Arginine-induced insulin release is decreased and glucagon increased in parallel with islet NO production.
Nitric oxide (NO) produced by islet constitutive NO synthase (cNOS) is a putative modulator of islet hormone secretion. We show here for the first time that the release of insulin induced by L-arginine or L-homoarginine is inhibited and that of glucagon stimulated in parallel with the rate of islet NO production. It was found that L-homoarginine was approximately 25-30% less potent than L-arginine as an insulin secretagogue but equally potent as a glucagon secretagogue. Biochemical determination of islet cNOS activity revealed that the NO production with L-homoarginine as substrate was only approximately 40% of that of L-arginine. Selective inhibition of islet cNOS potentiated insulin release during amino acid stimulation. Moreover, inhibition of cNOS suppressed glucagon release, more so with L-arginine than with L-homoarginine as secretagogue, reflecting the relative rates of their NO production. In K+-depolarized islets, inhibition of cNOS enhanced the insulin response to L-arginine by 50% and that to L-homoarginine by 23%, largely corresponding to their relative NO production. The intracellular NO donor hydroxylamine dose dependently inhibited insulin but increased glucagon secretion in K+-depolarized and amino acid-stimulated islets. We conclude that both amino acids have a dual action on insulin release, since their stimulatory effects are reduced in parallel with the rates of their NO production. Furthermore, the greater NO production induced by L-arginine relative to L-homoarginine corresponds to NO-mediated increases in glucagon release. These NO effects are mainly exerted independently of membrane depolarization events.
Henningsson
R
R
Department of Pharmacology, University of Lund, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
Lundquist
I
I
D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003981:Diazoxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005934:Glucagon / Q000378:metabolism*; D006709:Homoarginine / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D019323:omega-N-Methylarginine / Q000494:pharmacology
D007328:Insulin; D006709:Homoarginine; D019323:omega-N-Methylarginine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D005934:Glucagon; D001120:Arginine; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; C496315:Nos3 protein, mouse; D003981:Diazoxide; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester