title: Syntaxin 4 facilitates biphasic glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells.
abstract: Numerous overexpression studies have recently implicated Syntaxin 4 as an effector of insulin secretion, although its requirement in insulin granule exocytosis is unknown. To address this, islets from Syntaxin 4 heterozygous (-/+) knockout mice were isolated and compared with islets from wild-type mice. Under static incubation conditions, Syntaxin 4 (-/+) islets showed a 60% reduction in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion compared with wild-type islets. Perifusion analyses revealed that Syntaxin 4 (-/+) islets secreted 50% less insulin during the first phase of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and that this defect could be fully restored by the specific replenishment of recombinant Syntaxin 4. This essential role for Syntaxin 4 in secretion from the islet was localized to the beta-cells because small interfering RNA-mediated depletion of Syntaxin 4 in MIN6 beta-cells abolished glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Moreover, immunofluorescent confocal microscopy revealed that Syntaxin 4 was principally localized to the beta-cells and not the alpha-cells of the mouse islet. Remarkably, islets isolated from transgenic mice that express 2.4-fold higher levels of Syntaxin 4 relative to wild-type mice secreted approximately 35% more insulin during both phases of insulin secretion, suggesting that increased Syntaxin 4 may be beneficial for enhancing biphasic insulin secretion in a regulated manner. Taken together, these data support the notion that Syntaxin 4-based SNARE complexes are essential for biphasic insulin granule fusion in pancreatic beta-cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Center for Diabetes Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Spurlin
authors.forename: Debbie C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Thurmond
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006224:Cricetinae; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D005947:Glucose