Biomedical subjects

C Ammälä

Publications and source records attributed to C Ammälä.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Hyperinsulinism of infancy: the regulated release of insulin by KATP channel-independent pathways.

Hyperinsulinism of infancy (HI) is a congenital defect in the regulated release of insulin from pancreatic beta-cells. Here we describe stimulus-secretion coupling mechanisms in beta-cells and intact islets of Langerhans isolated from three patients with a novel SUR1 gene defect. 2154+3 A to G SUR1 (GenBank accession number L78207) is the first report of familial HI among nonconsanguineous Caucasians identified in the U.K. Using patch-clamp methodologies, we have shown that this mutation is associated with both a decrease in the number of operational ATP-sensitive K+ channels (KATP channels) in beta-cells and impaired ADP-dependent regulation. There were no apparent defects in the regulation of Ca2+- and voltage-gated K+ channels or delayed rectifier K+ channels. Intact HI beta-cells were spontaneously electrically active and generating Ca2+ action currents that were largely insensitive to diazoxide and somatostatin. As a consequence, when intact HI islets were challenged with glucose and tolbutamide, there was no rise in intracellular free calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) over basal values. Capacitance measurements used to monitor exocytosis in control and HI beta-cells revealed that there were no defects in Ca2+-dependent exocytotic events. Finally, insulin release studies documented that whereas tolbutamide failed to cause insulin secretion as a consequence of impaired [Ca2+]i signaling, glucose readily promoted insulin release. Glucose was also found to augment the actions of protein kinase C- and protein kinase A-dependent agonists in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. These findings document the relationship between SUR1 gene defects and insulin secretion in vivo and in vitro and describe for the first time KATP channel-independent pathways of regulated insulin secretion in diseased human beta-cells.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed2000

Hyperinsulinism of infancy: towards an understanding of unregulated insulin release. European Network for Research into Hyperinsulinism in Infancy.

Insulin is synthesised, stored, and secreted from pancreatic beta cells. These are located within the islets of Langerhans, which are distributed throughout the pancreas. Less than 2% of the total pancreas is devoted to an endocrine function. When the mechanisms that control insulin release are compromised, potentially lethal diseases such as diabetes and neonatal hypoglycaemia are manifest. This article reviews the physiology of insulin release and illustrates how defects in these processes will result in the pathophysiology of hyperinsulinism of infancy.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

ATP-sensitive potassium channels and efaroxan-induced insulin release in the electrofusion-derived BRIN-BD11 beta-cell line.

The properties of ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channels were explored in the electrofusion-derived, glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting cell line BRIN-BD11 using patch-clamp techniques. In intact cells, K(ATP) channels were inhibited by glucose, the sulfonylurea tolbutamide, and the imidazoline compounds efaroxan and phentolamine. Each of these agents initiated insulin secretion and potentiated the actions of glucose. K(ATP) channels were blocked by ATP in a concentration-dependent manner and activated by ADP in the presence of ATP. In both intact cells and excised inside-out patches, the K(ATP) channel agonists diazoxide and pinacidil activated channels, and both compounds inhibited insulin secretion evoked by glucose, tolbutamide, and imidazolines. The mechanisms of action of imidazolines were examined in more detail. Pre-exposure of BRIN-BD11 cells to either efaroxan or phentolamine selectively inhibited imidazoline-induced insulin secretion but not the secretory responses of cells to glucose, tolbutamide, or a depolarizing concentration of KCl. These conditions did not result in the loss of depolarization-dependent rises in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i), K(ATP) channel operation, or the actions of either ATP or efaroxan on K(ATP) channels. Desensitization of the imidazoline receptor following exposure to high concentrations of efaroxan, however, was found to result in an increase in SUR1 protein expression and, as a consequence, an upregulation of K(ATP) channel density. Our data provide 1) the first characterization of K(ATP) channels in BRIN-BD11 cells, a novel insulin-secreting cell line produced by electrofusion techniques, and 2) a further analysis of the role of imidazolines in the control of insulin release.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

PubMed1999

A point mutation inactivating the sulfonylurea receptor causes the severe form of persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy in Finland.

