results indicate that the Gαq signaling activated by fasiglifam enhances GSIS pathway via dual potentiating mechanisms in which IP₃ amplifies glucose‐induced Ca²⁺ oscillations and DAG/protein kinase C (PKC) augments downstream secretory mechanisms independent of Ca²⁺ oscillations.

Modeling analysis of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor-mediated Ca2+ mobilization under the control of glucagon-like peptide-1 in mouse pancreatic β-cells

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an intestinally derived blood glucose-lowering hormone that potentiates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells. The secretagogue action of GLP-1 is explained, at least in part, by its ability to stimulate cAMP production so that cAMP may facilitate the release of Ca(2+) from inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R)-regulated Ca(2+) stores. However, a quantitative model has yet to be provided that explains the molecular mechanisms and dynamic processes linking GLP-1-stimulated cAMP production to Ca(2+) mobilization. Here, we performed simulation studies to investigate how GLP-1 alters the abilities of Ca(2+) and IP3 to act as coagonists at IP3R Ca(2+) release channels. A new dynamic model was constructed based on the Kaftan model, which demonstrates dual steady-state allosteric regulation of the IP3R by Ca(2+) and IP3. Data obtained from β-cells were then analyzed to understand how GLP-1 facilitates IP3R-mediated Ca(2+) mobilization when UV flash photolysis is used to uncage Ca(2+) and IP3 intracellularly. When the dynamic model for IP3R activation was incorporated into a minimal cell model, the Ca(2+) transients and oscillations induced by GLP-1 were successfully reconstructed. Simulation studies indicated that transient and oscillatory responses to GLP-1 were produced by sequential positive and negative feedback regulation due to fast activation and slow inhibition of the IP3R by Ca(2+). The slow rate of Ca(2+)-dependent inhibition was revealed to provide a remarkable contribution to the time course of the decay of cytosolic Ca(2+) transients. It also served to drive and pace Ca(2+) oscillations that are significant when evaluating how GLP-1 stimulates insulin secretion.

Pancreatic Islet Survival and Engraftment Is Promoted by Culture on Functionalized Spider Silk Matrices

Transplantation of pancreatic islets is one approach for treatment of diabetes, however, hampered by the low availability of viable islets. Islet isolation leads to disruption of the environment surrounding the endocrine cells, which contributes to eventual cell death. The reestablishment of this environment is vital, why we herein investigated the possibility of using recombinant spider silk to support islets in vitro after isolation. The spider silk protein 4RepCT was formulated into three different formats; 2D-film, fiber mesh and 3D-foam, in order to provide a matrix that can give the islets physical support in vitro. Moreover, cell-binding motifs from laminin were incorporated into the silk protein in order to create matrices that mimic the natural cell environment. Pancreatic mouse islets were thoroughly analyzed for adherence, necrosis and function after in vitro maintenance on the silk matrices. To investigate their suitability for transplantation, we utilized an eye model which allows in vivo imaging of engraftment. Interestingly, islets that had been maintained on silk foam during in vitro culture showed improved revascularization. This coincided with the observation of preserved islet architecture with endothelial cells present after in vitro culture on silk foam. Selected matrices were further evaluated for long-term preservation of human islets. Matrices with the cell-binding motif RGD improved human islet maintenance (from 36% to 79%) with preserved islets architecture and function for over 3 months in vitro. The islets established cell-matrix contacts and formed vessel-like structures along the silk. Moreover, RGD matrices promoted formation of new, insulin-positive islet-like clusters that were connected to the original islets via endothelial cells. On silk matrices with islets from younger donors (<35 year), the amount of newly formed islet-like clusters found after 1 month in culture were almost double compared to the initial number of islets added.

Dimensionality and size scaling of coordinated Ca(2+) dynamics in MIN6 β-cell clusters

Pancreatic islets of Langerhans regulate blood glucose homeostasis by the secretion of the hormone insulin. Like many neuroendocrine cells, the coupling between insulin-secreting β-cells in the islet is critical for the dynamics of hormone secretion. We have examined how this coupling architecture regulates the electrical dynamics that underlie insulin secretion by utilizing a microwell-based aggregation method to generate clusters of a β-cell line with defined sizes and dimensions. We measured the dynamics of free-calcium activity ([Ca(2+)]i) and insulin secretion and compared these measurements with a percolating network model. We observed that the coupling dimension was critical for regulating [Ca(2+)]i dynamics and insulin secretion. Three-dimensional coupling led to size-invariant suppression of [Ca(2+)]i at low glucose and robust synchronized [Ca(2+)]i oscillations at elevated glucose, whereas two-dimensional coupling showed poor suppression and less robust synchronization, with significant size-dependence. The dimension- and size-scaling of [Ca(2+)]i at high and low glucose could be accurately described with the percolating network model, using similar network connectivity. As such this could explain the fundamentally different behavior and size-scaling observed under each coupling dimension. This study highlights the dependence of proper β-cell function on the coupling architecture that will be important for developing therapeutic treatments for diabetes such as islet transplantation techniques. Furthermore, this will be vital to gain a better understanding of the general features by which cellular interactions regulate coupled multicellular systems.

