Involvement of P2Y signaling in the restoration of glucose-induced insulin exocytosis in pancreatic β cells exposed to glucotoxicity

Purinergic P2Y receptors, by binding adenosine triphosphate (ATP), are known for enhancing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in pancreatic β cells. However, the impact of these receptors in the actin dynamics and insulin granule exocytosis in these cells is not established, neither in normal nor in glucotoxic environment. In this study, we investigate the involvement of P2Y receptors on the behavior of insulin granules and the subcortical actin network dynamics in INS-1 832/13 β cells exposed to normal or glucotoxic environment and their role in GSIS. Our results show that the activation of P2Y purinergic receptors by ATP or its agonist increase the insulin granules exocytosis and the reorganization of the subcortical actin network and participate in the potentiation of GSIS. In addition, their activation in INS-1832/13 β-cells, with impaired insulin secretion following exposure to elevated glucose levels, restores GSIS competence through the distal steps of insulin exocytosis. These results are confirmed ex vivo by perifusion experiments on islets from type 2 diabetic (T2D) Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. Indeed, the P2Y receptor agonist restores the altered GSIS, which is normally lost in this T2D animal model. Moreover, we observed an improvement of the glucose tolerance, following the acute intraperitoneal injection of the P2Y agonist concomitantly with glucose, in diabetic GK rats. All these data provide new insights into the unprecedented therapeutic role of P2Y purinergic receptors in the pathophysiology of T2D.

Insulin Secretion and Glucose Tolerance after Islet Transplantation in Rats with Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes Induced by Neonatal Streptozotocin

The present study was designed to identify in a model of noninsulin-dependent diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin (n0-STZ), the long-term consequences of an islet graft upon 1) glucose handling of the recipient and, 2) glucose response of the residual β cells in the recipient pancreas. We have examined, 4 and 8 wk after islet implantation under the kidney capsule of syngeneic diabetic n0-STZ rats, their tolerance to glucose administered in vivo, together with their insulin release in response to glucose in vivo (oral glucose tolerance test) as well as in vitro (perfused pancreas). The results in the islet-grafted n0-STZ rats, were compared to those obtained in nongrafted nondiabetic rats and nongrafted n0-STZ rats. Our study shows that transplanting a limited number (900) of adult islets under the kidney capsule reverses to normal, many parameters of the noninsulin-dependent diabetic state in the n0-STZ rat model: these include body weight, basal plasma glucose in both the nonfasted and postabsorptive states, and basal plasma insulin in the postabsorptive state. Furthermore, tolerance to oral glucose administration was greatly improved in the transplanted rats and it was correlated with restoration of a manifest glucose-induced insulin secretion in vivo as evaluated (ΔI) during an oral glucose tolerance test. Our data clearly show that the insulin response to glucose from the endogenous pancreas of n0-STZ diabetic rat was not really improved by long-term (8 wk) basal normoglycemia. More precisely, we were able to detect a slight but significant improvement of the early phase of insulin release in vitro in response to glucose; however, the overall insulin response remained 15 times lower than the normal one with no reapparance of the late phase of insulin release. After cessation of glucose stimulation in vivo, off-response of insulin, which is also a landmark of the impaired insulin release by the β cells of n0-STZ rats, was still detectable in the perfused pancreas of the transplanted n0-STZ rats. Finally, because the reactivity to glucose of the endogenous residual β cells was not regained, the insulin released in vivo during the oral glucose test in the graft-bearing n0-STZ rats can be attributed mainly to functioning of the grafted islets population. Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.

Local in vivo GSK3β knockdown promotes pancreatic β cell and acinar cell regeneration in 90% pancreatectomized rat

Endocrine and exocrine insufficiencies are associated with serious diseases such as diabetes and pancreatitis, respectively. Pancreatic cells retain the capacity to regenerate in the context of cell deficiency. The remnant pancreas after pancreatectomy (Px) is a valuable target for testing the efficiency of pharmacological interventions to stimulate cell regeneration. Here, we tested the ability of GSK3β downregulation on the stimulation of β- and acinar cell regeneration after 90% Px in adult rats. We developed an in vivo approach based on local silencing of GSK3β, by delivering antisense morpholino-oligonucleotides within the remnant pancreas of 90% pancreatectomized rats, and evaluated its impact on the regenerative potential of pancreatic β and exocrine cells. β-Cell (BC) mass was evaluated by morphometry. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed by 5'bromo 2'deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation method and TUNEL assay, respectively. The expression of Sox9, Neurogenin-3 (Ngn3), and PDX1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. We show that intrapancreatic GSK3β knockdown leads to increased BC mass (BCM) in 90% pancreatectomized rats by promoting both BC proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, downregulation of GSK3β significantly improves exocrine growth and prevents acinar cell apoptosis in vivo. Our study designates GSK3β as a viable drug target for therapeutic intervention on diseases of endocrine and exocrine pancreas associated with cell deficiency.

Hypothalamic serotonin-insulin signaling cross-talk and alterations in a type 2 diabetic model

Serotonin and insulin are key regulators of homeostatic mechanisms in the hypothalamus. However, in type 2 diabetes, the hypothalamic responsiveness to serotonin is not clearly established. We used a diabetic model, the Goto Kakizaki (GK) rats, to explore insulin receptor expression, insulin and serotonin efficiency in the hypothalamus and liver by means of Akt phosphorylation. Insulin or dexfenfluramine (stimulator of serotonin) treatment induced Akt phosphorylation in Wistar rats but not in GK rats that exhibit down-regulated insulin receptor. Studies in a neuroblastoma cell line showed that serotonin-induced Akt phosphorylation is PI3-kinase dependent. Finally, in response to food intake, hypothalamic serotonin release was reduced in GK rats, indicating impaired responsiveness of this neurotransmitter. In conclusion, hypothalamic serotonin as insulin efficiency is impaired in diabetic GK rats. The insulin-serotonin cross-talk and impairment observed is one potential key modification in the brain during the onset of diabetes.

