Defective secretion of islet hormones in chromogranin-B deficient mice.

Granins are major constituents of dense-core secretory granules in neuroendocrine cells, but their function is still a matter of debate. Work in cell lines has suggested that the most abundant and ubiquitously expressed granins, chromogranin A and B (CgA and CgB), are involved in granulogenesis and protein sorting. Here we report the generation and characterization of mice lacking chromogranin B (CgB-ko), which were viable and fertile. Unlike neuroendocrine tissues, pancreatic islets of these animals lacked compensatory changes in other granins and were therefore analyzed in detail. Stimulated secretion of insulin, glucagon and somatostatin was reduced in CgB-ko islets, in parallel with somewhat impaired glucose clearance and reduced insulin release, but normal insulin sensitivity in vivo. CgB-ko islets lacked specifically the rapid initial phase of stimulated secretion, had elevated basal insulin release, and stored and released twice as much proinsulin as wildtype (wt) islets. Stimulated release of glucagon and somatostatin was reduced as well. Surprisingly, biogenesis, morphology and function of insulin granules were normal, and no differences were found with regard to beta-cell stimulus-secretion coupling. We conclude that CgB is not required for normal insulin granule biogenesis or maintenance in vivo, but is essential for adequate secretion of islet hormones. Consequentially CgB-ko animals display some, but not all, hallmarks of human type-2 diabetes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this defect remain to be determined.

Mutant huntingtin interacts with {beta}-tubulin and disrupts vesicular transport and insulin secretion.

Huntington's disease is a severe progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG expansion in the IT15 gene, which encodes huntingtin. The disease primarily affects the neostriatum and cerebral cortex and also associates with increased incidence of diabetes. Here, we show that mutant huntingtin disrupts intracellular transport and insulin secretion by direct interference with microtubular beta-tubulin. We demonstrate that mutant huntingtin impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in insulin-producing beta-cells, without altering stored levels of insulin. Using VSVG-YFP, we show that mutant huntingtin retards post-Golgi transport. Moreover, we demonstrate that the speed of insulin vesicle trafficking is reduced. Using immunoprecipitation of mutant and wild-type huntingtin in combination with mass spectrometry, we reveal an enhanced and aberrant interaction between mutant huntingtin and beta-tubulin, implying the underlying mechanism of impaired intracellular transport. Thus, our findings have revealed a novel pathogenetic process by which mutant huntingtin may disrupt hormone exocytosis from beta-cells and possibly impair vesicular transport in any cell that expresses the pathogenic protein.

Granule docking and cargo release in pancreatic beta-cells.

Biphasic insulin secretion is required for proper insulin action and is observed not only in vivo, but also in isolated pancreatic islets and even single beta-cells. Late events in the granule life cycle are thought to underlie this temporal pattern. In the last few years, we have therefore combined live cell imaging and electrophysiology to study insulin secretion at the level of individual granules, as they approach the plasma membrane, undergo exocytosis and finally release their insulin cargo. In the present paper, we review evidence for two emerging concepts that affect insulin secretion at the level of individual granules: (i) the existence of specialized sites where granules dock in preparation for exocytosis; and (ii) post-exocytotic regulation of cargo release by the fusion pore.

Selective nucleotide-release from dense-core granules in insulin-secreting cells.

Secretory granules of insulin-secreting cells are used to store and release peptide hormones as well as low-molecular-weight compounds such as nucleotides. Here we have compared the rate of exocytosis with the time courses of nucleotide and peptide release by a combination of capacitance measurements, electrophysiological detection of ATP release and single-granule imaging. We demonstrate that the release of nucleotides and peptides is delayed by approximately 0.1 and approximately 2 seconds with respect to membrane fusion, respectively. We further show that in up to 70% of the cases exocytosis does not result in significant release of the peptide cargo, likely because of a mechanism that leads to premature closure of the fusion pore. Release of nucleotides and protons occurred regardless of whether peptides were secreted or not. These observations suggest that insulin-secreting cells are able to use the same secretory vesicles to release small molecules either alone or together with the peptide hormone.

