title: Sustained exposure of toxically damaged mouse pancreatic islets to high glucose does not increase beta-cell dysfunction.
abstract: The aim of this study was to clarify whether prolonged in-vitro exposure of either normal or damaged beta cells to a high glucose environment can be toxic to these cells. For this purpose NMRI mice were injected intravenously with a diabetogenic dose of streptozotocin (SZ; 160 mg/kg) or vehicle alone (controls). Their islets were isolated 15 min after the injection and subsequently maintained in culture for 21 days in the presence of 11.1 or 28 mmol glucose/l. After this period, during acute glucose stimulation, the control islets showed a marked increase in their insulin release in response to a high glucose stimulus. In the SZ-exposed islets there was a decrease in DNA and insulin contents, and a deficient insulin secretory response to glucose. However, in the SZ-damaged islets as well as in the control islets, culture with 28 mmol glucose/l compared with 11.1 mmol glucose/l did not impair islet retrieval after culture, islet DNA content or glucose-induced insulin release. Thus, the degree of damage was similar in the SZ-treated islets cultured at the two concentrations of glucose. These results suggest that glucose is not toxic to normal or damaged mouse pancreatic islets over a prolonged period in tissue culture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Eizirik
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sandler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005947:Glucose / Q000633:toxicity*; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013311:Streptozocin
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D013311:Streptozocin; D004247:DNA; D005947:Glucose