Nitric oxide donor sin-1 inhibits insulin release by differentially suppressing [beta]-cell stimulus-secretion coupling. Sj[diaeresis]oholm, [angstrom]ake. Department of Molecular Medicine, The Endocrine and Diabetes Unit, The Rolf Luft Center for Diabetes Research, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska Hospital (L6:01B), S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
APStracts 3:0150C, 1996.
Preceding the onset of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, pancreatic islets are infiltrated by macrophages secreting interleukin-1[beta] which exerts cytotoxic and inhibitory actions on islet [beta]-cell insulin secretion through induction of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. The influence of the NO donor 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1) on insulin secretion from isolated pancreatic islets in response to various secretagogues was investigated. Stimulation of insulin release evoked by glucose, phospholipase C activation with carbachol and protein kinase C activation with phorbol ester was obtunded by SIN-1, whereas the response to adenylyl cyclase activation or K+ -induced depolarization was not affected. It is concluded that enzymes involved in glucose catabolism, phospholipase C, or protein kinase C may be targeted by NO. Reversal of SIN-1 inhibition of glucose -stimulated insulin release by dithiothreitol suggests that NO may inhibit insulin secretion partly by S-nitrosylation of thiol residues in key proteins in the stimulus-secretion coupling. These adverse effects of NO on the [beta]-cell stimulus-secretion coupling may be of importance for the development of the impaired insulin secretion characterizing diabetes mellitus.

Received 10 January 1996; accepted in final form 26 April 1996.
APS Manuscript Number C12-6.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Cell Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 19 May 96