Regulated exocytosis and kiss-and-run of synaptic-like microvesicles in INS-1 and primary rat beta-cells.

We have applied cell-attached capacitance measurements to investigate whether synaptic-like microvesicles (SLMVs) undergo regulated exocytosis in insulinoma and primary pancreatic beta-cells. SLMV and large dense-core vesicle (LDCV) exocytosis was increased 1.6- and 2.4-fold upon stimulation with 10 mmol/l glucose in INS-1 cells. Exocytosis of both types of vesicles was coupled to Ca(2+) entry through l-type channels. Thirty percent of SLMV exocytosis in INS-1 and rat beta-cells was associated with transient capacitance increases consistent with kiss-and-run. Elevation of intracellular cAMP (5 micromol/l forskolin) increased SLMV exocytosis 1.6-fold and lengthened the duration of kiss-and-run events in rat beta-cells. Experiments using isolated inside-out patches of INS-1 cells revealed that the readily releasable pool (RRP) of SLMVs preferentially undergoes kiss-and-run exocytosis (67%), is proportionally larger than the LDCV RRP, and is depleted more quickly upon Ca(2+) stimulation. We conclude that SLMVs undergo glucose-regulated exocytosis and are capable of high turnover. Following kiss-and-run exocytosis, the SLMV RRP may be reloaded with gamma-aminobutyric acid and undergo several cycles of exo- and endocytosis. Our observations support a role for beta-cell SLMVs in a synaptic-like function of rapid intra-islet signaling.

Insulin feedback actions: complex effects involving isoforms of islet nitric oxide synthase.

The present study examined the effects of exogenous insulin on C-peptide release in relation to islet activities of neural constitutive nitric oxide synthase (ncNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS). The dose-response curves for glucose-stimulated insulin and C-peptide release from isolated islets were practically identical: 0.05-0.1 nmol/l insulin stimulated, 1-100 nmol/l had no effect, whereas concentrations >/=250 nmol/l ("high insulin"), inhibited C-peptide release. Both the stimulatory and inhibitory effects were abolished by the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase inhibitor wortmannin. Addition of a NOS inhibitor partially reversed the inhibitory action of high insulin, but had no effect on the stimulatory action of low insulin (0.1 nmol/l). Moreover, high insulin markedly increased islet ncNOS activity and induced a strong iNOS activity. As shown biochemically and with confocal microscopy, the stimulatory action of high insulin on NOS activities and the associated inhibition of C-peptide release were reversed by raising cyclic AMP through addition of either glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) or dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt(2)cAMP) to the incubated islets. We conclude that the positive feedback mechanisms of action of insulin are independent of islet NOS activities and remain unclear. The negative feedback action of insulin, however, can be explained by its ability to stimulate both islet ncNOS activity and the expression and activity of iNOS. The effects on iNOS are most likely transduced through phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase and are counteracted by raising islet cyclic AMP levels.

Temperature-sensitive random insulin granule diffusion is a prerequisite for recruiting granules for release.

Glucose-evoked insulin secretion exhibits a biphasic time course and is associated with accelerated intracellular granule movement. We combined live confocal imaging of EGFP-labelled insulin granules with capacitance measurements of exocytosis in clonal INS-1 cells to explore the relation between distinct random and directed modes of insulin granule movement, as well as exocytotic capacity. Reducing the temperature from 34 degrees C to 24 degrees C caused a dramatic 81% drop in the frequency of directed events, but reduced directed velocities by a mere 25%. The much stronger temperature sensitivity of the frequency of directed events (estimated energy of activation approximately 135 kJ/mol) than that of the granule velocities (approximately 22 kJ/mol) suggests that cooling-induced suppression of insulin granule movement is attributable to factors other than reduced motor protein adenosine 5'-triphosphatase activity. Indeed, cooling suppresses random granule diffusion by approximately 50%. In the single cell, the number of directed events depends on the extent of granule diffusion. Finally, single-cell exocytosis exhibits a biphasic pattern corresponding to that observed in vivo, and only the component reflecting 2nd phase insulin secretion is affected by cooling. We conclude that random diffusive movement is a prerequisite for directed insulin granule transport and for the recruitment of insulin granules released during 2nd phase insulin secretion.

