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W Montague

Publications and source records attributed to W Montague.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Effects of noradrenaline on 45Ca2+ efflux from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

Noradrenaline caused a prompt but transient increase in the rate of 45Ca2+ efflux from isolated rat islets of Langerhans perifused in Ca2+ depleted medium. The response was modest in size and was unaffected by isosmotic replacement of NaCl with choline chloride or by inclusion of 0.5 mM dibutyryl cAMP in the perifusion medium, suggesting that it was not mediated by Na+: Ca2+ exchange nor by lowered cAMP. Despite its effect on 45Ca2+ efflux, noradrenaline treatment did not alter the kinetics of 45Ca2+ efflux in response to the muscarinic agonist, carbamylcholine, nor did it change the magnitude of the response to this agent. Simultaneous introduction of 20 mM glucose with noradrenaline prevented a rise in 45Ca2+ efflux and indeed resulted in inhibition of 45Ca2+ efflux. The data suggest that noradrenaline does not directly activate the mechanisms which regulate Ca2+ extrusion from islets cells, and they do not support a primary role for the Ca2+ efflux response in mediating adrenergic inhibition of insulin secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Stimulation of insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans by melittin.

Melittin, an amphipathic polypeptide, stimulated the secretion of insulin from rat islets of Langerhans incubated in vitro. The secretory response was dose-dependent and saturable with half the maximal response elicited by a melittin concentration of 4 micrograms/ml. The response was rapid in onset, an increase in secretion occurring within 2 min of exposure of the islets to melittin (2 micrograms/ml). An enhanced secretory rate could be maintained for at least 40 min in the presence of melittin but declined steadily when the agent was removed. Stimulation of secretion by melittin occurred in the absence of glucose and in the presence of both 4 mM and 8 mM glucose but not in the presence of 20 mM glucose. The effect of melittin on secretion was dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium but was not inhibited by norepinephrine. The data suggest that melittin may be a valuable agent for further study of the role played by the B-cell plasma membrane in the regulation of insulin secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis in isolated guinea-pig islets of Langerhans.

Previous studies have reported an increased turnover of phospholipid in isolated islets of Langerhans in response to raised glucose concentrations. The present investigation was thus undertaken to determine the nature of any phospholipases that may be implicated in this phenomenon by employing various radiolabelled exogenous phospholipids. Hydrolysis of 1-acyl-2-[14C]arachidonoylglycerophosphoinositol by a sonicated preparation of islets optimally released radiolabelled lysophosphatidylinositol, arachidonic acid and 1,2-diacylglycerol at pH 5,7 and 9 respectively. This indicates the presence of a phospholipase A1 and a phospholipase C. However, the lack of any labelled lysophosphatidylinositol production when 2-acyl-1-[14C]stearoylglycerophosphoinositol was hydrolysed argues against a role for phospholipase A2 in the release of arachidonic acid. Phospholipase C activity as measured by phosphatidyl-myo-[3H]inositol hydrolysis was optimal around pH8, required Ca2+ for activity and was predominantly cytosolic in origin. The time course of phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis at pH 6 indicated a precursor-product relationship for 1,2-diacylglycerol and arachidonic acid respectively. The release of these two products when phosphatidylinositol was hydrolysed by either islet or acinar tissue was similar. However, phospholipase A1 activity was 20-fold higher in acinar tissue. Substrate specificity studies with islet tissue revealed that arachidonic acid release from phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine was only 8% and 2.5% respectively of that from phosphatidylinositol. Diacylglycerol lipase was also demonstrated in islet tissue being predominantly membrane bound and stimulated by Ca2+. The availability of non-esterified arachidonic acid in islet cells could be regulated by changes in the activity of a phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C acting in concert with a diacylglycerol lipase.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Studies on the interaction of staphylococcal delta-haemolysin with isolated islets of Langerhans.

