Diabetic retinopathy remains the major cause of blindness among working age adults. Although a number of metabolic abnormalities have been associated with its development, due to complex nature of this multi-factorial disease, a link between any specific abnormality and diabetic retinopathy remains largely speculative. Diabetes increases oxidative stress in the retina and its capillary cells, and overwhelming evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between oxidative stress and other major metabolic abnormalities implicated in the development of diabetic retinopathy. Due to increased production of cytosolic reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membranes are damaged and their membrane potentials are impaired, and complex III of the electron transport system is compromised. Suboptimal enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant defense system further aids in the accumulation of free radicals. As the duration of the disease progresses, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is damaged and the DNA repair system is compromised, and due to impaired transcription of mtDNA-encoded proteins, the integrity of the electron transport system is encumbered. Due to decreased mtDNA biogenesis and impaired transcription, superoxide accumulation is further increased, and the vicious cycle of free radicals continues to self-propagate. Diabetic milieu also alters enzymes responsible for DNA and histone modifications, and various genes important for mitochondrial homeostasis, including mitochondrial biosynthesis, damage and antioxidant defense, undergo epigenetic modifications. Although antioxidant administration in animal models has yielded encouraging results in preventing diabetic retinopathy, controlled longitudinal human studies remain to be conducted. Furthermore, the role of epigenetic in mitochondrial homeostasis suggests that regulation of such modifications also has potential to inhibit/retard the development of diabetic retinopathy.

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from the islet beta-cell involves a sequence of metabolic events and an interplay between a wide range of signaling pathways leading to the generation of second messengers (e.g., cyclic nucleotides, adenine and guanine nucleotides, soluble lipid messengers) and mobilization of calcium ions. Consequent to the generation of necessary signals, the insulin-laden secretory granules are transported from distal sites to the plasma membrane for fusion and release of their cargo into the circulation. The secretory granule transport underlies precise changes in cytoskeletal architecture involving a well-coordinated cross-talk between various signaling proteins, including small molecular mass GTP-binding proteins (G proteins) and their respective effector proteins. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of current understanding of the identity of small G proteins (e.g., Cdc42, Rac1, and ARF-6) and their corresponding regulatory factors (e.g., GDP/GTP-exchange factors, GDP-dissociation inhibitors) in the pancreatic beta-cell. Plausible mechanisms underlying regulation of these signaling proteins by insulin secretagogues are also discussed. In addition to their positive modulatory roles, certain small G proteins also contribute to the metabolic dysfunction and demise of the islet beta-cell seen in in vitro and in vivo models of impaired insulin secretion and diabetes. Emerging evidence also suggests significant insulin secretory abnormalities in small G protein knockout animals, further emphasizing vital roles for these proteins in normal health and function of the islet beta-cell. Potential significance of these experimental observations from multiple laboratories and possible avenues for future research in this area of islet research are highlighted.

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Stimulation of insulin secretion by glucose and other secretagogues from pancreatic islet β-cells is mediated by multiple signaling pathways. Rac1 is a member of Rho family GTPases regulating cytoskeletal organization, and recent evidence also implicates Rac1 in exocytotic processes. Herein, we report that exposure of insulin-secreting (INS) cells to stimulatory glucose concentrations caused translocation of Rac1 from cytosol to the membrane fraction (including the plasmalemma), an indication of Rac1 activation. Furthermore, glucose stimulation increased Rac1 GTPase activity. Time course study indicates that such an effect is demonstrable only after 15 min stimulation with glucose. Expression of a dominant-negative Rac1 mutant (N17Rac1) abolished glucose-induced translocation of Rac1 and significantly inhibited insulin secretion stimulated by glucose and forskolin. This inhibitory effect on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was more apparent in the late phase of secretion. However, N17Rac1 expression did not significantly affect insulin secretion induced by high K+. INS-1 cells expressing N17Rac1 also displayed significant morphological changes and disappearance of F-actin structures. Expression of wild-type Rac1 or a constitutively active Rac1 mutant (V12Rac1) did not significantly affect either the stimulated insulin secretion or basal release, suggesting that Rac1 activation is essential, but not sufficient, for evoking secretory process. These data suggest, for the first time, that Rac1 may be involved in glucose- and forskolin-stimulated insulin secretion, possibly at the level of recruitment of secretory granules through actin cytoskeletal network reorganization.

