Hexamminecobalt(III) (HAC) chloride was found to have a potent inhibitory effect on glucose-induced insulin secretion from pancreatic islets. HAC at 2 mM inhibited the secretion in response to 22.2 mM glucose by 90% in mouse islets. Perifusion experiments revealed that the first phase of insulin secretion was severely suppressed and that the second phase of secretion was completely abrogated. Removal of HAC from the perifusate immediately restored insulin secretion with a transient overshooting above the normal level. However, HAC failed to affect glucose-induced changes in D-[6-14 C]glucose oxidation, levels of reduced forms of NAD and NADP, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP content, cytosolic calcium concentration, or calcium influx into mitochondria. Furthermore, HAC inhibited 50 mM potassium-stimulated insulin secretion by 77% and 10 M mastoparan-stimulated insulin secretion in the absence of extracellular Ca 2؉ by 80%. The results of a co-immunoprecipitation study of lysates from insulin-secreting HC9 cells using anti-syntaxin and anti-vesicle-associated membrane protein antibodies for immunoprecipitation or Western blotting suggested that HAC inhibited disruption of the SNARE complex, which is normally observed upon glucose challenge. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of HAC on glucose-induced insulin secretion is exerted at a site(s) distal to the elevation of cytosolic [Ca 2؉ ], possibly in the exocytotic machinery per se; and thus, HAC may serve as a useful tool for dissecting the molecular mechanism of insulin exocytotic processes.Glucose-induced insulin secretion from pancreatic  cells is regulated by generation of ATP through glucose metabolism and an increase in the cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca 2ϩ ] c ) 1 (1-4). The following cascade has been generally accepted as the glucose-induced insulin secretory pathway. When glucose is metabolized in the cytosol and mitochondria, ATP is generated to promote closure of ATP-sensitive potassium (K ATP ) channels, and this depolarizes the plasma membrane potential. To examine the involvement of [Ca 2ϩ ] m in glucose-induced insulin secretion from isolated islets, we tested the effects of ruthenium red and hexamminecobalt(III) (HAC), both of which have been reported to be inhibitors of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (15, 18 -20), on the secretion. Ruthenium red was also reported to inhibit insulin secretion from permeabilized  cells through inhibition of the calcium uniporter (18). We also observed that ruthenium red at 100 M severely suppressed glucose-induced insulin secretion in mouse islets. However, under these conditions, Ca 2ϩ influx through the plasma membrane was almost completely inhibited. These results indicated that ruthenium red was not a suitable agent to study the relationship of [Ca 2ϩ ] m to glucose-induced insulin secretion in intact cells, different from the case of permeabilized cells. In contrast, HAC at 2 mM suppressed glucose-induced insulin secretion to the same extent as 100 M ruthenium red...