Aberrant function and long-term survival of mouse beta cells exposed in vitro to high glucose concentrations

Survival and Function of Islets during Culture

Cell and tissue culture techniques have improved considerably since the first attempts to maintain explants of animal tissue in vitro. The two major developments that have allowed these improvements are the ability to produce continuous cell lines, thus allowing reproducible results to be obtained, and the definition of media for different cell types, thereby reducing the need for supplements of serum and other extraneous extracts. The requirements of islets in culture have been more difficult to define, largely because islets do not proliferate in culture and proliferation rate cannot therefore be used to measure the suitability of the medium. Further difficulties arise because islets are highly metabolically active “mini-organelles.” Although many studies have been undertaken to try and optimize media for the culture islets of Langerhans, the media most commonly used are commercially available media developed for other cell types. There remains ample scope for further refinement of the composition of islet culture media, with the possibility of different media for islets from different species.

The influence of genetic background on the induction of oxidative stress and impaired insulin secretion in mouse islets

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

We determined whether high-glucose-induced beta cell dysfunction is associated with oxidative stress in the DBA/2 mouse, a mouse strain susceptible to islet failure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Glucose- and non-glucose-mediated insulin secretion from the islets of DBA/2 and control C57BL/6 mice was determined following a 48-h exposure to high glucose. Flux via the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway was assessed by determining O-glycosylated protein levels. Oxidative stress was determined by measuring hydrogen peroxide levels and the expression of anti-oxidant enzymes.

RESULTS

Exposure to high glucose levels impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in DBA/2 islets but not C57BL/6 islets, and this was associated with reduced islet insulin content and lower ATP levels than in C57BL/6 islets. Exposure of islets to glucosamine for 48 h mimicked the effects of high glucose on insulin secretion in the DBA/2 islets. High glucose exposure elevated O-glycosylated proteins; however, this occurred in islets from both strains, excluding a role for O-glycosylation in the impairment of DBA/2 insulin secretion. Additionally, both glucosamine and high glucose caused an increase in hydrogen peroxide in DBA/2 islets but not in C57BL/6 islets, an effect prevented by the antioxidant N-acetyl-L: -cysteine. Interestingly, while glutathione peroxidase and catalase expression was comparable between the two strains, the antioxidant enzyme manganese superoxide dismutase, which converts superoxide to hydrogen peroxide, was increased in DBA/2 islets, possibly explaining the increase in hydrogen peroxide levels.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Chronic high glucose culture caused an impairment in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in DBA/2 islets, which have a genetic predisposition to failure, and this may be the result of oxidative stress.

Genetic background determines the extent of islet amyloid formation in human islet amyloid polypeptide transgenic mice

Genetic background is important in determining susceptibility to metabolic abnormalities such as insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction. Islet amyloid is associated with reduced beta-cell mass and function and develops in the majority of our C57BL/6J x DBA/2J (F(1)) male human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) transgenic mice after 1 yr of increased fat feeding. To determine the relative contribution of each parental strain, C57BL/6J (BL6) and DBA/2J (DBA2), to islet amyloid formation, we studied male hIAPP mice on each background strain (BL6, n = 13; and DBA2 n = 11) and C57BL/6J x DBA/2J F(1) mice (n = 17) on a 9% (wt/wt) fat diet for 1 yr. At the end of 12 mo, islet amyloid deposition was quantified from thioflavin S-stained pancreas sections. The majority of mice in all groups developed islet amyloid (BL6: 91%, F(1): 76%, DBA2: 100%). However, the prevalence (%amyloid-positive islets; BL6: 14 +/- 3%, F(1): 44 +/- 8%, DBA2: 49 +/- 9%, P < 0.05) and severity (%islet area occupied by amyloid; BL6: 0.03 +/- 0.01%, F(1): 9.2 +/- 2.9%, DBA2: 5.7 +/- 2.3%, p < or = 0.01) were significantly lower in BL6 than F(1) and DBA2 mice. Increased islet amyloid severity was negatively correlated with insulin-positive area per islet, in F(1) (r(2) = 0.75, P < 0.001) and DBA2 (r(2) = 0.87, P < 0.001) mice but not BL6 mice (r(2) = 0.07). In summary, the extent of islet amyloid formation in hIAPP transgenic mice is determined by background strain, with mice expressing DBA/2J genes (F(1) and DBA2 mice) being more susceptible to amyloid deposition that replaces beta-cell mass. These findings underscore the importance of genetic and environmental factors in studying metabolic disease.