Mutations in genes encoding the ATP-regulated potassium (K(ATP)) channels of the pancreatic beta-cell (SUR1 and Kir6.2) are the major known cause of persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI). We collected all cases of PHHI diagnosed in Finland between 1983 and 1997 (n = 24). The overall incidence was 1:40,400, but in one area of Central Finland it was as high as 1:3,200. Haplotype analysis using polymorphic markers spanning the SUR1/Kir6.2 gene cluster confirmed linkage to the 11p region. Sequence analysis revealed a novel point mutation in exon 4 of SUR1, predicting a valine to aspartic acid change at amino acid 187 (V187D). Of the total cases, 15 affected individuals harbored this mutation in heterozygous or homozygous form, and all of these had severe hyperinsulinemia that responded poorly to medical treatment and required subtotal pancreatectomy. No K(ATP) channel activity was observed in beta-cells isolated from a homozygous patient or after coexpression of recombinant Kir6.2 and SUR1 carrying the V187D mutation. Thus, the mutation produces a nonfunctional channel and, thereby, continuous insulin secretion. This unique SUR1 mutation explains the majority of PHHI cases in Finland and is strongly associated with a severe form of the disease. These findings provide diagnostic and prognostic utility for suspected PHHI patients.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed1997

Properties of cloned ATP-sensitive K+ currents expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

1. We have studied the electrophysiological properties of cloned ATP-sensitive K+ channels (KATP channels) heterologously expressed in Xenopus oocytes. This channel comprises a sulphonylurea receptor subunit (SUR) and an inwardly rectifying K+ channel subunit (Kir). 2. Oocytes injected with SUR1 and either Kir6.2 or Kir6.1 exhibited large inwardly rectifying K+ currents when cytosolic ATP levels were lowered by the metabolic inhibitors azide or FCCP. No currents were observed in response to azide in oocytes injected with Kir6.2, Kir6.1 or SUR1 alone, indicating that both the sulphonylurea receptor (SUR1) and an inward rectifier (Kir6.1 or Kir6.2) are needed for functional channel activity. 3. The pharmacological properties of Kir6.2-SUR1 currents resembled those of native beta-cell ATP-sensitive K+ channel currents (KATP currents): the currents were > 90% blocked by tolbutamide (500 microM), meglitinide (10 microM) or glibenclamide (100 nM), and activated 1.8-fold by diazoxide (340 microM), 1.4-fold by pinacidil (1 mM) and unaffected by cromakalim (0.5 mM). 4. Macroscopic Kir6.2-SUR1 currents in inside-out patches were inhibited by ATP with a Ki of 28 microM. Kir6.1-SUR1 currents ran down within seconds of patch excision preventing analysis of ATP sensitivity. 5. No sensitivity to tolbutamide or metabolic inhibition was observed when SUR1 was coexpressed with either Kir1.1a or Kir2.1, suggesting that these proteins do not couple in Xenopus ocytes. 6. Our data demonstrate that the Xenopus oocyte constitutes a good expression system for cloned KATP channels and that expression may be assayed by azide-induced metabolic inhibition.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1997

Characterization of ion channels in stimulus-secretion coupling in pancreatic islets.

The regulation of insulin secretion from beta-cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans is a highly integrated process involving several plasma membrane ion channels. The key to our understanding of the normal process is the hypothesis that glucose-induced closure of K+ channels leads to a depolarization of the cell membrane potential and the opening of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Support for this is provided by direct electrophysiological recordings of ion channel activity, and by recent data that have revealed how gene defects in ion channel subunits leads to the loss of regulated insulin secretion. Here, we review the general features of stimulus-response coupling in beta-cells, and how novel initiatives are providing key insights into beta-cell pathogenesis.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1996

Ca(2+)- and GTP-dependent exocytosis in mouse pancreatic beta-cells involves both common and distinct steps.

