localization of a cytosolic protein histidine phosphatase (PHP; ϳ16 kDa) in INS 832/13 cells, normal rat islets, and human islets. siRNA-mediated knockdown of PHP markedly reduced glucose-or mitochondrial fuel-induced but not KCl-induced insulin secretion. siRNA-mediated knockdown of PHP also attenuated mastoparan-induced insulin secretion, suggesting its participation in G protein-sensitive signaling steps, leading to insulin secretion. Functional assays revealed that the -cell PHP catalyzes the dephosphorylation of ATP-citrate lyase (ACL). Silencing of PHP expression markedly reduced ACL activity, suggesting functional regulation of ACL by PHP in -cells. Coimmunoprecipitation studies revealed modest effects of glucose on the interaction between PHP and ACL. Confocal microscopic evidence indicated that glucose promotes association between ACL and nm23-H1, a known kinase histidine kinase, but not between PHP and ACL. Furthermore, metabolic viability of INS 832/13 cells was resistant to siRNA-PHP, suggesting no regulatory roles of PHP in cell viability. Finally, long-term exposure (24 h) of INS 832/13 cells or rat islets to high glucose (30 mM) increased the expression of PHP. Such increases in PHP expression were also seen in islets derived from the Zucker diabetic fatty rat compared with islets from the lean control animals. Together, these data implicate regulatory roles for PHP in a G protein-sensitive step involved in nutrient-induced insulin secretion. In light of the current debate on putative regulatory roles of ACL in insulin secretion, additional studies are needed to precisely identify the phosphoprotein substrate(s) for PHP in the cascade of events leading to nutrient-induced insulin secretion. nm23-H1; adenosine 5=-triphosphate-citrate lyase IT IS WELL ESTABLISHED THAT in the majority of cell types transduction of extracellular signals involves ligand binding to a receptor, often followed by the activation of one or more GTP-binding proteins (G proteins) and their effector systems (7). The pancreatic -cell is unusual in that glucose, the major physiological agonist, lacks an extracellular receptor. Instead, events consequent to glucose metabolism promote insulin secretion via the generation and/or altered distribution of diffusible second messengers such as calcium, cAMP, and lipid hydrolytic products of various phospholipases (5,28,32,34,36). It is noteworthy that a selective increase in intracellular calcium not only initiates insulin secretion but also regulates various enzymes such as protein kinases, phosphodiesterases, adenylyl cyclases, and phospholipases, thereby facilitating insulin secretion. In the context of protein kinases, in addition to calcium-dependent protein kinase(s), several other kinases, including calmodulin-, cyclic nucleotide-, and phospholipiddependent protein kinases, tyrosine kinases, and mitogen-