Methods of human islet culture for transplantation

The ability to maintain isolated human islet preparations in tissue culture has recently been adopted by most islet transplant centers, and improves the safety as well as the practicality of islet transplantation. Maintaining islet viability and recovery, however, remains challenging in a clinical setting, due to stringent conditions required for culture. Islet culture is further complicated by the fact that islets do not form a monolayer. This review aims to clarify media, supplementation, and conditions that have been shown to be relevant to human islets, as well as to offer avenues of future research. Factors examined that may influence islet survival include base medium, glucose concentration, vitamin, inorganic ion, lipid, hormone, growth factor, amino acid, and binding protein composition and concentration, as well as culture temperature and seeding density. In addition, this article reviews novel techniques, such as coculture and matrices, that have been employed in an attempt to improve islet survival and functional viability.

Comparison of insulin secretory function in two mouse models with different susceptibility to beta-cell failure

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by a susceptibility to beta-cell failure. However, subjects at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, such as those with obesity or a family history of diabetes, have been shown to display hyperinsulinemia. Although this hyperinsulinemia may be an adaptive response to insulin resistance, the possibility that insulin hypersecretion may be a primary defect has not been thoroughly investigated. The DBA/2 mouse is a model of pancreatic islet susceptibility. Unlike the resistant C57BL/6 mouse strain, the DBA/2 mouse islet fails when stressed with insulin resistance or when exposed to chronic high glucose concentrations. The aim of this study was to compare insulin secretory function in the DBA/2 and C57BL/6 strains in the absence of insulin resistance or high glucose. Insulin secretion was assessed in vivo using the iv glucose tolerance test and in vitro using isolated islets in static incubations. It was shown that DBA/2 mice hypersecreted insulin in vivo, compared with C57BL/6 mice, at 1 d and at 4 and 10 wk of age. This hypersecretion was not attributable to insulin resistance (as assessed by the insulin tolerance test) or increased parasympathetic nervous system outflow. Insulin hypersecretion was also demonstrated in vitro. This was associated with higher glycolysis and glucose oxidation, and elevated activity (but not protein levels) of islet glucokinase and hexokinase. Furthermore, GLUT2 protein levels were higher, which may explain an increase in glucokinase activity in DBA/2 mouse islets. In summary, the DBA/2 mouse, a model of islet failure, has increased glucose-mediated insulin secretion from a very early age, which is associated with an increase in glucose utilization. Further studies will determine whether there is a link between insulin hypersecretion and subsequent beta-cell failure.

Porcine neonatal pancreatic cell clusters in tissue culture: benefits of serum and immobilization in alginate hydrogel

Porcine neonatal pancreatic cell clusters (NPCCs) may be a suitable source of insulin producing tissue for transplantation in diabetic patients. The possible beneficial effect of serum on maturation of NPCCs in vitro is difficult to achieve because of cell clumping, which can be avoided by immobilization in alginate hydrogel matrix. Collagenase treated pancreata, cultured for 4 days, formed NPCCs that were embedded in alginate cross-linked with CaCl2 and cultured in modified Ham's F10 medium with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) for 10 days. NPCCs cultured as suspension in F10+ with 0.5% bovine serum albumin or with 10% FCS were used as control. To prevent the aggregation when cultured with serum, NPCCs were kept as a very diluted suspension. At the beginning and end of the culture, samples were taken for insulin and DNA content and immunostained for beta and non-beta cells. The culture of NPCCs immobilized in alginate resulted with 3-fold increase in insulin content and 9-fold increase in insulin/DNA ratio. Histology revealed evident increase of number of insulin- and other hormone-positive cells compared with the control. Even though 2 weeks in culture resulted in impaired glucose-induced insulin release, the amount of insulin secreted by clusters cultured in the presence of serum was 4-fold higher than in serum-free conditions. After transplantation, NPCCs retrieved from alginate reversed hyperglycemia similarly to NPCCs cultured in standard conditions. In conclusion, this study shows the feasibility of in vitro immobilization of NPCCs in alginate three-dimensional matrix, allowing cell clusters to be cultured at least two times higher density compared with culture in suspension.

Autoantibodies in recent onset type-1 diabetic patients to a Mr 60K microsomal hepatic protein: new evidence for autoantibodies to the type-2 glucose transporter

Here we describe the presence of IgG antibodies, in the sera of patients presenting with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), that react in Western blots with a 60-kD protein (Mr 60K) from rat hepatic microsomal extracts. Sera from 60 IDDM patients were screened and 31.6% were positive for the Mr 60K band. This antibody reactivity was indistinguishable in terms of both molecular weight and isoelectric point (pI 5.4) from that described in some patients presenting with autoimmune hepatitis who may also develop IDDM. We hypothesized that the type-2 glucose transporter (Glut-2) that is expressed on both hepatocytes and pancreatic beta cells could be a putative target for the detected antibodies. A polyclonal antisera to rat Glut-2 used in the liver microsome Western blot identified a 60-kD band superimposable upon that evidenced by IDDM sera. Antisera to Glut-2 successfully inhibited the binding of the patient's IgGs to liver microsomes, further suggesting that the two proteins may be identical. Using protein extracts from a rat insulinoma cell line (RIN) transfected with the human Glut-2 cDNA, further evidence was obtained suggesting that these IDDM IgGs are specific for the human Glut-2 transporter.

Determinants of glucose toxicity and its reversibility in the pancreatic islet beta-cell line, HIT-T15

HIT-T15 cells, a clonal beta-cell line, were cultured and passaged weekly for 6 mo in RPMI 1640 media containing various concentrations of glucose. Insulin content decreased in the intermediate- and late-passage cells as a continuous rather than a threshold glucose concentration effect. In a second series of experiments, cells were grown in media containing either 0.8 or 16.0 mM glucose from passages 76 through 105. Subcultures of passages 86, 92, and 99 that had been grown in media containing 16.0 mM glucose were switched to media containing 0.8 mM glucose and also carried forward to passage 105. Dramatic increases in insulin content and secretion and insulin gene expression were observed when the switches were made at passages 86 and 92 but not when the switch was made at passage 99. These findings suggest that glucose toxicity of insulin-secreting cells is a continuous rather than a threshold function of glucose concentration and that the shorter the period of antecedent glucose toxicity, the more likely that full recovery of cell function will occur.

Survival and function of islets during culture

Cell and tissue culture techniques have improved considerably since the first attempts to maintain explants of animal tissue in vitro. The two major developments that have allowed these improvements are the ability to produce continuous cell lines, thus allowing reproducible results to be obtained, and the definition of media for different cell types, thereby reducing the need for supplements of serum and other extraneous extracts. The requirements of islets in culture have been more difficult to define, largely because islets do not proliferate in culture and proliferation rate cannot therefore be used to measure the suitability of the medium. Further difficulties arise because islets are highly metabolically active "mini-organelles." Although many studies have been undertaken to try and optimize media for the culture islets of Langerhans, the media most commonly used are commercially available media developed for other cell types. There remains ample scope for further refinement of the composition of islet culture media, with the possibility of different media for islets from different species.