Prolonged improvement of total pancreatic allograft function by previous intrathymic bone marrow cell injection in rats

Donor-specific induction of tolerance was previously achieved in the diabetic rat by intrathymic injection of pancreatic islets. It allowed a secondary islet graft in any site without immunosuppression. Since total pancreatic graft in man is metabolically more proficient than islet graft, we attempted tolerance induction for total vascularized pancreas transplantation in diabetic BN recipient rats by an intrathymic bone marrow cell (BMC) injection from Lewis donor rats, associated to an antilymphocyte antibody (ALS) administration. Control groups consisted of isogenic grafts, allogenic grafts without tolerance induction and allogenic grafts with ALS alone. In all grafted groups, mean blood glucose and plasma insulin were normalised within 24 h. Graft rejection (clinically suggested by diabetes recurrence and later confirmed by histology) appeared at 18 +/- 2 postoperative days in the absence of intrathymic BMC injection and at 36 +/- 8 days in the group with BMC injection (p < 0.05). Intrathymic bone marrow graft was successful in delaying rejection in our study.

Persistent improvement of type 2 diabetes in the Goto-Kakizaki rat model by expansion of the beta-cell mass during the prediabetic period with glucagon-like peptide-1 or exendin-4

In the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat, a genetic model of type 2 diabetes, the neonatal beta-cell mass deficit is considered to be the primary defect leading to basal hyperglycemia, which is detectable for the first time 3 weeks after birth. We investigated in GK females the short- and the long-term effects of a treatment with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) or its long-acting analog exendin-4 (Ex-4) during the first postnatal week (during the prediabetic period). GK rats were treated with daily injections of glucagon-like peptide-1 (400 microg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) or Ex-4 (3 microg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) from day 2 to day 6 after birth and were evaluated against Wistar and untreated GK rats. Under these conditions, on day 7 both treatments enhanced pancreatic insulin content and total beta-cell mass by stimulating beta-cell neogenesis and regeneration. Follow-up of biological characteristics from day 7 to adult age (2 months) showed that such a GLP-1 or Ex-4 treatment exerted long-term favorable influences on beta-cell mass and glycemic control at adult age. As compared to untreated GK rats, 2-month-old treated rats exhibited significantly decreased basal plasma glucose. Their glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, in vivo after intravenous glucose load or in vitro using isolated perfused pancreas, was slightly improved. This contributed at least partly to improve the in vivo plasma glucose disappearance rate, which was found to be increased in both treated GK groups compared to the untreated GK group. These findings in the GK model indicated, for the first time, that GLP-1 or Ex-4 treatment limited to the prediabetic period delays the installation and limits the severity of type 2 diabetes. Under these conditions, GLP-1 represents a unique tool because of its beta-cell replenishing effect in spontaneously diabetic rodents. It may prove to be an invaluable agent for the prevention of human type 2 diabetes.

beta-cell function and viability in the spontaneously diabetic GK rat: information from the GK/Par colony

The GK rat model of type 2 diabetes is especially convenient to dissect the pathogenic mechanism necessary for the emergence of overt diabetes because all adult rats obtained in our department (GK/Par colony) to date have stable basal mild hyperglycemia and because overt diabetes is preceded by a period of normoglycemia, ranging from birth to weaning. The purpose of this article is to sum up the information so far available related to the biology of the beta-cell in the GK/Par rat. In terms of beta-cell function, there is no major intrinsic secretory defect in the prediabetic GK/Par beta-cell, and the lack of beta-cell reactivity to glucose (which reflects multiple intracellular abnormalities), as seen during the adult period when the GK/Par rats are overtly diabetic, represents an acquired defect (perhaps glucotoxicity). In terms of beta-cell population, the earliest alteration so far detected in the GK/Par rat targets the size of the beta-cell population. Several convergent data suggest that the permanently reduced beta-cell mass in the GK/Par rat reflects a limitation of beta-cell neogenesis during early fetal life, and it is conceivable that some genes among the set involved in GK diabetes belong to the subset of genes controlling early beta-cell development.

Effect of early dietary restriction on insulin action and secretion in the GK rat, a spontaneous model of NIDDM

The availability of the Goto-Kakisaki (GK) rat model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus prompted us to test the effect of a limited period of undernutrition in previously diabetic young rats on their insulin secretion and insulin action during adult age. Four-week-old female GK rats were either food restricted (35% restriction, 15% protein diet) or protein and energy restricted (35% restriction, 5% protein diet) for 4 wk. Food restriction in the young GK rat lowered weight gain but did not aggravate basal hyperglycemia or glucose intolerance, despite a decrease in basal plasma insulin level. Furthermore, the insulin-mediated glucose uptake by peripheral tissues in the GK rat was clearly improved. We also found that food restriction, when it is coupled to overt protein deficiency in the young GK rat, altered weight gain more severely and slightly decreased basal hyperglycemia but conversely aggravated glucose tolerance. Improvement of basal hyperglycemia was related to repression of basal hepatic glucose hyperproduction, despite profound attenuation of basal plasma insulin level. Deterioration of tolerance to glucose was related to severe blunting of the residual glucose-induced insulin secretion. It is, however, likely that the important enhancement of the insulin-mediated glucose uptake helped to limit the deterioration of glucose tolerance.