1. The effects of GTP and Ca2+ on secretion from single pancreatic beta-cells were studied using capacitance measurements as an indicator of exocytosis. 2. GTP or GTP gamma S produced a concentration-dependent increase in cell capacitance in the absence of intracellular calcium. There was no effect of cyclic AMP or BAPTA an GTP-induced secretion. 3. In the absence of GTP, the relationship between intracellular calcium concentration and the maximum rate of secretion was fitted by the Hill equation with a slope factor of 2.5 and half-maximal activation at 1.6 microM intracellular Ca2+. Similar values were obtained in the presence of GTP gamma S, suggesting GTP does not alter the sensitivity of the secretory machinery to Ca2+. 4. GDP beta S alone had no effect on cell capacitance but caused a dose-dependent inhibition of exocytosis induced by infusion of either GTP gamma S or Ca2+, suggesting both stimuli involve G-protein activation. GDP beta S was without effect on exocytosis evoked by depolarization-mediated Ca2+ entry. 5. The time course of exocytosis following rapid elevation of GTP gamma S by photolysis of a caged precursor was dependent on the intracellular Ca2+ and cyclic AMP concentrations. 6. Our results are interpreted in terms of a model in which the secretory pathways stimulated by Ca2+ and GTP contain both common and separate parts.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

The sulphonylurea receptor confers diazoxide sensitivity on the inwardly rectifying K+ channel Kir6.1 expressed in human embryonic kidney cells.

1. We have examined the effects of diazoxide and intracellular ATP (ATPi) on whole-cell currents in HEK293 cells transfected transiently with the inwardly rectifying K+ channel Kir6.1 (uKATP1) or cotransfected with Kir6.1 and the sulphonylurea receptor (SUR1). 2. Kir6.1 currents were unaffected by the K+ channel opener diazoxide or by dialysis with 0.3 mM ATPi. 3. Kir6.1-SUR1 currents increased in amplitude when cells were dialysed with 0.3 mM ATP, but not with 5 mM ATP. This activation may be explained by the loss of endogenous ATP from the cell when the intracellular solution contains 0.3 mM ATP. Kir6.1-SUR1 currents were also activated by diazoxide; this activation was greater with 0.3 mM ATP1 than with 5 mM ATP1. 4. We conclude that SUR1 is required to confer both diazoxide and ATP sensitivity on Kir6.1.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1996

Endocytosis of secretory granules in mouse pancreatic beta-cells evoked by transient elevation of cytosolic calcium.

1. To investigate the mechanisms regulating the reuptake of secretory granule membranes following regulated exocytosis, we have monitored changes in cell capacitance in single pancreatic beta-cells. 2. Membrane retrieval (endocytosis) occurred both in a continuous manner and in abrupt steps, corresponding to the simultaneous retrieval of 50-100 granules. The large endocytotic steps were associated with a conductance change of about 1 nS which we attribute to the formation of a fission pore with a pore radius of approximately 1 nm. 3. In some cells, we observed large amplitude capacitance fluctuations, suggesting that aggregates of granules are connected to the plasma membrane by a single pore and are subsequently retrieved as a single unit. 4. Endocytosis was evoked by elevation of cytosolic [Ca2+]i, but once initiated, a sustained increase in [Ca2+]i was not required for endocytosis to continue. 5. The [Ca2+]i dependence of exo- and endocytosis was studied by photorelease of Ca2+ from the 'caged' precursor Ca(2+)-nitrophenyl-EGTA (Ca(2+)-NP-EGTA). Both exo- and endocytosis were initiated at between 0.5 and 2 microM Cai(2+). The rate of endocytosis saturated above 2 microM Cai(2+), whereas exocytosis continued to increase up to 4 microM Cai(2+). The maximum rate of endocytosis was < 25% of that of exocytosis. 6. Unlike exocytosis, endocytosis proceeded equally well in the presence or absence of Mg-ATP. 7. Our data indicate that in the pancreatic beta-cell, exocytosis and endocytosis are regulated by different mechanisms.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1996

PKC-dependent stimulation of exocytosis by sulfonylureas in pancreatic beta cells.