Cellular communication and heterogeneity in pancreatic islet insulin secretion dynamics

Coordinated pulses of electrical activity and insulin secretion are a hallmark of the islet of Langerhans. These coordinated behaviors are lost when β cells are dissociated, which also leads to increased insulin secretion at low glucose levels. Islets without gap junctions exhibit asynchronous electrical activity similar to dispersed cells, but their secretion at low glucose levels is still clamped off, putatively by a juxtacrine mechanism. Mice lacking β cell gap junctions have near-normal average insulin levels, but are glucose intolerant due to reduced first-phase and pulsatile insulin secretion, illustrating the importance of temporal dynamics. Here, we review the quantitative data on islet synchronization and the current mathematical models that have been developed to explain these behaviors and generate greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

Glucose-stimulated calcium dynamics in islets of Langerhans in acute mouse pancreas tissue slices

In endocrine cells within islets of Langerhans calcium ions couple cell stimulation to hormone secretion. Since the advent of modern fluorimetry, numerous in vitro studies employing primarily isolated mouse islets have investigated the effects of various secretagogues on cytoplasmic calcium, predominantly in insulin-secreting beta cells. Due to technical limitations, insights of these studies are inherently limited to a rather small subpopulation of outermost cells. The results also seem to depend on various factors, like culture conditions and duration, and are not always easily reconcilable with findings in vivo. The main controversies regard the types of calcium oscillations, presence of calcium waves, and the level of synchronized activity. Here, we set out to combine the in situ acute mouse pancreas tissue slice preparation with noninvasive fluorescent calcium labeling and subsequent confocal laser scanning microscopy to shed new light on the existing controversies utilizing an innovative approach enabling the characterization of responses in many cells from all layers of islets. Our experiments reproducibly showed stable fast calcium oscillations on a sustained plateau rather than slow oscillations as the predominant type of response in acute tissue slices, and that calcium waves are the mechanistic substrate for synchronization of oscillations. We also found indirect evidence that even a large amplitude calcium signal was not sufficient and that metabolic activation was necessary to ensure cell synchronization upon stimulation with glucose. Our novel method helped resolve existing controversies and showed the potential to help answer important physiological questions, making it one of the methods of choice for the foreseeable future.

Neuropeptide Y and somatostatin inhibit insulin secretion through different mechanisms

Pancreatic β-cells regulate glucose homeostasis by secreting insulin in response to glucose elevation and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) activation. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and somatostatin (SST) attenuate insulin secretion through G(i) activation of Y(1) and SSTR(1&5) receptors, respectively. The downstream pathways altered by NPY and SST are poorly understood. Thus, we investigated these underlying mechanisms. NPY and SST increase cellular redox potential, suggesting that their inhibitory effect may not be mediated through metabolic inhibition. NPY does not affect intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) activity upon glucose stimulation, whereas SST alters this response. G(βγ)-subunit inhibition by gallein attenuates insulin secretion but does not alter metabolism or [Ca(2+)](i). mSIRK-induced G(βγ) activation does not modulate glucose metabolism but increases [Ca(2+)](i) activity and potentiates insulin release. Cotreatment with gallein and NPY or SST reduces insulin secretion to levels similar to that of gallein alone. mSIRK and NPY cotreatment potentiates insulin secretion similarly to mSIRK alone, whereas mSIRK and SST treatment decreases insulin release. The data support a model where SST attenuates secretion through G(βγ) inhibition of Ca(2+) activity, while NPY activates a Ca(2+)-independent pathway mediated by G(α). GPCR ligands signal through multiple pathways to inhibit insulin secretion, and determining these mechanisms could lead to novel diabetic therapies.

Connexin-36 gap junctions regulate in vivo first- and second-phase insulin secretion dynamics and glucose tolerance in the conscious mouse

Insulin is secreted from the islets of Langerhans in coordinated pulses. These pulses are thought to lead to plasma insulin oscillations, which are putatively more effective in lowering blood glucose than continuous levels of insulin. Gap-junction coupling of β-cells by connexin-36 coordinates intracellular free calcium oscillations and pulsatile insulin release in isolated islets, however a role in vivo has not been shown. We test whether loss of gap-junction coupling disrupts plasma insulin oscillations and whether this impacts glucose tolerance. We characterized the connexin-36 knockout (Cx36(-/-)) mouse phenotype and performed hyperglycemic clamps with rapid sampling of insulin in Cx36(-/-) and control mice. Our results show that Cx36(-/-) mice are glucose intolerant, despite normal plasma insulin levels and insulin sensitivity. However, Cx36(-/-) mice exhibit reduced insulin pulse amplitudes and a reduction in first-phase insulin secretion. These changes are similarly found in isolated Cx36(-/-) islets. We conclude that Cx36 gap junctions regulate the in vivo dynamics of insulin secretion, which in turn is important for glucose homeostasis. Coordinated pulsatility of individual islets enhances the first-phase elevation and second-phase pulses of insulin. Because these dynamics are disrupted in the early stages of type 2 diabetes, dysregulation of gap-junction coupling could be an important factor in the development of this disease.