Extant studies have implicated the Rho subfamily of guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins (G-proteins; e.g., Rac1) in physiological insulin secretion from isolated ␤-cells. However, very little is known with regard to potential regulation by G-protein regulatory factors (e.g., the guanosine diphosphate-dissociation inhibitor [GDI]) of insulin secretion from the islet ␤-cell. To this end, using Triton X-114 phase partition, co-immunoprecipitation, and sucrose density gradient centrifugation approaches, we report coexistence of GDI with Rac1 in insulin-secreting ␤-cells (INS cells). Overexpression of wild-type GDI significantly inhibited glucose-induced, but not KCl-or mastoparan-induced, insulin secretion from INS cells. Furthermore, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was significantly increased in INS cells in which expression

We have recently demonstrated a permissive role for GTP in nutrient-induced insulin secretion. One of the possible loci at which GTP might exert its regulatory effects include one (or more) of the GTP-binding proteins which we have identified in subcellular fractions (including secretory granules) of pancreatic islets. Herein, we characterize nucleoside diphosphokinase (NDP kinase) activity, which catalyzes the transphosphorylation of nucleotide diphosphate (e.g., GDP) to nucleotide triphosphates (e.g., GTP) in insulin-secreting cells. The presence of NDP kinase activity in normal rat and human islets, and pure beta (RIN and HIT) cells, was verified by three distinct approaches: first, its catalytic activity (formation of GTP or GTP gamma S from GDP and ATP or ATP gamma S); secondly, by immunologic detection; and third, by quantitating the phosphoenzyme intermediate of NDP kinase, which is involved in a ping-pong phosphotransfer mechanism. Subcellularly, NDP kinase is predominantly cytosolic (with a tetrameric molecular mass of 85-90 kDa) and requires divalent metal ions and thiols for its activity. UDP, which forms an abortive complex with the enzyme, inhibited its activity in a concentration-dependent manner (Ki = 2 mM). The phosphorylated intermediate of NDP kinase was differentially sensitive to heat, acidic pH, and a histidine-selective reagent, diethyl pyrocarbonate, suggesting that (one of) the phosphoamino acid(s) may be histidine. These data demonstrate that in beta cells NDP kinase undergoes transient phosphorylation and suggest that this phosphate, in turn, is transferred to GDP. If the GTP which is formed thereby is bound to, or channelled to, relevant GTP-binding proteins, it would facilitate the formation of active form of these proteins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The phagocytic NADPH-oxidase [NOX] has been implicated in the generation of superoxides in the pancreatic β-cell. Herein, using normal rat islets and clonal INS 832/13 cells, we tested the hypothesis that activation of the small G-protein Rac1, which is a member of the NOX holoenzyme, is necessary for palmitate [PA]-induced generation of superoxides in pancreatic β-cells. Incubation of isolated β-cells with PA potently increased the NOX activity culminating in a significant increase in the generation of superoxides and lipid peroxides in these cells; such effects of PA were attenuated by diphenyleneiodonium [DPI], a known inhibitor of NOX. In addition, PA caused a transient, but significant activation [i.e., GTP-bound form] of Rac1 in these cells. NSC23766, a selective inhibitor of Rac1, but not Cdc42 or Rho activation, inhibited Rac1 activation and the generation of superoxides and lipid peroxides induced by PA. Fumonisin B-1 [FB-1], which inhibits de novo synthesis of ceramide [CER] from PA, also attenuated PA-induced superoxide and lipid peroxide generation and NOX activity implicating intracellularly generated CER in the metabolic effects of PA; such effects were also demonstrable in the presence of the cell-permeable C2-CER. Further, NSC23766 prevented C2-CER-induced Rac1 activation and production of superoxides and lipid peroxides. Lastly, C2-CER, but not its inactive analogue, significantly reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential, which was prevented to a large degree by NSC23766. Together, our findings suggest that Tiam1/Rac1 signaling pathway regulates PA-induced, CER-dependent superoxide generation and mitochondrial dysfunction in pancreatic β-cells.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important mediators of cellular signal transduction cascades such as proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. Chronic exposure of isolated β-cells to proinflammatory cytokines elevates intracellular oxidative stress leading to the demise of pancreatic β-cells culminating in the onset of diabetes. Although the mitochondrial electron transport chain is felt to be the primary source of ROS, several lines of recent evidence suggest that phagocyte-like NADPH oxidase plays a central role in cytokine-mediated ROS generation and apoptosis of β-cells. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the regulation of NADPH oxidase remain unknown. To address this, insulin-secreting INS 832/13 cells were treated with cytomix (IL-1β, IFN-γ, and TNF-α; 10 ng/ml each) for different time intervals (0-24 h). A significant, time-dependent increase in NADPH oxidase activation/intracellular ROS production, p47(phox) subunit, but not p67(phox) subunit, expression of the phagocyte-like NADPH oxidase were demonstrable under these conditions. Furthermore, siRNA-p47(phox) transfection or exposure of INS 832/13 cells to apocynin, a selective inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, markedly attenuated cytomix-induced ROS generation in these cells. Cytomix-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in INS 832/13 cells was evident by a significant loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and upregulated caspase 3 activity. Cytomix treatment also caused a transient (within 15 min) activation of Rac1, a component of the NADPH oxidase holoenzyme. Furthermore, GGTI-2147 and NSC23766, known Rac1 inhibitors, not only attenuated the cytomix-induced Rac1 activation but also significantly prevented loss of MMP (NSC23766 > GGTI-2147). However, NSC23766 had no effect on cytomix-induced NO generation or caspase 3 activation, suggesting additional regulatory mechanisms might underlie these signaling steps. Together, these findings suggested that Rac1-mediated regulation of phagocyte-like NADPH oxidase contributes to cytokine-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in the β-cell.