Acute pancreatitis, expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and defective insulin secretion.

A high level of nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) is involved in pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction and apoptosis. In the present study, we examined whether iNOS is also expressed in beta cells after induction of acute pancreatitis (AP) in the rat. Pancreatic islets taken from AP animals and incubated for 60 min in the presence of 20.0 mmol/l glucose showed a decreased insulin secretory response to glucose. The basal insulin release at 1.0 mmol/l glucose was also moderately reduced. Experiments on the dynamics of insulin secretion from perfused pancreas revealed an impairment of both first and second phase of glucose-stimulated insulin release after the induction of AP. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that most of the beta cells in pancreas of rat with AP expressed strong immunoreactivity for iNOS. This was further confirmed by biochemical and Western blot analysis that showed a marked increase in iNOS protein expression and enzyme activity concomitant with a modest reduction in the cNOS protein and activity. Although the mechanisms underlying the defective insulin secretory response of beta cells seen during the early stage of AP are complex, the present finding suggests that the expression of iNOS and a marked iNOS-derived NO production in the beta cells may play at least a contributory role in the impairment of beta-cell function.

Impaired insulin secretion and glucose tolerance in beta cell-selective Ca(v)1.2 Ca2+ channel null mice.

Insulin is secreted from pancreatic beta cells in response to an elevation of cytoplasmic Ca(2+) resulting from enhanced Ca(2+) influx through voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. Mouse beta cells express several types of Ca(2+) channel (L-, R- and possibly P/Q-type). beta cell-selective ablation of the gene encoding the L-type Ca(2+) channel subtype Ca(v)1.2 (betaCa(v)1.2(-/-) mouse) decreased the whole-cell Ca(2+) current by only approximately 45%, but almost abolished first-phase insulin secretion and resulted in systemic glucose intolerance. These effects did not correlate with any major effects on intracellular Ca(2+) handling and glucose-induced electrical activity. However, high-resolution capacitance measurements of exocytosis in single beta cells revealed that the loss of first-phase insulin secretion in the betaCa(v)1.2(-/-) mouse was associated with the disappearance of a rapid component of exocytosis reflecting fusion of secretory granules physically attached to the Ca(v)1.2 channel. Thus, the conduit of Ca(2+) entry determines the ability of the cation to elicit secretion.

The tyrosine motifs of Lamp 1 and LAP determine their direct and indirect targetting to lysosomes.

Lamp 1 and lysosomal acid phosphatase (LAP) are lysosomal membrane proteins that harbour a tyrosine-based sorting motif within their short cytoplasmic tails. Lamp 1 is delivered from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) via endosomes directly to lysosomes bypassing the plasma membrane, whereas LAP is indirectly transported to lysosomes and recycles between endosomes and the plasma membrane before being delivered to lysosomes. By analysing truncated forms of LAP and chimeras in which the cytoplasmic tail or part of the cytoplasmic tails of LAP and Lamp 1 were exchanged, we were able to show that the YRHV tyrosine motif of LAP is necessary and sufficient to mediate recycling between endosomes and the plasma membrane. When peptides corresponding to the cytoplasmic tails of LAP and Lamp 1 and chimeric or mutant forms of these tails were assayed for in vitro binding of AP1 and AP2, we found that AP2 bound to LAP- and Lamp-1-derived peptides, whereas AP1 bound only to peptides containing the YQTI tyrosine motif of Lamp 1. Residues +2 and +3 of the tyrosine motif were critical for the differential binding of adaptors. LAP in which these residues (-HV) were substituted for those of Lamp 1 (-TI) was transported directly to lysosomes, whereas a chimera carrying the Lamp 1 tail in which residues +2 and +3 were substituted for those of LAP (-HV) gained the ability to recycle. In conclusion, the residues +2 and +3 of the tyrosine motifs determine the sorting of Lamp 1 and LAP in endosomes, mediating either the direct or the indirect pathway to lysosomes.