Mathematical modeling demonstrates how multiple slow processes can provide adjustable control of islet bursting

Pancreatic islets exhibit bursting oscillations that give rise to oscillatory Ca (2+) entry and insulin secretion from β-cells. These oscillations are driven by a slowly activating K (+) current, Kslow, which is composed of two components: an ATP-sensitive K (+) current and a Ca (2+) -activated K (+) current through SK4 channels. Using a mathematical model of pancreatic β-cells, we analyze how the factors that comprise Kslow can contribute to bursting. We employ the dominance factor technique developed recently to do this and demonstrate that the contributions the slow processes make to bursting are non-obvious and often counterintuitive, and that their contributions vary with parameter values and are thus adjustable.

Validation of a deconvolution procedure (AutoDecon) for identification and characterization of fasting insulin secretory bursts

BACKGROUND

Insulin secretion is pulsatile, and has been shown to be altered in both physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions. The identification and characterization of such pulses have been challenging, partially because of the low concentrations of insulin during fasting and its short half-life. Existing pulse detection algorithms used to identify insulin pulses either cannot separate hormone pulses into their secretory burst and clearance components, or have been limited by both the subjective nature of initial peak selection and a lack of statistical verification of bursts.

METHODS

To address these concerns, we have developed AutoDecon, a novel deconvolution computer program.

RESULTS

AutoDecon was applied to synthetic insulin concentration-time series modeled on data derived from normal fasting subjects and simulated to reflect several sampling frequencies, sampling durations, and assay replicates. The operating characteristics of AutoDecon were compared to those obtained with Cluster, a standard pulse detection algorithm. AutoDecon performed considerably better than Cluster with regard to sensitivity and secretory burst detection rates for true positives, false positives, and false negatives. As expected, given the short half-life of insulin, sampling at 30-second intervals is required for optimal analytical results. The choice of sampling duration is more flexible and relates to the number of replicates assayed.

CONCLUSION

AutoDecon represents a viable alternative to standard pulse detection algorithms for the appraisal of fasting insulin pulsatility.

Electrical bursting, calcium oscillations, and synchronization of pancreatic islets

Oscillations are an integral part of insulin secretion and are ultimately due to oscillations in the electrical activity of pancreatic beta-cells, called bursting. In this chapter we discuss islet bursting oscillations and a unified biophysical model for this multi-scale behavior. We describe how electrical bursting is related to oscillations in the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration within beta-cells and the role played by metabolic oscillations. Finally, we discuss two potential mechanisms for the synchronization of islets within the pancreas. Some degree of synchronization must occur, since distinct oscillations in insulin levels have been observed in hepatic portal blood and in peripheral blood sampling of rats, dogs, and humans. Our central hypothesis, supported by several lines of evidence, is that insulin oscillations are crucial to normal glucose homeostasis. Disturbance of oscillations, either at the level of the individual islet or at the level of islet synchronization, is detrimental and can play a major role in type 2 diabetes.

Modeling of the gap junction of pancreatic β-cells and the robustness of insulin secretion

Pancreatic β-cells are interconnected by gap junctions, which allow small molecules to pass from cell to cell. In spite of the importance of the gap junctions in cellular communication, modeling studies have been limited by the complexity of the system. Here, we propose a mathematical gap junction model that properly takes into account biological functions, and apply this model to the study of the β-cell cluster. We consider both electrical and metabolic features of the system. Then, we find that when a fraction of the ATP-sensitive K⁺ channels are damaged, robust insulin secretion can only be achieved by gap junctions. Our finding is consistent with recent experiments conducted by Rocheleau et al. Our study also suggests that the free passage of potassium ions through gap junctions plays an important role in achieving metabolic synchronization between β-cells.

Quantitative monitoring of insulin secretion from single islets of Langerhans in parallel on a microfluidic chip

Quantification of insulin release from pancreatic islets of Langerhans is of interest for diabetes research. Typical insulin secretion experiments are performed using offline techniques that are expensive, slow, have low-throughput, and require multiple islets. We have developed a microfluidic device for high-throughput, automated, and online monitoring of insulin secretion from individual islets in parallel. This chip consists of 15 channel networks each capable of superfusing a single islet and mixing superfusate from each islet online with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled insulin and anti-insulin antibody for a competitive immunoassay. The resulting continuous reaction streams are periodically injected onto parallel electrophoresis channels where the mixtures are separated. The resulting traces are used to quantify relative insulin released from islets. Serial immunoassays were performed at 10 s intervals on all 15 channels, corresponding to 5400 immunoassays per hour, to create temporally resolved insulin release profiles that captured single islet secretion dynamics. The chip was used to demonstrate that free fatty acid induced lipotoxicity in islets eliminates pulsatile insulin secretion.

