Melittin, an amphipathic polypeptide, stimulated the secretion of insulin from rat islets of Langerhans incubated in vitro. The secretory response was dose-dependent and saturable with half the maximal response elicited by a melittin concentration of 4 μg/ml. The response was rapid in onset, an increase in secretion occurring within 2 rain of exposure of the islets to melittin (2 μg/ml). An enhanced secretory rate could be maintained for at least 40 rain in the presence of melittin but declined steadily when the agent was removed. Stimulation of secretion by melittin occurred in the absence of glucose and in the presence of both 4 mM and 8 mM glucose but not in the presence of 20 mM glucose. The effect of melittin on secretion was dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium but was not inhibited by norepinephrine. The data suggest that melittin may be a valuable agent for further study of the role played by the B-cell plasma membrane in the regulation of insulin secretion.
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August 01 1984
Stimulation of insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans by melittin
Noel G. Morgan;
Noel G. Morgan
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.
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William Montague
William Montague
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
July 13 1984
Online ISSN: 1573-4935
Print ISSN: 0144-8463
© 1984 The Biochemical Society
1984
Biosci Rep (1984) 4 (8): 665–671.
Article history
Received:
July 13 1984
Citation
Noel G. Morgan, William Montague; Stimulation of insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans by melittin. Biosci Rep 1 August 1984; 4 (8): 665–671. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01121020
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