Insulin secretion and glucose tolerance after islet transplantation in rats with noninsulin-dependent diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin

The present study was designed to identify in a model of noninsulin-dependent diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin (n0-STZ), the long-term consequences of an islet graft upon 1) glucose handling of the recipient and, 2) glucose response of the residual beta cells in the recipient pancreas. We have examined, 4 and 8 wk after islet implantation under the kidney capsule of syngeneic diabetic n0-STZ rats, their tolerance to glucose administered in vivo, together with their insulin release in response to glucose in vivo (oral glucose tolerance test) as well as in vitro (perfused pancreas). The results in the islet-grafted n0-STZ rats, were compared to those obtained in nongrafted nondiabetic rats and nongrafted n0-STZ rats. Our study shows that transplanting a limited number (900) of adult islets under the kidney capsule reverses to normal, many parameters of the noninsulin-dependent diabetic state in the n0-STZ rat model: these include body weight, basal plasma glucose in both the nonfasted and postabsorptive states, and basal plasma insulin in the postabsorptive state. Furthermore, tolerance to oral glucose administration was greatly improved in the transplanted rats and it was correlated with restoration of a manifest glucose-induced insulin secretion in vivo as evaluated (delta 1) during an oral glucose tolerance test. Our data clearly show that the insulin response to glucose from the endogenous pancreas of n0-STZ diabetic rat was not really improved by long-term (8 wk) basal normoglycemia. More precisely, we were able to detect a slight but significant improvement of the early phase of insulin release in vitro in response to glucose; however, the overall insulin response remained 15 times lower than the normal one with no reappearance of the late phase of insulin release. After cessation of glucose stimulation in vivo, off-response of insulin, which is also a landmark of the impaired insulin release by the beta cells of n0-STZ rats, was still detectable in the perfused pancreas of the transplanted n0-STZ rats. Finally, because the reactivity to glucose of the endogenous residual beta cells was not regained, the insulin released in vivo during the oral glucose test in the graft-bearing n0-STZ rats can be attributed mainly to functioning of the grafted islets population.

Changes in insulin action and insulin secretion in the rat after dietary restriction early in life: influence of food restriction versus low-protein food restriction

The effect of a limited period of undernutrition in young rats on insulin secretion and insulin action during adulthood has been studied. Four-week-old female rats were either food-restricted (35% restriction, 15% protein diet) or protein-calorie-restricted (35% restriction, 5% protein diet) for 4 weeks. Food-restricted rats gained weight at a lower rate than control rats. In the protein-calorie-restricted group, the alteration of weight gain was more severe. Basal plasma insulin was reduced only in protein-calorie-restricted rats. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (delta I) obtained in vivo after an intravenous glucose load was only moderately decreased in food-restricted group, whereas it was severely blunted in the protein-calorie-restricted group. In this last group, impairment of the insulin secretory response to glucose was related to an intrinsic impairment of beta-cell secretory capacity, since the insulin secretory response to glucose or arginine was decreased when tested in vitro (perfused pancreas). In food-restricted rats, basal plasma glucose level was kept normal, while a mild deterioration of glucose tolerance was detectable. This was related, of course, to the decrease of delta I as identified in vivo. However, data obtained under basal or euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic conditions provided direct evidence that insulin-mediated total glucose uptake (weight-related expression) was paradoxically enhanced. A similar conclusion was reached in protein-calorie-restricted rats; the increase of overall insulin-mediated glucose uptake was even more important. Such an adaptation, which was operating in both types of restriction, may help limit the deterioration of glucose tolerance in the face of impaired insulin release. In the basal postabsorptive state, the higher glucose utilization rate in both models originated from increased hepatic glucose production rates. During hyperinsulinemia, endogenous glucose production in food-restricted rats was normally blunted, but not in protein-calorie--restricted rats, thus indicating resistance of the hepatic glucose production pathway to insulin action in this group.

Underfeeding of rat mothers during the first two trimesters of gestation does not alter insulin action and insulin secretion in the progeny

It has been suggested that impaired insulin action and/or insulin secretion in adult mammals could be a consequence of severe food restriction during fetal life. We have determined to what extent glucose homeostasis and insulin action are modified in male offspring of rats undernourished only during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Pregnant females then were assigned to one of the following three experimental conditions. Rats in the first group had their food restricted to 50% of their pregnancy intake during the first 2 weeks of pregnancy, after which they were allowed to eat ad libitum. Rats in the second group were similarly restricted during the first 2 weeks, but beginning on day 14 of gestation were pair-fed to control rats until weaning on day 21 after birth: Such an experimental group was introduced because we observed that food-restricted mothers increased their food intake significantly above control levels in the last week of gestation and maintained this increase into the first postnatal week, when they were returned to ad libitum feeding on day 14 of gestation. Control rats (third group) were given access to food ad libitum throughout pregnancy and lactation. Offspring of mothers in the three groups are referred to as food-restricted/ad libitum refed (RA), food-restricted/pair-refed (RP) and control (C) groups, respectively. From 6 weeks of age, RA males ate significantly more food and gained significantly more weight on a standard laboratory diet than control offspring.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Glucose refractoriness of pancreatic beta-cells in rat models of non-insulin dependent diabetes

A decreased insulin response, preferentially to glucose, has been considered a hallmark of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Type 2) in humans. Syndromes resembling human diabetes occur spontaneously in many animal species and can also be induced by treating animals with drugs or viruses, excising their pancreases or manipulating their diet. Among these models, rat diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin administration (n-STZ models) has been first recognized as an adequate tool to study the long-term consequences of a gradually reduced beta-cell mass. More recently, the GK (Goto Kakisaki) Wistar rat has become available and is now considered as a promising spontaneous rat model of non-insulin dependent diabetes. We and others have found that defects in insulin secretion and action develop in the n-STZ and the GK models, which in many ways resemble those described in human non-insulin dependent diabetes. This review is aimed to sum up with a comparative approach, the informations so far collected in the n-STZ and GK models concerning the cellular mechanisms leading to the desensitization of their beta-cells to glucose. Taken together, the data reinforce the view that the impairment of glucose-induced insulin release in n-STZ and GK rats is clearly related to a defect in oxidative glycolysis. This leads to a severe decrease in the mitochondrial oxidative catabolism of glucose-derived pyruvate. Its coincides with a lower ATP/ADP ratio in glucose-stimulated islets and a subsequent alteration of ionic events tightly coupled to the fuel function of the hexose in islet cells, i.e. the decrease in K+ conductance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Metabolic, ionic, and secretory response to D-glucose in islets from rats with acquired or inherited non-insulin-dependent diabetes

The metabolic, ionic, and secretory response to D-glucose was investigated in islets of adult rats either injected with streptozotocin during the neonatal period (STZ rats) or presenting with inherited diabetes (GK rats). At a high concentration of D-glucose (16.7 mM), the ATP/ADP ratio was lower in islets from STZ and GK than control rats. This coincided with an impaired response of perifused islets to a rise in D-glucose concentration in terms of stimulation of insulin release, suppression of effluent radioactivity from islets prelabeled with [2-3H]adenosine, reduction in 86Rb efflux, and induction of a phosphate flush in islets prelabeled with 32P(i). The ratio in either D-[5-3H]glucose utilization or D-[2-14C]glucose oxidation at high/low hexose concentration, as well as the paired ratio between D-[2-14C]glucose oxidation and D-[5-3H]glucose utilization in islets incubated at a high concentration of the hexose, was also lower in STZ and GK rats than in control rats. Such was not the case, however, from the oxidation of [2-14C]pyruvate. Instead, the latter 2-keto acid, when tested at a 5.0 mM concentration, improved more efficiently the overall oxidative response of the islets to a rise in D-glucose concentration in STZ and GK rats than in control animals. It is proposed, therefore, that in both STZ and GK rats, the B-cell secretory defect is primarily attributable to an anomaly in oxidative glycolysis. In islets exposed to a high concentration of D-glucose, this metabolic deficiency results in impaired ATP generation, altered closing of ATP-responsive K+ channels, and, hence, diminished insulin output.

Insulin resistance in the GK rat: decreased receptor number but normal kinase activity in liver

We have previously shown that the glucose intolerance and the hyperglycemic state in the GK rat, a new spontaneous model of non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes without obesity, are partly accounted for by an alteration of the pancreatic B cell response. On the other hand, the hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic pattern in these rats suggests a decrease of response to insulin in the basal state. In the present study, in vivo insulin action was assessed in 8-wk-old GK females at basal and submaximal (euglycemic clamp) insulin levels. Overall glucose utilization (OGU), individual tissue glucose utilization (ITGU, in vivo uptake of the glucose analogue 2-deoxy-D-glucose as the relative index of glucose metabolism), as well as hepatic glucose production (GP) and liver insulin receptor properties were determined under these two conditions. The basal OGU was significantly higher in the GK females, compared with that in control Wistar females. The hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp experiments indicated that peripheral insulin resistance was installed at 8 wk of age in the GK females because 1) OGU was significantly lower and 2) in some peripheral tissues (epitrochlearis muscle, periovarian, and inguinal white adipose tissues), but not all, ITGU was significantly lower compared with corresponding ITGU in control rats. In the basal state GP was significantly higher in the GK rats. At submaximal hyperinsulinemia (and euglycemia), it was less effectively suppressed than in the controls, thus demonstrating liver insulin resistance. Under both basal state and clamp condition, binding of 125I-A14-insulin to liver membranes of GK rats was significantly decreased by 20-30%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Benfluorex normalizes hyperglycemia and reverses hepatic insulin resistance in STZ-induced diabetic rats

We have examined the effect of chronic (20 days) oral administration of benfluorex (35 mg/kg) in a rat model of NIDDM, induced by injection of STZ 5 days after birth and characterized by frank hyperglycemia, hypoinsulinemia, and hepatic and peripheral insulin resistance. We assessed the following: 1) basal blood glucose and insulin levels, 2) glucose tolerance and glucose-induced insulin release in vivo and in vitro, and 3) basal and insulin-stimulated in vivo glucose production and glucose utilization, using the insulin-clamp technique in conjunction with isotopic measurement of glucose turnover. The in vivo insulin response of several individual tissues also was evaluated under the steady-state conditions of the clamp, using the uptake of the glucose analogue 2-deoxy-D-glucose as a relative index of glucose metabolism. In the benfluorex-treated diabetic rats, postabsorptive basal plasma glucose levels were decreased (8.1 +/- 0.2 mM compared with 10.5 +/- 0.5 mM in the pair-fed untreated diabetic rats and 6.1 +/- 0.2 mM in the benfluorex-treated nondiabetic rats), whereas the basal and glucose-stimulated intravenous glucose tolerance test plasma insulin levels were not improved. Such a lack of improvement in the glucose-induced insulin release after benfluorex treatment was confirmed under in vitro conditions (perfused pancreas). In the pair-fed untreated diabetic rats, the basal glucose production and overall glucose utilization were significantly increased, and during hyperinsulinemia both liver and peripheral tissues revealed insulin resistance. In the benfluorex-treated diabetic rats, the basal glucose production and basal overall glucose utilization were normalized. After hyperinsulinemia, glucose production was normally suppressed, whereas overall glucose utilization was not significantly improved.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Metabolic response to nonglucidic nutrient secretagogues and enzymatic activities in pancreatic islets of adult rats after neonatal streptozotocin administration