RyR channels and glucose-regulated pancreatic beta-cells

Ryanodine receptor channel model is introduced to a dynamical model of pancreatic beta-cells to discuss the effects of RyR channels and glucose concentration on membrane potential. The results show Ca2+ concentration changes responding to enhance of glucose concentration is more quickly than that of activating RyR channels, and both methods can induce bursting action potential and increase free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration. An interesting finding is that moderate stimulation to RyR channels will result in a kind of "complex bursting", which is more effective in enhancing average Ca2+ concentration and insulin section.

Metabolic and electrical oscillations: partners in controlling pulsatile insulin secretion

Impairment of insulin secretion from the beta-cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans is central to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and has therefore been the subject of much investigation. Great advances have been made in this area, but the mechanisms underlying the pulsatility of insulin secretion remain controversial. The period of these pulses is 4-6 min and reflects oscillations in islet membrane potential and intracellular free Ca(2+). Pulsatile blood insulin levels appear to play an important physiological role in insulin action and are lost in patients with type 2 diabetes and their near relatives. We present evidence for a recently developed beta-cell model, the "dual oscillator model," in which oscillations in activity are due to both electrical and metabolic mechanisms. This model is capable of explaining much of the available data on islet activity and offers possible resolutions of a number of longstanding issues. The model, however, still lacks direct confirmation and raises new issues. In this article, we highlight both the successes of the model and the challenges that it poses for the field.

Effects of both glucose and IP3 concentrations on action potentials in pancreatic beta-cells

Considering the ATP-driven (SERCA) pump flux as function of glucose concentration and the calcium flux from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through the IP(3)R channel, the calcium-based phantom bursting model (PBM) of beta-cells (Bertram and Sherman in Bull Math Biol 66:1313, 2004) is theoretically extended to discuss the effects of glucose and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) concentration on the membrane potential activities. When IP(3) concentration is fixed, it is found that there is a critical glucose concentration at which electrical bursting oscillations transfer into spiking, and the critical concentration of glucose is increased with the increasing of IP(3) concentration. To get the bursting oscillations in beta-cells, our theoretical results show that the stimulatory glucose concentration should be more than 10 mM, which is consistent with the normal physiological IP(3) level. When the stochastic opening and closing of IP(3)R channels are considered, it is shown that the membrane potential oscillation transfers from spiking to bursting with the channel number decreasing, and the average cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration is increased with the increase of glucose concentration.

Interaction of glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in metabolic oscillations of pancreatic islets

Insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells is oscillatory, with a typical period of 2-7 min, reflecting oscillations in membrane potential and the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration. Our central hypothesis is that the slow 2-7 min oscillations are due to glycolytic oscillations, whereas faster oscillations that are superimposed are due to Ca(2+) feedback onto metabolism or ion channels. We extend a previous mathematical model based on this hypothesis to include a more detailed description of mitochondrial metabolism. We demonstrate that this model can account for typical oscillatory patterns of membrane potential and Ca(2+) concentration in islets. It also accounts for temporal data on oxygen consumption in islets. A recent challenge to the notion that glycolytic oscillations drive slow Ca(2+) oscillations in islets are data showing that oscillations in Ca(2+), mitochondrial oxygen consumption, and NAD(P)H levels are all terminated by membrane hyperpolarization. We demonstrate that these data are in fact compatible with a model in which glycolytic oscillations are the key player in rhythmic islet activity. Finally, we use the model to address the recent finding that the activity of islets from some mice is uniformly fast, whereas that from islets of other mice is slow. We propose a mechanism for this dichotomy.

Oscillations, intercellular coupling, and insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells

Insulin is a potent metabolic regulator that is released by pancreatic beta-cells, which respond to body glucose concentrations. Here the authors explain the physiological basis of insulin release.

Protein kinase activation increases insulin secretion by sensitizing the secretory machinery to Ca2+

Glucose and other secretagogues are thought to activate a variety of protein kinases. This study was designed to unravel the sites of action of protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) in modulating insulin secretion. By using high time resolution measurements of membrane capacitance and flash photolysis of caged Ca²⁺, we characterize three kinetically different pools of vesicles in rat pancreatic β-cells, namely, a highly calcium-sensitive pool (HCSP), a readily releasable pool (RRP), and a reserve pool. The size of the HCSP is ∼20 fF under resting conditions, but is dramatically increased by application of either phorbol esters or forskolin. Phorbol esters and forskolin also increase the size of RRP to a lesser extent. The augmenting effect of phorbol esters or forskolin is blocked by various PKC or PKA inhibitors, indicating the involvement of these kinases. The effects of PKC and PKA on the size of the HCSP are not additive, suggesting a convergent mechanism. Using a protocol where membrane depolarization is combined with photorelease of Ca²⁺, we find that the HCSP is a distinct population of vesicles from those colocalized with Ca²⁺ channels. We propose that PKA and PKC promote insulin secretion by increasing the number of vesicles that are highly sensitive to Ca²⁺.