Hypoglycemic sulfonylureas represent a group of clinically useful antidiabetic compounds that stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells. The molecular mechanisms involved are not fully understood but are believed to involve inhibition of potassium channels sensitive to adenosine triphosphate (KATP channels) in the beta cell membrane, causing membrane depolarization, calcium influx, and activation of the secretory machinery. In addition to these effects, sulfonylureas also promoted exocytosis by direct interaction with the secretory machinery not involving closure of the plasma membrane KATP channels. This effect was dependent on protein kinase C (PKC) and was observed at therapeutic concentrations of sulfonylureas, which suggests that it contributes to their hypoglycemic action in diabetics.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Promiscuous coupling between the sulphonylurea receptor and inwardly rectifying potassium channels.

Sulphonylureas are a class of drugs widely used to treat non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. These drugs act by binding to a sulphonylurea receptor (SUR) in the pancreatic beta-cell membrane which inhibits an ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channel and thereby stimulates insulin secretion. There has been much debate as to whether SUR and the K-ATP channel are the same or separate proteins, whether SUR confers ATP-sensitivity on an ATP-insensitive pore-forming subunit, and whether sulphonylureas can also modulate other types of K-channel. We show here that SUR itself does not possess intrinsic channel activity but that it endows sulphonylurea sensitivity on several types of inwardly-rectifying K-channels. It does not necessarily confer ATP-sensitivity on these channels.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed1995

Cloning and functional expression of the cDNA encoding a novel ATP-sensitive potassium channel subunit expressed in pancreatic beta-cells, brain, heart and skeletal muscle.

A cDNA clone encoding an inwardly-rectifying potassium channel subunit (Kir6.2) was isolated from an insulinoma cDNA library. The mRNA is strongly expressed in brain, skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and in insulinoma cells, weakly expressed in lung and kidney and not detectable in spleen, liver or testis. Heterologous expression of Kir6.2 in HEK293 cells was only observed when the cDNA was cotransfected with that of the sulphonylurea receptor (SUR). Whole-cell Kir6.2/SUR currents were K(+)-selective, time-independent and showed weak inward rectification. They were blocked by external barium (5 mM), tolbutamide (Kd = 4.5 microM) or quinine (20 microM) and by 5 mM intracellular ATP. The single-channel conductance was 73 pS. Single-channel activity was voltage-independent and was blocked by 1 mM intracellular ATP or 0.5 mM tolbutamide. We conclude that the Kir6.2/SUR channel complex comprises the ATP-sensitive K-channel.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed1995

Cloning and functional expression of the cDNA encoding an inwardly-rectifying potassium channel expressed in pancreatic beta-cells and in the brain.

A cDNA clone encoding an inwardly-rectifying K-channel (BIR1) was isolated from insulinoma cells. The predicted amino acid sequence shares 72% identity with the cardiac ATP-sensitive K-channel rcKATP (KATP-1;[6]). The mRNA is expressed in the brain and insulinoma cells. Heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes produced currents which were K(+)-selective, time-independent and showed inward rectification. The currents were blocked by external barium and caesium, but insensitive to tolbutamide and diazoxide. In inside-out patches, channel activity was not blocked by 1 mM internal ATP. The sequence homology with KATP-1 suggests that BIR1 is a subunit of a brain and beta-cell KATP channel. However, pharmacological differences and the lack of ATP-sensitivity, suggest that if, this is the case, heterologous subunits must exert strong modulatory influences on the native channel.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Co-localization of L-type Ca2+ channels and insulin-containing secretory granules and its significance for the initiation of exocytosis in mouse pancreatic B-cells.

We have monitored L-type Ca2+ channel activity, local cytoplasmic Ca2+ transients, the distribution of insulin-containing secretory granules and exocytosis in individual mouse pancreatic B-cells. Subsequent to the opening of the Ca2+ channels, exocytosis is initiated with a latency < 100 ms. The entry of Ca2+ that precedes exocytosis is unevenly distributed over the cell and is concentrated to the region with the highest density of secretory granules. In this region, the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration is 5- to 10-fold higher than in the remainder of the cell reaching concentrations of several micromolar. Single-channel recordings confirm that the L-type Ca2+ channels are clustered in the part of the cell containing the secretory granules. This arrangement, which is obviously reminiscent of the 'active zones' in nerve terminals, can be envisaged as being favourable to the B-cell as it ensures that the Ca2+ transient is maximal and restricted to the part of the cell where it is required to rapidly initiate exocytosis whilst at the same time minimizing the expenditure of metabolic energy to subsequently restore the resting Ca2+ concentration.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Activation of protein kinases and inhibition of protein phosphatases play a central role in the regulation of exocytosis in mouse pancreatic beta cells.

