Effects of starvation on oxidative metabolism and insulin release by isolated mouse pancreatic islets.

Abstract

Abstract. Pancreatic islets were isolated from either 60-h-starved or fed mice and subsequently incubated in order to determine the insulin release in response to various secretagogues, rates of glucose, leucine or glutamine oxidation or the acetoacetate production from leucine. It was found that in contrast to findings with islets isolated from fed mice 16.7 mm glucose, 10 mM leucine and 10 mm α-ketoisocaproic acid did not stimulate the insulin release of islets isolated from starved mice. Moreover, the insulin release in response to leucine plus glutamine or glucose plus glutamine was decreased after starvation although these values were higher than those obtained for glutamine addition alone. Theophylline, however, restored partly the impaired insulin response to glucose and completely that to leucine or α-ketoisocaproic acid. Starvation was found to inhibit the islet glucose oxidation rate but the addition of theophylline was without effect irrespective of whether the islets were prepared from fed or starved mice. On the contrary, islet leucine oxidation was increased after starvation and again theophylline did not affect the islet leucine oxidation rate. Likewise, the islet acetoacetate production was increased after starvation. The glutamine oxidation rates were not affected by starvation, either when tested alone or together with glucose or leucine. It is concluded that although the starvation-induced impairment of glucose-stimulated insulin release may well be explained by an influence on the oxidative metabolism other factors are also involved as regards leucine-stimulated insulin release.