Although the excitatory amino acid glutamate and its receptors play crucial roles in many functions of the central nervous system (CNS), their presence in the peripheral tissues has remained unclear. In the present study, we have identified kainate, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA), and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subtype mRNAs in pancreatic islets, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) measurements and electrophysiological recordings indicate that kainate, AMPA, and NMDA all elicit increases of [Ca2+]i in single pancreatic beta-cells and depolarize them. In addition, kainate and AMPA stimulate insulin secretion from isolated pancreatic islets, whereas NMDA does not. Also, immunocytochemical study shows the presence of intense glutaminase immunoreactivity in pancreatic alpha-cells and intrapancreatic ganglia, a finding compatible with the possibility that glutamate is released from alpha-cells as well as from neurons. Because the inhibitory amino acid gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) is present in beta-cells as well as in neurons and inhibits glucagon secretion from alpha-cells, the present study suggests that glutamate and GABA are coordinated in the regulation of hormone secretion in pancreatic islets.
In the Goto-Kakizaki rat, a new genetic model of NIDDM, insulin response to glucose is selectively impaired. To elucidate the mechanism of this abnormality, we studied the properties of ATP-sensitive K+ channels, the inhibition of which is a key step of insulin secretion induced by fuel substrates, using the patch-clamp technique. The glucose-sensitivity of KATP channels was considerably reduced in GK rats. However, the inhibitory effects of ATP on channel activity and unitary conductance were not significantly different between control and GK rats. Thus, it appears that the impaired insulinotropic action of glucose in beta-cells of GK rats is attributable to insufficient closure of the KATP channels, probably because of deficient ATP production by impaired glucose metabolism. KATP-channel activities in both control and diabetic beta-cells were found to be equally suppressed by glyceraldehyde and 2-ketoisocaproate. These results strongly suggest that the step responsible for the metabolic dysfunction of diabetic beta-cells is located within the glycolytic pathway before glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate or in the glycerol phosphate shuttle.
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