In islets from adult rats injected with streptozotocin during the neonatal period, both a nonmetabolized analog of L-leucine and 3-phenylpyruvate augmented 14CO2 output from islets either prelabeled with L-[U-14C]glutamine or exposed to D-[2-14C]glucose and D-[6-14C]glucose, in a manner qualitatively comparable to that found in islets from control rats. The islets of diabetic rats differed, however, from those of control rats by their unresponsiveness to both the L-leucine analog and a high concentration of D-glucose in terms of increasing 3HOH generation from [2-3H]glycerol, an impaired sparing action of the hexose upon 14CO2 output from islets prelabeled with [U-14C]palmitate, and, most importantly, by a decreased rate of D-[2-14C]glucose and D-[6-14C]glucose oxidation when either incubated at a high concentration of the hexose (16.7 mM) or stimulated by nonglucidic nutrient secretagogues at a low concentration of D-glucose (2.8 mM). In islet homogenates, the activity of glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, glutamate decarboxylase, and NADP-malate dehydrogenase was lower in diabetic than control islets. Such was not the case for glutamate-alanine transaminase, glutamate-aspartate transaminase, or glutamate dehydrogenase. The neonatal injection of streptozotocin thus affected, in the adult rats, the activity of several islet enzymes. Nevertheless, the metabolic data suggest that an impaired circulation in the glycerol phosphate shuttle, as observed in response to stimulation of the islets by either a high concentration of D-glucose or nonglucidic nutrient secretagogues, represents an essential determinant of the preferential impairment of glucose-induced insulin release in this model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

Effect of prolonged in vivo glucose infusion on insulin secretion in rats with previous glucose intolerance

This work was designed to investigate the effect of an additional hyperglycemia on the subsequent in vivo insulin secretion in rats with various degrees of glucose intolerance. Four groups of rats received a unique injection of a low concentration of streptozotocin (STZ): 20, 27, 30, or 35 mg/kg corresponding, respectively, to STZ 20, STZ 27, STZ 30, or STZ 35 rats. Control rats were injected with citrate buffer. In all STZ groups, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin secretion were observed. These defects were roughly proportional to STZ concentration. Three weeks after STZ administration, hyperglycemia (17 mM) was produced by a 48-h glucose infusion via an indwelling catheter. Insulin secretion in response to glucose was investigated 3 h after stopping glucose infusion, by performing iv glucose tolerance tests. Insulin secretion in response to glucose doubled in control rats previously submitted to glucose infusion, and still more in rats with mild glucose intolerance (three and four times higher in STZ 20 and STZ 27 rats, respectively). By contrast, glucose infusion increased insulin secretion only slightly in STZ 30 rats and it was unchanged in STZ 35 rats. These data show that prolonged hyperglycemia has an improving effect on insulin secretion in rats with mild glucose intolerance, whereas the potentiating effect of previous hyperglycemia is lost in rats with more severe glucose intolerance.

Study of hexose transport, glycerol phosphate shuttle and Krebs cycle in islets of adult rats injected with streptozotocin during the neonatal period

At 3-4 degrees C, the transport of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (30 mM) was severely impaired in islets prepared from adult rats injected with streptozotocin during the neonatal period. However, at 37 degrees C, the first and second phase of glucose-stimulated insulin release were decreased to the same relative extent in perifused islets of diabetic, as compared to control, animals. Moreover, the time-related increase in the oxidative response of the islets to 16.7 mM D-glucose was less pronounced in diabetic than control rats. The activity of the mitochondrial FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in islet homogenates of diabetic rats only represented one-fifth of that found in control rats, whereas the activity of the cytosolic NAD-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase was comparable in both types of rats. This coincided with the fact that a rise in D-glucose concentration from 2.8 to 16.7 mM failed to increase significantly L-[2-3H]glycerol conversion to 3HOH in islets from diabetic rats, in contrast to the situation found in control animals. The activity of 2-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase in islet homogenates when expressed per microgram protein was not different in control and diabetic rats. Likewise, the ratio between D-[6-14C]glucose oxidation and D-[3,4-14C]glucose oxidation and the capacity of either a non-metabolized analog of L-leucine or 3-phenylpyruvate to preferentially stimulated D-[6-14C]glucose oxidation relative to D-[5-3H]glucose utilization were both unaffected in islets from diabetic rats. These findings argue against the existence of a primary defect in the Krebs cycle of diabetic rats. It is proposed that, despite an obvious alteration of the hexose transport system in the islet cells of diabetic rats, the preferential impairment of the B-cell secretory response to D-glucose, as distinct from other secretagogues, in this model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes is mainly attributable to the low activity of FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, resulting in a decreased metabolic flow through the glycerol phosphate shuttle and a reduced rate of aerobic glycolysis.