Calcium and glycolysis mediate multiple bursting modes in pancreatic islets

Pancreatic islets of Langerhans produce bursts of electrical activity when exposed to stimulatory glucose levels. These bursts often have a regular repeating pattern, with a period of 10-60 s. In some cases, however, the bursts are episodic, clustered into bursts of bursts, which we call compound bursting. Consistent with this are recordings of free Ca2+ concentration, oxygen consumption, mitochondrial membrane potential, and intraislet glucose levels that exhibit very slow oscillations, with faster oscillations superimposed. We describe a new mathematical model of the pancreatic beta-cell that can account for these multimodal patterns. The model includes the feedback of cytosolic Ca2+ onto ion channels that can account for bursting, and a metabolic subsystem that is capable of producing slow oscillations driven by oscillations in glycolysis. This slow rhythm is responsible for the slow mode of compound bursting in the model. We also show that it is possible for glycolytic oscillations alone to drive a very slow form of bursting, which we call "glycolytic bursting." Finally, the model predicts that there is bistability between stationary and oscillatory glycolysis for a range of parameter values. We provide experimental support for this model prediction. Overall, the model can account for a diversity of islet behaviors described in the literature over the past 20 years.

Insulin granule dynamics in pancreatic beta cells

Glucose-induced insulin secretion in response to a step increase in blood glucose concentrations follows a biphasic time course consisting of a rapid and transient first phase followed by a slowly developing and sustained second phase. Because Type 2 diabetes involves defects of insulin secretion, manifested as a loss of first phase and a reduction of second phase, it is important to understand the cellular mechanisms underlying biphasic insulin secretion. Insulin release involves the packaging of insulin in small (diameter approximately 0.3 micro m) secretory granules, the trafficking of these granules to the plasma membrane, the exocytotic fusion of the granules with the plasma membrane and eventually the retrieval of the secreted membranes by endocytosis. Until recently, studies on insulin secretion have been confined to the appearance of insulin in the extracellular space and the cellular events preceding exocytosis have been inaccessible to more detailed analysis. Evidence from a variety of secretory tissues, including pancreatic islet cells suggests, however, that the secretory granules can be functionally divided into distinct pools that are distinguished by their release competence and/or proximity to the plasma membrane. The introduction of fluorescent proteins that can be targeted to the secretory granules, in combination with the advent of new techniques that allow real-time imaging of granule trafficking in living cells (granule dynamics), has led to an explosion of our knowledge of the pre-exocytotic and post-exocytotic processes in the beta cell. Here we discuss these observations in relation to previous functional and ultra-structural data as well as the secretory defects of Type 2 diabetes.

The Ca2+ dynamics of isolated mouse beta-cells and islets: implications for mathematical models

[Ca(2+)](i) and electrical activity were compared in isolated beta-cells and islets using standard techniques. In islets, raising glucose caused a decrease in [Ca(2+)](i) followed by a plateau and then fast (2-3 min(-1)), slow (0.2-0.8 min(-1)), or a mixture of fast and slow [Ca(2+)](i) oscillations. In beta-cells, glucose transiently decreased and then increased [Ca(2+)](i), but no islet-like oscillations occurred. Simultaneous recordings of [Ca(2+)](i) and electrical activity suggested that differences in [Ca(2+)](i) signaling are due to differences in islet versus beta-cell electrical activity. Whereas islets exhibited bursts of spikes on medium/slow plateaus, isolated beta-cells were depolarized and exhibited spiking, fast-bursting, or spikeless plateaus. These electrical patterns in turn produced distinct [Ca(2+)](i) patterns. Thus, although isolated beta-cells display several key features of islets, their oscillations were faster and more irregular. beta-cells could display islet-like [Ca(2+)](i) oscillations if their electrical activity was converted to a slower islet-like pattern using dynamic clamp. Islet and beta-cell [Ca(2+)](i) changes followed membrane potential, suggesting that electrical activity is mainly responsible for the [Ca(2+)] dynamics of beta-cells and islets. A recent model consisting of two slow feedback processes and passive endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) release was able to account for islet [Ca(2+)](i) responses to glucose, islet oscillations, and conversion of single cell to islet-like [Ca(2+)](i) oscillations. With minimal parameter variation, the model could also account for the diverse behaviors of isolated beta-cells, suggesting that these behaviors reflect natural cell heterogeneity. These results support our recent model and point to the important role of beta-cell electrical events in controlling [Ca(2+)](i) over diverse time scales in islets.

Connexin 36 controls synchronization of Ca2+ oscillations and insulin secretion in MIN6 cells

Cx36 is the predominant connexin isoform expressed by pancreatic beta-cells. However, little is known about the role of this protein in the functioning of insulin-secreting cells. To address this question, we searched for a cell line expressing Cx36 and having glucose-induced insulin secretion comparable to that of primary beta-cells. By evaluating Cx36 expression in MIN6, betaTC3, RIN2A, INS1, and HIT cell lines, which differ in their sensitivity to glucose, we found that wild-type MIN6 cells fit these requirements. Therefore, we stably transfected MIN6 cells with a cDNA coding for a Cx36 antisense sequence to study the role of Cx36 in these cells. Independent clones of MIN6 cells were obtained that had a markedly reduced Cx36 expression. Loss of Cx36 decreased functional gap junctional conductance in these clones. This alteration impaired the synchronization of glucose-induced [Ca(2+)](i) oscillations and insulin secretion in response to glucose, to secretagogues that increase [cAMP](i), and to depolarizing conditions. These data provide the first evidence that Cx36-made channels 1) mediate functional coupling in MIN6 cells, 2) provide for synchronous [Ca(2+)](i) oscillations, and 3) are necessary for proper insulin secretion in response to metabolizable and nonmetabolizable secretagogues.