The mechanisms that regulate insulin secretion were investigated using capacitance measurements of exocytosis in single beta cells maintained in tissue culture. Exocytosis was stimulated by voltage-clamp depolarizations to activate the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels that mediate Ca2+ influx into the beta cell. Under basal conditions, the exocytotic responses were small despite large Ca2+ currents. The exocytotic responses were dramatically increased (10- to 20-fold) by conditions that promote protein phosphorylation, such as activation of protein kinases A and C or inhibition of protein phosphatases. The stimulation of secretion was not due to an enhancement of Ca2+ influx and both peak and integrated Ca2+ currents were largely unaffected. Our data indicate that exocytosis in the insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cell is determined by a balance between protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. They further suggest that although Ca2+ is required for the initiation of exocytosis, modulation of exocytosis by protein kinases and phosphatases, at a step distal to the elevation of Ca2+, is of much greater quantitative importance. Thus an elevation of Ca2+ may represent a permissive rather than a decisive factor in the regulation of the insulin secretory process.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Stimulus-secretion coupling in pancreatic beta cells.

Insulin secretion is triggered by a rise in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration that results from the activation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the beta-cell plasma membrane. Multiple types of beta-cell Ca2+ channel have been identified in both electrophysiological and molecular biological studies, but it appears that the L-type Ca2+ channel plays a dominant role in regulating Ca2+ influx. Activity of this channel is potentiated by protein kinases A and C and is inhibited by GTP-binding proteins, which may mediate the effects of potentiators and inhibitors of insulin secretion on Ca2+ influx, respectively. The mechanisms by which elevation of intracellular Ca2+ leads to the release of insulin granules is not fully understood but appears to involve activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. Phosphorylation by either protein kinase A or C, probably at different substrates, potentiates insulin secretion by acting at some late stage in the secretory process. There is also evidence that small GTP-binding proteins are involved in regulating exocytosis in beta cells. The identification and characterisation of the proteins involved in exocytosis in beta cells and clarification of the mechanism(s) of action of Ca2+ is clearly an important goal for the future.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Increased activity of L-type Ca2+ channels exposed to serum from patients with type I diabetes.

Type I diabetes [insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)] is an autoimmune disease associated with the destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Serum from patients with IDDM increased L-type calcium channel activity of insulin-producing cells and of GH3 cells derived from a pituitary tumor. The subsequent increase in the concentration of free cytoplasmic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was associated with DNA fragmentation typical of programmed cell death or apoptosis. These effects of the serum were prevented by adding a blocker of voltage-activated L-type Ca2+ channels. When the serum was depleted of immunoglobulin M (IgM), it no longer affected [Ca2+]i. An IgM-mediated increase in Ca2+ influx may thus be part of the autoimmune reaction associated with IDDM and contribute to the destruction of beta cells in vivo.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗

PubMed1993

Calcium-independent potentiation of insulin release by cyclic AMP in single beta-cells.

How does cyclic AMP potentiate insulin secretion from pancreatic islet beta-cells? This question is fundamental to understanding how hormones such as glucagon, which elevates cAMP, stimulate insulin secretion and so contribute to the normal secretory response of the islet. It is well established that a rise in the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) is essential for insulin secretion and therefore cAMP has been proposed to act by elevating [Ca2+]i. But studies on permeabilized beta-cells indicate that cAMP increases insulin release even when [Ca2+]i is held constant. We have used microfluorimetry and the patch-clamp technique to measure changes simultaneously in Ca2+ currents, [Ca2+]i and exocytosis in a single beta-cell in response to cAMP. We show here that cAMP, through activation of protein kinase A, increases Ca(2+)-influx through voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ channels, thereby elevating [Ca2+]i and accelerating exocytosis. More importantly, cAMP also promotes insulin release by a direct interaction with the secretory machinery, which accounts for as much as 80% of its effect.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