Differential effects of prolonged hyperglycemia on in vivo and in vitro insulin secretion in rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a 48-h glucose (30% wt/vol) infusion in unrestrained catheterized healthy rats (HG) on subsequent in vivo and in vitro insulin response to glucose. High hyperglycemia (400-450 mg/dl) and resulting hyperinsulinemia (1.2 +/- 0.1 mU/ml vs. 0.15 +/- 0.03 mU/ml in controls) were maintained throughout the infusion period. Glucose-induced insulin secretion was examined in vivo 3 h after the end of infusion by performing either a glucose tolerance test or a hyperglycemic clamp (225 mg/dl for 60 min). In addition, in vivo insulin secretion was studied on day 1, 3, 5, and 7 after the end of glucose infusion by performing glucose tolerance tests. Insulin secretion was also investigated in vitro, using the isolated perfused pancreas technique, 3 h and 1 day post glucose infusion. During glucose tolerance tests and hyperglycemic clamps performed at 3 h, insulin secretion was much greater in HG rats than in controls, and remained increased until day 5. By contrast, when studied in vitro 3 h after the end of the infusion, glucose-induced insulin release from isolated perfused pancreases was impaired in HG rats as compared with controls, and the insulin response to arginine was dramatically increased. However, insulin secretion in vitro returned partially to normal after day 1. These data indicate that prolonged hyperglycemia has quite different effects on the subsequent insulin secretion in vivo or in vitro. It impairs, but reversibly, glucose-induced insulin secretion in vitro, whereas it increases it durably in vivo. This suggests that humoral and/or nervous interferences can counterbalance the possible perturbing effects of prolonged hyperglycemia on the normal B cell responsiveness to glucose.

Increased insulin action in cultured hepatocytes from rats with diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin

Previous studies have shown that Wistar rats injected at birth (n0) with STZ (n0-STZ) develop as adults a noninsulin-dependent diabetic state characterized by a lack of insulin response to glucose in vivo, a mild basal hyperglycemia, and an impaired glucose tolerance. Our former in vivo studies using the insulin-glucose clamp technique revealed an increased insulin action upon hepatic glucose production in these animals. We have now cultured hepatocytes from these mildly diabetic rats in parallel with hepatocytes from control rats, to examine more closely basal and insulin-regulated glucose production and glucose incorporation into glycogen. In addition, we extended our investigation to other hepatic functions such as lipid synthesis and amino acid transport, which could not be studied in vivo. Although glucose production from glycogenolysis or gluconeogenesis in absence or presence of glucagon was identical in the two cell populations, glucagon-stimulated glycogenolysis was more sensitive to insulin action in diabetic hepatocytes. Similarly, insulin action on glucose incorporation into glycogen, lipogenesis, and amino acid transport were enhanced in diabetic hepatocytes. The hormone effect was manifested by an increase in the sensitivity and/or in the responsiveness, reflecting the multiplicity of the pathways whereby the insulin signal is transduced through the insulin receptor to multiple postreceptor sites. To gain insight into the possible mechanism of these disturbances, we evaluated the initial insulin receptor interaction and the kinase activity of the receptor beta-subunit. In accordance with our previous study on intact livers, we found no alteration in either of these parameters in n0-STZ rat hepatocytes. Thus, the present study clearly demonstrates that these diabetic rats exhibit a postreceptor hyperresponsiveness to insulin at the cellular level. It strengthens the notion that a beta-cell deficiency with glucose intolerance does not necessarily lead to a hepatic insulin resistance.

Impairment of glycerol phosphate shuttle in islets from rats with diabetes induced by neonatal streptozocin

In islets from adult rats injected with streptozocin during the neonatal period, the oxidative and secretory responses to D-glucose are more severely affected than those evoked by L-leucine. A possible explanation for such a preferential defect was sought by comparing the rate of aerobic glycolysis, taken as the sum of D-[3,4-14C]glucose conversion to labeled CO2, pyruvate, and amino acid, with the total glycolytic flux, as judged from the conversion of D-[5-3H]glucose to 3H2O. A preferential impairment of aerobic relative to total glycolysis was found in islets from diabetic rats incubated at either low or high D-glucose concentration. This coincided in islet mitochondria of diabetic rats with a severe decrease in both the basal (no-Ca2+) generation of 3H2O from L-[2-3H]glycerol-3-phosphate and the Ca2(+)-induced increment in [3H]glycerophosphate detritiation. The mitochondria of diabetic rats were also less efficient than those of control animals in generating 14CO2 from [1-14C]-2-ketoglutarate. The diabetes-induced alteration of 2-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase in islet mitochondria was less marked, however, than that of the FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and was not associated with any change in responsiveness to Ca2+. Sonicated islet mitochondria of diabetic rats displayed normal to slightly elevated glutamate dehydrogenase activity. We propose, therefore, that the preferential impairment of the oxidative and secretory responses of islet cells to D-glucose in this experimental model of diabetes may be at least partly attributable to an altered transfer of reducing equivalents into the mitochondria as mediated by the glycerol phosphate shuttle.