Glucose-dependent regulation of rhythmic action potential firing in pancreatic beta-cells by K(ATP)-channel modulation

The regulation of a K(+) current activating during oscillatory electrical activity (I(K,slow)) in an insulin-releasing beta-cell was studied by applying the perforated patch whole-cell technique to intact mouse pancreatic islets. The resting whole-cell conductance in the presence of 10 mM glucose amounted to 1.3 nS, which rose by 50 % during a series of 26 simulated action potentials. Application of the K(ATP)-channel blocker tolbutamide produced uninterrupted action potential firing and reduced I(K,slow) by approximately 50 %. Increasing glucose from 15 to 30 mM, which likewise converted oscillatory electrical activity into continuous action potential firing, reduced I(K,slow) by approximately 30 % whilst not affecting the resting conductance. Action potential firing may culminate in opening of K(ATP) channels by activation of ATP-dependent Ca(2+) pumping as suggested by the observation that the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) inhibitor thapsigargin (4 microM) inhibited I(K,slow) by 25 % and abolished bursting electrical activity. We conclude that oscillatory glucose-induced electrical activity in the beta-cell involves the opening of K(ATP)-channel activity and that these channels, in addition to constituting the glucose-regulated K(+) conductance, also play a role in the graded response to supra-threshold glucose concentrations.

Pulsatile insulin release from islets isolated from three subjects with type 2 diabetes

Plasma insulin in healthy subjects shows regular oscillations, which are important for the hypoglycemic action of the hormone. In individuals with type 2 diabetes, these regular variations are altered, which has been implicated in the development of insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. The origin of the change is unknown, but derangement of the islet secretory pattern has been suggested as a contributing cause. In the present study, we show the dynamics of insulin release from individually perifused islets isolated from three subjects with type 2 diabetes. Insulin release at 3 mmol/l glucose was 10.5 +/- 4.5 pmol.g(-1).s(-1) and pulsatile (0.26 +/- 0.05 min(-1)). In islets from one subject, 11 mmol/l glucose transiently increased insulin release by augmentation of the insulin pulses without affecting the frequency. Addition of 1 mmol/l tolbutamide did not increase insulin release. In islets from the remaining subjects, insulin release was not affected by 11 mmol/l glucose. Tolbutamide transiently increased insulin release in islets from one subject. Insulin release from four normal subjects at 3 mmol/l glucose was 4.3 +/- 0.8 pmol.g(-1).s(-1) and pulsatile (0.23 +/- 0.03 min(-1)). At 11 mmol/l glucose, insulin release increased in islets from all subjects. Tolbutamide further increased insulin release in islets from two subjects. It is concluded that islets from the three individuals with type 2 diabetes release insulin in pulses. The impaired secretory response to glucose may be related to impaired metabolism before mitochondrial degradation of the sugar.

Primary in vivo oscillations of metabolism in the pancreas

The role of metabolism in the generation of plasma insulin oscillations was investigated by simultaneous in vivo recordings of oxygen tension (pO(2)) in the endocrine and exocrine pancreas and portal blood insulin concentrations in the anesthetized rat. At the start of the experiment, the blood glucose concentration of seven rats was 6.2 +/- 0.1 mmol/l and the arterial blood pressure was 116 +/- 5 mmHg. These values did not differ from those obtained at the end of the experiment. Islet pO(2) was measured by impaling superficially located islets with a miniaturized Clark electrode. The pO(2) measurements revealed slow (0.21 +/- 0.03 min(-1)) with superimposed rapid (3.1 +/- 0.3 min(-1)) oscillations. The average pO(2) was 39 +/- 5 mmHg. Simultaneous recordings of pO(2) in the exocrine pancreas were significantly lower (16 +/- 6 mmHg), but showed a slow and a rapid oscillatory activity with similar frequencies as seen in the endocrine pancreas. Corresponding measurements of portal insulin concentrations revealed insulin oscillations at a frequency of 0.22 +/- 0.02 min(-1). The results are the first in vivo recordings of an oscillatory islet parameter with a frequency corresponding to that of plasma insulin oscillations; they support a primary role of metabolic oscillations in the induction of plasma insulin oscillations.

