Diabetes, Vol 34, Issue 6 574-579, Copyright © 1985 by American Diabetes Association
Dynamics of glucose-induced insulin release during the spontaneous remission of streptozocin diabetes induced in the newborn rat
B Portha and M Kergoat
Neonatal rats injected with streptozocin (STZ, 100 mg/kg) at birth
exhibited an acute diabetes followed by a spontaneous remission. We have
previously shown that this recovery from neonatal diabetes is due to B-cell
regeneration and reaccumulation of pancreatic insulin stores starting from
3 to 5 days after birth. The B-cell population during this period is
heterogeneous with both surviving B-cells that have escaped the toxic
effect of STZ and newly formed B-cells. To evaluate to what extent this
B-cell population is functionally normal, we have measured in vitro the
dynamics of glucose-induced insulin secretion from pancreatic fragments of
rats treated with STZ at birth. The insulin responses were tested at
intervals after STZ treatment, from day 1 to day 21 using perifusion of
pancreatic fragments, and on day 21 and at 5 mo using perfusion of isolated
pancreas. While the glucose-induced insulin release was completely obtunded
(2% of the normal response) on day 1 after STZ, it could be demonstrated
after day 3. Moreover, it increased as a function of age (6% and 36% of the
normal responses on day 5 and day 14, respectively). This restoration of
the insulin response to glucose closely paralleled the recovery of
pancreatic insulin stores (6% and 51% of normal values, respectively, on
day 5 and day 14). In sharp contrast with the lack of glucose response in
vitro in the adult, glucose-induced insulin release was still detected on
day 21 regardless of the in vitro system used (perifusion or perfusion).
Furthermore, on day 21 the B-cells of the STZ rats exhibited a tendency
toward enhanced insulin response to arginine, which is a prominent feature
in adult rats previously treated with STZ at birth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT
250 WORDS)