Impairment of the mitochondrial oxidative response to D-glucose in pancreatic islets from adult rats injected with streptozotocin during the neonatal period

Pancreatic islets removed from adult rats injected with streptozotocin during the neonatal period display an impaired secretory response to D-glucose and, to a lesser extent, to L-leucine. Despite normal to elevated hexokinase and glucokinase activities in the islets of these glucose-intolerant animals and despite normal mitochondrial binding of the hexokinase isoenzymes, the metabolic response to a high concentration of D-glucose is severely affected, especially in terms of D-[6-14C]glucose oxidation. Thus, the ratio in D-[6-14C]glucose oxidation/D-[5-3H]glucose utilization is much less markedly increased in response to a rise in hexose concentration and, at a high concentration of D-glucose (16.7 mmol/l), less markedly decreased by the absence of Ca2+ and presence of cycloheximide in diabetic than control rats. This metabolic defect contrasts with (1) a close-to-normal or even increased capacity of the islets of diabetic rats to oxidize D-[6-14C]glucose, [2-14C]pyruvate, L-[U-14C]glutamine and L-[U-14C]leucine at low, non-insulinotropic, concentrations of these substrates; (2) a lesser impairment of the oxidation of L-[U-14C]leucine tested in high concentration (20 mmol/l), the effect of Ca2+ deprivation upon the latter variable being comparable in diabetic and control rats; (3) an unaltered transamination of either [2-14C]pyruvate or L-[U-14C]leucine; and (4) a modest perturbation of glycolysis. The most obvious alteration in glycolysis consists in a lesser increase of the glycolytic flux in response to a rise of D-glucose concentration in diabetic than control rats, this coinciding with an apparent decrease in affinity of glucokinase for the hexose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Insulin resistance in rats with non-insulin-dependent diabetes induced by neonatal (5 days) streptozotocin: evidence for reversal following phlorizin treatment

We have examined the effect of chronic (4 weeks) phlorizin treatment (osmotic minipumps) on tissue sensitivity to insulin in adult female rats with non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDD) induced by streptozotocin (STZ) (80 mg/kg) administered 5 days after birth. Insulin sensitivity was assessed with the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp technique in anesthetized animals. In the untreated diabetic rats, the basal glucose production (GP) and glucose utilization (GU) were increased (P less than .001), and both the liver and peripheral tissues showed insulin resistance. In the phlorizin-treated diabetic rats, postabsorptive plasma glucose levels were decreased and remained stable during the last 3 weeks of the treatment (142 +/- 3 mg/dL as compared with 308 +/- 19 in the untreated diabetic rats and 119 +/- 3 in the phlorizin-control rats); their percent glycosylated hemoglobin values returned to normal (3.2 +/- 0.2 as compared with 5.8 +/- 0.4 in the untreated diabetic rats); their basal plasma insulin levels (55 +/- 5 microU/mL as compared with 52 +/- 3 in the untreated diabetic rats and 130 +/- 10 in the phlorizin-control rats), their in vivo glucose-induced insulin secretion, and their pancreatic insulin content were kept unchanged. In the phlorizin-treated diabetic rats, the basal GP and GU were normalized. Following a submaximal or maximal hyperinsulinemia, GP was normally suppressed and GU normally enhanced. Phlorizin treatment in the control rats did not affect any of the above parameters. These data demonstrate that correction of hyperglycemia with phlorizin normalizes insulin action on glucose metabolism by the liver and peripheral tissues in this diabetic model. This is in line with the proposal that hyperglycemia per se can lead to the development of insulin resistance.

In vivo insulin resistance in streptozotocin-diabetic rats--evidence for reversal following oral vanadate treatment

Hepatic glucose production and peripheral glucose utilisation were measured in vivo with the euglycaemic-hyper-insulinaemic clamp technique in rats rendered severely diabetic with streptozotocin (45 mg/kg) and in control rats. The rats were studied in the post-absorptive state while anaesthetised. The basal glucose production and glucose utilisation were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in diabetic rats 9 days after streptozotocin administration. During the clamp studies, suppression of glucose production by the liver induced by submaximal or maximal insulin levels was significantly less (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.001 respectively) effective in diabetic rats as compared to control rats. Glucose utilisation was significantly lower following both submaximal (p less than 0.01) or maximal (p less than 0.001) hyperinsulinaemia as compared to control rats. Oral administration of vanadate (0.2 mg/ml in drinking water) for a 20-day period in diabetic rats lowered their plasma glucose levels to normal near values within 4 days, normalised plasma insulin levels, and increased pancreatic insulin stores. The rate of glucose disappearance (K value) and in vivo glucose-induced insulin secretion as estimated during an i.v. glucose tolerance test were not significantly improved. In control rats, vanadate treatment did not significantly affect any of the above parameters. In vanadate treated diabetic rats, basal glucose production was normalised. Following submaximal or maximal hyperinsulinaemia, glucose production was suppressed normally. Basal glucose utilisation was restored and returned to normal values during submaximal hyperinsulinaemia. However, during maximal hyperinsulinaemia, glucose utilisation still remained significantly lower (p less than 0.05) as compared to vanadate-treated control rats. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The rat models of non-insulin dependent diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin

This review is intended to describe the characteristics of the rat models of non-insulin-dependent diabetes induced by neonatal streptozotocin administration (n-STZ models), to sum-up the information so far collected and to highlight the potential of these models for diabetes research. The n-STZ models can now be recognized as adequate tools for the elucidation of the mechanisms leading to: 1) regeneration of the beta cells, 2) the functional "exhaustion" of the beta cells, 3) the emergence of defects in insulin action. They appear well-suited to study the effects of the modulating factors involved in the appearance and/or deterioration of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (obesity, gestation, content of the diet). They are potentially appropriate for investigations in diabetes pharmacotherapy.

