A Possible Role for the Adenylcyclase System in Insulin Secretion*

Abstract

A possible role for adenylcyclase in insulin secretion was investigated. Isoproterenol, a predominantly β-adrenergic agent, when mixed with an α-adrenergic blocking agent (phenoxybenzamine), stimulated insulin secretion from pieces of the rat's pancreas in vitro. Theophylline, caffeine, 3′5′-cyclic AMP, glucagon, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), and thyrotropin (TSH), all of which are thought to act through the adenylcyclase systems in the liver and adipose tissue, also stimulated insulin secretion in vitro; oxytocin and vasopressin, which do not stimulate lipolysis in adipose tissue, were inactive. In all cases, stimulation of insulin secretion could not be detected when glucose was absent or present in only low concentrations (less than 100 mg/100 ml) and was maximal at high levels of glucose (300 mg/100 ml). When pancreatic tissue was obtained from normoglycemic rats and contained no detectable glycogen in the Islets, the stimulant effects of glucose and of theophylline were reduced or abolished by mannoheptulose and 2-deoxyglucose. When tissue was derived from rats infused for 8-10 hr with glucose and contained glycogen, theophylline, even in the absence of glucose, stimulated secretion and this effect was reduced by 2-deoxyglucose but not by mannoheptulose. It is suggested that the β-cell contains an adenylcyclase system through which phosphorylase and possibly phosphofructokinase could be activated; and that insulin secretion could depend upon and be regulated by hormones and other substances which influence the rate at which glycolysis proceeds within the β-cell.