delta-Haemolysin, a small surface-active polypeptide purified from the culture media of Staphylococcus aureus, was observed to stimulate the release of insulin from isolated rat islets of Langerhans. This effect was dose-dependent and saturable, with the half-maximal response elicited by a delta-haemolysin concentration of 10 micrograms/ml. Stimulation of insulin release by delta-haemolysin (10 micrograms/ml) was not dependent on the presence of glucose in the incubation medium, but was augmented by increasing concentrations of the sugar. The release of insulin in response to delta-haemolysin could be inhibited by depletion of extracellular Ca2+ or by adrenaline (epinephrine) (10 microM) and was readily reversible when delta-haemolysin was removed from the medium. In addition, the response was potentiated by incubation with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (0.2 mM). These observations suggest that delta-haemolysin induced a true activation of the beta-cell secretory mechanism. Stimulation of islets of Langerhans with delta-haemolysin was found to be associated with a modest increase in intracellular cyclic AMP levels, although the adenylate cyclase activity of islet homogenates was not increased by delta-haemolysin. delta-Haemolysin was observed to induce a dose-dependent net accumulation of 45Ca2+ by islet cells and to stimulate the efflux of 45Ca2+ from preloaded islets. The efflux of 45Ca2+ was modest in size and short-lived, but dramatically increased in medium depleted fo 40Ca2+. Incubation in the presence of verapamil augmented delta-haemolysin-induced 45Ca2+ efflux and insulin secretion. delta-Haemolysin was found to be a potent 45Ca2+-translocating ionophore in an artificial system. This response was dose-dependent and could be augmented by verapamil. In addition, phosphatidylcholine (25 micrograms/ml) was found to inhibit both delta-haemolysin induced 45Ca2+ translocation and insulin release in a precisely parallel manner. These studies suggest that the ability of delta-haemolysin to stimulate insulin release may be due, in part, to the facilitation of Ca2+ entry into the beta-cells of islets of Langerhans, mediated directly by an ionophoretic mechanism.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

The effect of staphylococcal delta-haemolysin on the secretory activity of the pancreatic beta-cell.

The secretion of insulin from isolated rat islets of Langerhans was found to be stimulated by the surface-active staphylococcal exotoxin, delta-haemolysin. The response was dependent on the concentration of delta-haemolysin, was rapid in onset, and could be maintained for at least an hour in the presence of the agent. The rate of secretion rapidly declined on removal of delta-haemolysin and the islets remained responsive to glucose following toxin treatment. Further characterization of the interaction of this agent with the beta-cell plasma membrane may provide valuable information concerning the role played by this membrane in the regulation of insulin secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Prolonged effect of insulin on glucose uptake by rat skeletal muscle.

The fate of insulin, as it relates to its action on skeletal-muscle glucose uptake, was studied in non-cyclically perfused rat hindlimbs. Insulin (1m-i.u./ml) with and without (125)I-labelled insulin was infused intra-arterially for 5 or 6min. Net glucose uptake and the release of (125)I-labelled insulin into the venous effluent were evaluated by arteriovenous-difference measurements for an additional 24-32min. The infusion of insulin for 5min promoted glucose uptake, an effect that persisted throughout a subsequent 25min of perfusion in the absence of insulin. The addition of insulin antibody to the perfusate in the presence of insulin blocked the action of insulin on glucose uptake, but it failed to alter insulin action if the muscle tissue had been exposed to insulin before addition of antibody. When (125)I-labelled albumin was infused for 6min, venous effluent radioactivity decayed rapidly and remained HClO(4)-insoluble and there was no significant tissue retension of radioactivity. Comparable experiments in which (125)I-labelled insulin was infused for 6min revealed that the venous effluent radioactivity decayed more slowly, a significant amount of the (125)I-labelled insulin appeared as fragments (HClO(4)-soluble) and there was a significant retention of radioactivity in the tissue. Radioactivity in muscle tissue biopsies obtained 28min after infusion of (125)I-labelled insulin was associated largely with intact insulin and a peptide of mol.wt. 2400. The total radioactivity retained in the muscle at this time was 7% of the amount infused. An insulin bolus (1i.u.) failed to increase the discharge of this tissue-associated radioactivity. These results suggest that insulin and a product of insulin metabolism persists in muscle tissue long after the arterial presence of insulin ends. This tissue residence and processing of insulin may be important components of insulin's prolonged action on glucose uptake by skeletal muscle.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Changes in membrane lipids of the beta-cell during insulin secretion.

