title: Pancreatic beta cell replication: effects of hexose sugars.
abstract: Neonatal rat pancreatic monolayer cultures were utilized to investigate the effects of various hexose sugars on insulin release and beta cell replication. Sugars tested were D-glucose, L-glucose, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, D-mannose and D-fructose. These agents were added at varying concentrations to a control medium containing a baseline level of 5.5 mM D-glucose. Replication was estimated by incubating cultures with [3H]thymidine and determining the frequency of beta cell labelling in aldehyde-thionin stained radioautographs. Although the addition of D-glucose to the control medium resulted in a concentration-dependent increase in both insulin release and beta cell replication, the sensitivity of these two processes to glucose differed. Insulin release was stimulated by a 2.75 mM elevation in the D-glucose concentration of the control medium, while an elevation of 11 mM D-glucose was required to increase the frequency of beta cell replication. Moreover, while insulin release was maximally stimulated by an 11 mM elevation in the concentration of D-glucose, the frequency of replication continued to rise as the concentration of D-glucose was further increased. The specificity of these responses to D-glucose was demonstrated by the inability of 11 mM L-glucose or 11 mM 3-O-methyl-D-glucose to stimulate beta cell replication. D-mannose and D-fructose were less potent insulin secretagogues than D-glucose on an equimolar basis and neither compound enhanced beta cell replication at a concentration of 11 mM. However, higher concentrations of D-mannose (16.5 and 22 mM) enhanced beta cell replication, while comparable concentrations of D-fructose did not. These results indicate that the sensitivity of insulin release and beta cell replication to D-glucose differ, and that in addition to D-glucose, D-mannose is also capable of stimulating beta cell replication.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005632:Fructose / Q000494:pharmacology; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology; D006601:Hexoses / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008358:Mannose / Q000494:pharmacology; D008757:Methylglucosides / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D006601:Hexoses; D007328:Insulin; D008757:Methylglucosides; D005632:Fructose; D005947:Glucose; D008358:Mannose