Diabetes, Vol 30, Issue 10 836-842, Copyright © 1981 by American Diabetes Association
Somatostatin: mechanism of action in pancreatic islet beta-cells
CS Pace and JT Tarvin
The widespread role of somatostatin (SRIF) as a mediator of function in the
brain and gut has stimulated interest in it mechanism of action. We have
examined the mode of action of SRIF in stimulus-secretion coupling in the
pancreatic islet beta-cell to determine whether SRIF antagonizes the
glucose-induced decrease in K+ permeability (PK). The influence of SRIF on
86Rb fluxes and insulin release in cultured rat islet cells, and also the
electrical events recorded from cultured islets and microdissected mouse
islets, was examined. In cultured islets, 100 ng/ml SRIF in the presence of
16.7 mM glucose inhibited the incidence of spike activity and evoked
hyperpolarization. This effect was counteracted by 0.1 mM quinine and 20 mM
tetraethylammonium (TEA), drugs that inhibit the Ca2+-sensitive or
voltage-sensitive increase in PK, respectively. These agents also
counteracted the inhibitory influence of SRIF on glucose-induced insulin
release in cultured islets. SRIF disrupted the typical glucose-induced
oscillatory pattern of electrical activity (burst activity) during
continuous microelectrode recordings in mouse beta-cells, resulting in a
transient 5mV hyperpolarization and a decrease in the frequency of
generation of burst activity. The presence of 20 mm TEA prevented the
influence of SRIF on the electrical activity. SRIF had no effect on the
accumulation of 86Rb into islet cells obtained in the presence of 16.7 mM
glucose. However, SRIF enhanced the rate of 86Rb efflux from cells exposed
to glucose. SRIF-induced enhancement of 86Rb efflux was antagonized by TEA
or quinine. These results indicate that SRIF may activate PK as its primary
mode of action, an event that may be sufficient to reduce the accumulation
of intracellular Ca2+ thereby disrupting glucose-induced stimulus-secretion
coupling.