The effect of insulin secretion on the turnover of phospholipids in the pancreatic beta-cell was determined by following the fate, during secretion, of phospholipids prelabelled with 3H-glycerol. The secretion of insulin in response to glucose (20mM) plus isobutyl-methylxanthine (0.5mM) was associated with a calcium dependent increase in the turnover of the major classes of phospholipids and an increase production of 1:2 diacylglycerol and triacylglycerol. In addition, changes in the fatty acid composition of the beta-cell, during insulin secretion, were determined. There was an increase in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids relative to saturated fatty acids during stimulation by glucose (20mM) plus isobutylmethylxanthine (0.5mM). The results of this study suggest that there are marked changes in the phospholipid composition of the beta-cell during insulin secretion. The regulation of such changes may play an important role in controlling the rate of insulin secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Effects of guanosine on insulin secretion and adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase activities of isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

The effect of guanosine on insulin secretion, adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase activities of isolated rat islets of Langerhans was investigated. Guanosine (1-100 micron) inhibited glucose, tolbutamide, theophylline and prostaglandin E2-stimulated insulin secretion although it failed to affect glucagon stimulated secretion. Prostaglandin E2-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity of islets was inhibited by guanosine although guanosine had no effect on basal, fluoride, glucagon or GTP-stimulated activity. Guanosine markedly decreased basal guanylyl cyclase activity of islets. These results suggest that guanosine may affect insulin release by inhibiting adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase activities in the beta-cell thereby decreasing the intracellular concentrations of cyclic nucleotides. This effect may be important in modulating the secretory response of the islets to a variety of hormonal agents.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1977

Adenosine and the regulation of insulin secretion by isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

The effect of adenosine in insulin secretion and adenylate cyclase activity of rat islets of Langerhans was investigated. Adenosine inhibited insulin secretion stimulated by glucose, glucagon, prostaglandin E2, tolbutamine and theophylline. Adenosine decreased basal adenylate cyclase activity of the islets as well as that stimulated by glucagon prostaglandin E2 and GTP, although fluoride-stimulated activity was not affected. Neither insulin secretion nor adenylate cyclase activity of the islets was affected by adenine, AMP or ADP. The inhibitory effect of adenosine on adenylate cyclase activity was not altered by either phenoxybenzamine (alpha-adrenergic blocker) or propranolol (beta-adrenergic blocker), suggesting that the effect is not mediated through the adrenergic receptors of the islet cells. These results suggest that the intracellular concentration of adenosine in the beta-cell may play a role in regulating insulin secretion and that this effect may be mediated via alterations in the activity of adenylate cyclase in the beta-cell.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1977

Effects of tetracycline and diazepam on insulin secretion and adenylyl cyclase activity of isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

Tetracycline (2 and 20 micronM) inhibited glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans, although it failed to alter tolbutamide-stimulated insulin release. Diazepam (10 micronM) potentiated tolbutamide-stimulated insulin release and at a concentration of 1 mM increased glucose-stimulated insulin release. Tetracycline (20 and 200 micronM) or diazepam (10, 100 and 1,000 micronM) inhibited adenylyl cyclase activity of islets homogenate. These results suggest that the effect of tetracycline on insulin secretion might be in part due to inhibition of adenylyl cyclase of the islets. However, the effect of diazepam on insulin secretion is not mediated through the adenylyl cyclase system.

Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors↗
PubMed1976

The mode of action of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic phosphate in the regulation of insulin secretion.

Changes in the pancreatic beta-cell concentrations of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic phosphate (cyclic AMP) may lead to changes in rates of insulin release, although little is known of the exact mechanism by which this nucleotide may influence the secretory process. Previous studies indicated that in the beta-cell, as in other mammalian cell types, the effects of cyclic AMP may be exerted by the activation of a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, and we have attempted to identify possible substrates for this enzyme in beta-cells. Cyclic AMP stimulated the phosphorylation of specific non-nuclear protein substrates; this effect was observed both in intact cells preincubated with sodium [32P]phosphate to label intracellular ATP and in broken cell preparations incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. The substrates for protein kinase in islets are unknown but as in other tissues might include microtubular protein and specific proteins of the granule and plasma membranes. In separate experiments cyclic AMP stimulated the efflux of calcium from an organelle-bound (probably mitochondrial) pool, and this may result in rapid changes of intracellular calcium distribution in the beta-cell; these might in turn play an important role in the regulation of secretion. These results suggest that cyclic AMP may directly affect cytosolic calcium concentrations in the beta-cell, as well as promoting the phosphorylation and activity of other components which may be necessary for the maintenance of adequate secretory responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Insulin release and the microtubular system of the islets of Langerhans: effects of insulin secretagogues on microtubule subunit pool size.