Glucose-dependent promotion of insulin release from mouse pancreatic islets by the insulin-mimetic compound L-783,281

An insulin-mimetic compound (L-783,281) was used in an attempt to determine the role of the beta-cell insulin receptor (IR) on insulin release. Islets were isolated from C57Bl/6j mice and cultured for 1 to 4 days. Insulin release from individual islets perifused in the presence of 3 mmol/l glucose was 10.5 plus minus 1.4 pg/min. Addition of 10 micromol/l L-783,281 had no effect on the rate of insulin secretion. When L-783,281 was added to perifusion medium containing 11 mmol/l glucose, the insulin-mimetic compound significantly increased insulin release. Insulin release from the isolated islet is pulsatile. In the presence of 3 mmol/l glucose, addition of L-783,281 significantly decreased the frequency of the oscillations from 0.35 plus minus 0.03 to 0.22 plus minus 0.04 oscillations/min. Addition of L-783,281 to perifusion medium containing 11 mmol/l glucose had no effect on the frequency of the insulin pulses (0.30 plus minus 0.05 oscillations/min). These results indicate that activation of the beta-cell IR by L-783,281 augments insulin release in the presence of a stimulatory glucose concentration. At nonstimulatory glucose concentrations, activation of the beta-cell IR may affect mechanisms related to the frequency of the insulin pulses.

Pulsatile insulin secretion: detection, regulation, and role in diabetes

Insulin concentrations oscillate at a periodicity of 5-15 min per oscillation. These oscillations are due to coordinate insulin secretory bursts, from millions of islets. The generation of common secretory bursts requires strong within-islet and within-pancreas coordination to synchronize the secretory activity from the beta-cell population. The overall contribution of this pulsatile mechanism dominates and accounts for the majority of insulin release. This review discusses the methods involved in the detection and quantification of periodicities and individual secretory bursts. The mechanism by which overall insulin secretion is regulated through changes in the pulsatile component is discussed for nerves, metabolites, hormones, and drugs. The impaired pulsatile secretion of insulin in type 2 diabetes has resulted in much focus on the impact of the insulin delivery pattern on insulin action, and improved action from oscillatory insulin exposure is demonstrated on liver, muscle, and adipose tissues. Therefore, not only is the dominant regulation of insulin through changes in secretory burst mass and amplitude, but the changes may affect insulin action. Finally, the role of impaired pulsatile release in early type 2 diabetes suggests a predictive value of studies on insulin pulsatility in the development of this disease.

Role of oscillations in membrane potential, cytoplasmic Ca2+, and metabolism for plasma insulin oscillations

A model for the relationship between ionic and metabolic oscillations and plasma insulin oscillations is presented. It is argued that the pancreatic beta-cell in vivo displays two intrinsic frequencies that are important for the regulation of plasma insulin oscillations. The rapid oscillatory activity (2--7 oscillations [osc] per minute), which is evident in both ionic and metabolic events, causes the required elevation in cytoplasmic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) for the exocytosis of insulin granules. This activity is important for regulation of the amplitude of plasma insulin oscillations. The frequency of the rapid oscillatory ionic activities is regulated by glucose and allows the beta-cell to respond in an analogous way, with gradual changes in [Ca(2+)](i) and insulin release in response to the alterations in glucose concentration. The slower oscillatory activity (0.2--0.4 osc/min), which is evident in the metabolism of the beta-cell, has a frequency corresponding to the frequency observed in plasma insulin oscillations. The frequency is not affected by changes in the glucose concentration. This activity is suggested to generate energy in a pulsatile fashion, which sets the frequency of the plasma insulin oscillations. It is proposed that the slow oscillations in [Ca(2+)](i) observed in vitro are a manifestation of the metabolic oscillations and do not represent an in vivo phenomenon.

Signals and pools underlying biphasic insulin secretion

Rapid and sustained stimulation of beta-cells with glucose induces biphasic insulin secretion. The two phases appear to reflect a characteristic of stimulus-secretion coupling in each beta-cell rather than heterogeneity in the time-course of the response between beta-cells or islets. There is no evidence indicating that biphasic secretion can be attributed to an intrinsically biphasic metabolic signal. In contrast, the biphasic rise in cytoplasmic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) induced by glucose is important to shape the two phases of secretion. The first phase requires a rapid and marked elevation of [Ca(2+)](i) and corresponds to the release of insulin granules from a limited pool. The magnitude of the second phase is determined by the elevation of [Ca(2+)](i), but its development requires production of another signal. This signal corresponds to the amplifying action of glucose and may serve to replenish the pool of granules that are releasable at the prevailing [Ca(2+)](i). The species characteristics of biphasic insulin secretion and its perturbations in pathological situations are discussed.

Beta-cell mitochondria and insulin secretion: messenger role of nucleotides and metabolites

The beta-cell mitochondria are known to generate metabolic coupling factors, or messengers, that mediate plasma membrane depolarization and the increase in cytosolic Ca(2+), the triggering event in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Accordingly, ATP closes nucleotide-sensitive K(+) channels necessary for the opening of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. ATP also exerts a permissive action on insulin exocytosis. In contrast, GTP directly stimulates the exocytotic process. cAMP is considered to have a dual function: on the one hand, it renders the beta-cell more responsive to glucose; on the other, it mediates the effect of glucagon and other hormones that potentiate insulin secretion. Mitochondrial shuttles contribute to the formation of pyridine nucleotides, which may also participate in insulin exocytosis. Among the metabolic factors generated by glucose, citrate-derived malonyl-CoA has been endorsed, but recent results have questioned its role. We have proposed that glutamate, which is also formed by mitochondrial metabolism, stimulates insulin exocytosis in conditions of permissive, clamped cytosolic Ca(2+) concentrations. The evidence for the implication of these and other putative messengers in metabolism-secretion coupling is discussed in this review.

Glucose metabolism and pulsatile insulin release from isolated islets

The effects of metabolic inhibition on insulin release and the cytoplasmic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) were studied in individually perifused pancreatic islets from ob/ob mice. The modest basal secretion in the presence of 3 mmol/l glucose was pulsatile with a frequency of approximately 0.2/min, although [Ca(2+)](i) was stable at approximately 100 nmol/l. Introduction of 11 mmol/l glucose resulted in large amplitude oscillations of [Ca(2+)](i) and almost 20-fold stimulation of average secretion manifested as increased amplitude of the insulin pulses without change in frequency. Inhibition of glycolysis with iodoacetamide or mitochondrial metabolism with dinitrophenol or antimycin A reduced glucose-stimulated secretion back to basal levels with maintained pulsatility. The [Ca(2+)](i) responses to the metabolic inhibitors were more complex, but in general there was an initial peak and eventually sustained elevation without oscillations. When introduced in the presence of 3 mmol/l glucose, the metabolic inhibitors tended to increase the amplitude of the insulin pulses, although the simultaneous elevation in [Ca(2+)](i) occurred without oscillations. The data indicate that pulsatile secretion is regulated by factors other than [Ca(2+)](i) under basal conditions and after metabolic inhibition. Although pulsatile secretion can be driven by oscillations in metabolism when [Ca(2+)](i) is stable, it was not possible from the present data to determine whether insulin pulses have a glycolytic or mitochondrial origin.

The phantom burster model for pancreatic beta-cells

Pancreatic beta-cells exhibit bursting oscillations with a wide range of periods. Whereas periods in isolated cells are generally either a few seconds or a few minutes, in intact islets of Langerhans they are intermediate (10-60 s). We develop a mathematical model for beta-cell electrical activity capable of generating this wide range of bursting oscillations. Unlike previous models, bursting is driven by the interaction of two slow processes, one with a relatively small time constant (1-5 s) and the other with a much larger time constant (1-2 min). Bursting on the intermediate time scale is generated without need for a slow process having an intermediate time constant, hence phantom bursting. The model suggests that isolated cells exhibiting a fast pattern may nonetheless possess slower processes that can be brought out by injecting suitable exogenous currents. Guided by this, we devise an experimental protocol using the dynamic clamp technique that reliably elicits islet-like, medium period oscillations from isolated cells. Finally, we show that strong electrical coupling between a fast burster and a slow burster can produce synchronized medium bursting, suggesting that islets may be composed of cells that are intrinsically either fast or slow, with few or none that are intrinsically medium.

Mitochondrial signals in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in the beta cell

Glucose-induced insulin secretion is determined by signals generated in the mitochondria. The elevation of ATP is necessary for the membrane-dependent increase in cytosolic Ca2+, the main trigger of insulin exocytosis. Beta cells depleted of mitochondrial DNA fail to respond to glucose while still secreting insulin in response to membrane depolarisation. This cell model resembles the situation of defective insulin secretion in patients with mitochondrial diabetes. On the other hand, infants with activating mutations in the mitochondrial enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase are characterised by hyperinsulinism and hypoglycaemia. We have recently proposed that glutamate, generated by this enzyme, participates in insulin secretion as a glucose-derived metabolic messenger. In this model, glutamate acts downstream of the mitochondria by sensitising the exocytotic process to Ca2+. The evidence in favour of such a role for glutamate is discussed in the present review.

Overnight inhibition of insulin secretion restores pulsatility and proinsulin/insulin ratio in type 2 diabetes

Impaired insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes is characterized by decreased first-phase insulin secretion, an increased proinsulin-to-insulin molar ratio in plasma, abnormal pulsatile insulin release, and heightened disorderliness of insulin concentration profiles. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that these abnormalities are at least partly reversed by a period of overnight suspension of beta-cell secretory activity achieved by somatostatin infusion. Eleven patients with type 2 diabetes were studied twice after a randomly ordered overnight infusion of either somatostatin or saline with the plasma glucose concentration clamped at approximately 8 mmol/l. Controls were studied twice after overnight saline infusions and then at a plasma glucose concentration of either 4 or 8 mmol/l. We report that in patients with type 2 diabetes, 1) as in nondiabetic humans, insulin is secreted in discrete insulin secretory bursts; 2) the frequency of pulsatile insulin secretion is normal; 3) the insulin pulse mass is diminished, leading to decreased insulin secretion, but this defect can be overcome acutely by beta-cell rest with somatostatin; 4) the reported loss of orderliness of insulin secretion, attenuated first-phase insulin secretion, and elevated proinsulin-to-insulin molar ratio also respond favorably to overnight inhibition by somatostatin. The results of these clinical experiments suggest the conclusion that multiple parameters of abnormal insulin secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes mechanistically reflect cellular depletion of immediately secretable insulin that can be overcome by beta-cell rest.