Insulin treatment improves glucose-induced insulin release in rats with NIDDM induced by streptozocin

Insulin-deficient diabetes in humans, as well as in the neonatal streptozocin-induced rat model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), are associated with islet beta-cell insensitivity to glucose. We hypothesized that the chronic hyperglycemia-hypoinsulinemia pattern causes this impairment of the glucose influence on insulin secretion. This study was designed to determine whether the glucose defect could be counteracted by normalizing the diabetic state in rats with NIDDM after insulin therapy. Mixte lente insulin (5 U X kg-1 X day-1) was given daily at 1700 h over 24 h or 5 consecutive days. Insulin secretion was studied the morning after the last insulin injection with the isolated perfused pancreas preparation. Fed basal plasma glucose levels decreased in diabetic rats from 183 +/- 8 to 136 +/- 10 mg/dl after the 1-day insulin treatment and to 135 +/- 5 mg/dl after the 5-day insulin treatment (vs. 116 +/- 3 mg/dl in control rats). Pancreatic insulin stores were not affected by insulin therapy. Although the 1-day insulin treatment did not modify the lack of glucose response in the diabetic rats, the 5-day insulin treatment improved their glucose-induced insulin secretion. Moreover, insulin therapy improved the priming effect of glucose on a second stimulation with glucose. The return of this glucose effect was hardly detectable after the 1-day insulin therapy but was clearly present after the 5-day treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of high sucrose diet on insulin secretion and insulin action. A study in rats with non-insulin-dependent diabetes induced by streptozotocin

The effects of chronic high sucrose feeding for 1 month on in vivo and in vitro insulin secretion and on in vivo insulin action were studied in rats with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. As compared to the standard diet, the high sucrose diet induced an increase of the in vivo insulin response to an intravenous load and deteriorated the glucose tolerance as attested by significantly lower rates of glucose disappearance (K values, p less than 0.001). The increased insulin secretion in response to glucose in vivo seems to be related to a slight increase of the pancreatic B-cell reactivity to glucose, since it was still observed in vitro with the isolated perfused pancreas preparation. By contrast, B cells of sucrose-fed rats exhibited in vitro a significantly lowered (p less than 0.01) response to acetylcholine and arginine. The insulin action in the sucrose-fed diabetic rats was quantified in vivo with the insulin-glucose clamp technique. The effects of different concentrations of insulin on glucose production and glucose utilisation were studied in anaesthetized rats while in the postabsorptive state. The basal glucose utilisation was found significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in sucrose-fed rats. During the clamp studies the glucose utilisation induced by submaximal (450 mU/l) insulin level was significantly less important (p less than 0.01) in the sucrose-fed rats than in the chow-fed rats. Following a maximal hyperinsulinaemia (5000 mU/l) the glucose utilisation was similar in both groups. This suggests that insulin-mediated glucose uptake is decreased over the range of submaximal plasma insulin levels in the sucrose-fed diabetic rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Streptozotocin treatment at birth induces a parallel depletion of thyrotropin-releasing hormone and insulin in the rat pancreas during development

Elevated concentrations of TRH have been detected in the rat pancreas during the early days of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate further the cellular location of this peptide in the pancreas using streptozotocin (STZ) injected at birth. Pancreatic TRH and insulin contents were measured at different ages from birth until 35 days in rats injected with STZ and results compared with controls injected with the vehicle. A transitory hyperglycemic state was observed from day 1 to day 5 (maximum value 2.9 +/- 0.31 g/liter). After this period, although slightly hyperglycemic, STZ rats were not glucosuric . TRH and insulin contents followed two distinct patterns from days 1 to 5 and days 5 to 35. During the first period, an acute depletion of both substances was observed, the lower value observed reaching 2.7% and 9% of control values, respectively, for TRH and insulin. The TRH surge at day 2 was blunted. During the second period, insulin content increased to reach 42% of controls. On the contrary, recovery of TRH was not observed; TRH content was 9% of control at day 35. These results indicate that TRH is located in STZ-sensitive cells, in agreement with recent immunohistochemical data. The impaired capacity for TRH recovery remained unexplained and seems to indicate a difference in the biogenesis of insulin and TRH.

Glucose insensitivity and amino-acid hypersensitivity of insulin release in rats with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. A study with the perfused pancreas

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) was obtained in adult rats following a neonatal streptozotocin injection. Rats with NIDDM exhibited slightly lowered plasma insulin, slightly elevated basal plasma glucose values (less than 200 mg/dl), and low pancreatic insulin stores (50% of the controls). Insulin secretion was studied in this model using the isolated perfused pancreas technique. Insulin response to glucose stimulation over the range 5.5-22 mM was lacking, thus indicating complete loss of B-cell sensitivity to glucose. Even in presence of theophylline, the B-cells remained insensitive to glucose. In contrast, glyceraldehyde elicited an insulin release as important as that obtained in the control pancreata. This could possibly suggest that the B-cell dysfunction in rats with NIDDM involves a block in glucose metabolism in the early steps of glycolysis prior to the triose-phosphate. Mannose stimulated insulin secretion less in the diabetics than in the controls. The insulin secretion obtained in response to isoproterenol indicated that the ability of the adenylcyclase to generate cAMP in the B-cells of the diabetics was not decreased. The insulinotropic actions of acetylcholine and tolbutamide were normal and increased, respectively, as compared with the controls. In the absence of glucose, the B-cells of the diabetics were unexpectedly hypersensitive to arginine and leucine. The alpha-ketoisocaproate effect in the diabetics was not significantly different from that obtained in the controls. The possibility that enhancement of insulin response to leucine in the diabetics might be related to a more active conversion of leucine to ketoisocaproate along the first steps of intraislet leucine metabolism is proposed.