An assay system was devised to estimate the pool size of microtubule subunits in islet cells, and to study the importance of the equilibrium between polymerised microtubules and their subunits in the regulation of insulin release. The assay was based on the observation that colchicine binds specifically and quantitatively to microtubule protein subunits, but not to intact microtubules. Vinblastine and cold treatment, which have been shown to cause disaggregation of microtubules into subunits and to inhibit insulin release from islets, increased the number of colchicine binding subunits. D2O, which promotoes stability of microtubules and increases their number in islet cells, caused a decrease in subunit concentration. These results suggest that changes in the equilibrium between polymerised microtubules and their subunits could be studied by measuring the size of the subunit pool. When insulin release was stimulated, by incubating islets in high glucose concentrations or by increasing the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP there was a reduction in the content of subunit protein. Conversely, when insulin release was inhibited by removal of calcium from the incubation medium there was a shift in the microtubule subunit equilibrium to give an increase in the number of subunits assayed. These results indicate that changes in the equilibrium between subunits and microtubules may play an important role in regulating rates of insulin secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Insulin release and the microtubular system of the islets of Langerhans. Identification and characterization of tubulin-like protein.

1. Incubation of islets of Langerhans in vitro in the presence of colchicine produced a progressive inhibition of the insulin-secretory response to glucose, which was dependent on the time of incubation. 2. The uptake of [3-H]colchicine by islet cells was a rapid process, equilibrium being reached in less than 30 min. Part of the colchicine taken up was bound to protein material, which was recovered largely in a post-microsomal supernatant fraction prepared from the islets. In contrast with this rapid uptake, the binding of colchicine by islet-cell proteins in intact islets or in islet homogenates was a slow process, and equilibrium was not reached for 60-90 min. After an initial 30 min delay, the time-course of the binding of [3-H]colchicine to islet-cell proteins paralleled that for the inhibitory effect of colchicine on insulin release. 3. Some purification of the colchicine-binding material present in islet homogenates could be achieved by precipitation of the protein with 2mM-CaCl2 (2.8-fold). However, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex produced a further 27-fold purification on elution with 0.6M-NaCl. 4. Colchicine-binding protein prepared from islets by ion-exchange chromatography showed an intrinsic association constant for colchicine of 1.4muM and an apparent molecular weight on gel filtration of 110000. 5. These results suggest that colchicine-binding protein in islet cells closely resembles tubulin extracted from the other tissues. The delayed effectiveness of colchicine in inhibiting insulin secretion is not due to poor penetration of colchicine into the cells but rather to slow binding of the alkaloid to islet-cell tubulin. It seems likely that, as in other tissues, this binding prevents polymerization of the tubulin into microtubules, and thus interferes with the release process.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Calcium distribution in islets of Langerhans: a study of calcium concentrations and of calcium accumulation in B cell organelles.

Calcium concentrations of various pancreatic B cell organelles have been determined by X-ray microanalysis of areas of frozen sections of unfixed rat islets of Langerhans. Highest concentrations were detected in storage granules and in mitochondria, although calcium was also present in nuclei, in areas of endoplasmic reticulum and of cytoplasm. Accumulation of 45Ca by isolated organelles has been studied in homogenates and isolated subcellular fractions of rat islets of Langerhans. In the presence of a permeant anion (oxalate or phosphate), accumulation of 45Ca into mitochondria and microsomes was strongly stimulated by ATP. This net uptake was diminished during incubation of homogenates or of a mitochondria plus storage granule-rich fraction in the presence of cyclic AMP, dibutyryl cyclic GMP; 2:4-dinitrophenol or of ruthenium red. Investigations of the characteristics of 45Ca accumulation by homogenates prepared from storage granule-depleted islets showed no differences from those of normal islets, suggesting that the granules do not represent an important labile pool of calcium. With the exception of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP none of the insulin secretagogues tested (glucose, leucine, arginine, adrenalin, noradrenalin, theophylline, glibenclamide) altered calcium accumulation by islet homogenates. On the basis of absolute calcium levels and of 45Ca uptake studies it is concluded that islet B cells contain a readily exchangeable mitochondrial calcium pool, and an endoplasmic reticulum pool containing a lower concentration of calcium which is also readily exchangeable. The storage granules, despite their high calcium content, do not appear to constitute a labile pool. It seems likely that the labile mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum pools play a predominant role in the regulation of cytoplasmic free calcium levels, which may in turn be important in the regulation of rates of insulin secretion.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