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Biomedical subjects

M Welsh

Publications and source records attributed to M Welsh.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Regulation of insulin gene expression by dexamethasone, Ca2+ and a phorbol ester.

The transcription of the insulin genes in rat pancreatic islets was determined in response to dexamethasone, cholera toxin and Ca2+. Furthermore, the contents of islet insulin mRNA after culture with the phorbol ester 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA) were assayed by dot-blot analysis. Dexamethasone and cholera toxin stimulated the rates of insulin gene transcription, whereas the withdrawal of Ca2+ and addition of TPA exerted no effects on insulin gene expression. It is concluded that islet cAMP may be one factor regulating the transcription of the insulin gene in response to nutrient secretagogues, whereas Ca2+ and activation of protein kinase C do not serve such a function.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Mechanisms of leucine- and theophylline-stimulated insulin biosynthesis in isolated rat pancreatic islets.

To extend previous observations on the mechanisms of translational regulation of insulin biosynthesis [Welsh, Scherberg, Gilmore & Steiner (1986) Biochem. J. 235, 459-467], we have now compared the intracellular distributions of insulin mRNA after stimulation of insulin biosynthesis by glucose, leucine or theophylline. In comparison with low glucose (3.3 mM) only, the presence of 10 mM-leucine + 3.3 mM-glucose resulted in the transfer of insulin mRNA from the pool of the uninitiated mRNA to the free polysome/monosome fraction and an increase in the amount of insulin mRNA associated with the microsomal fraction. Islets exposed to 5 mM-theophylline + 3.3 mM-glucose also showed a decreased content of uninitiated insulin mRNA in the cytosol, but these islets showed no increase in insulin mRNA in the microsomal fraction. These results suggest that leucine, a nutrient stimulant of insulin biosynthesis, acts essentially by the same mechanisms as those of glucose, whereas theophylline acts only to stimulate initiation rates.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Stimulation of growth hormone synthesis by glucose in islets of Langerhans isolated from transgenic mice.

To examine further the mechanism by which the synthesis of proteins translated on the rough endoplasmic reticulum is regulated in pancreatic beta-cells, the synthesis of growth hormone in islets from transgenic mice carrying the metallothionein-rat growth hormone gene fusion was studied. High glucose (17 mM) stimulated the synthesis and secretion of an apparently normally processed growth hormone. The stimulation of synthesis of growth hormone was less efficient than the stimulation of insulin synthesis in these islets, whereas the stimulation of release of labeled growth hormone paralleled that of insulin. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that signal recognition particle-mediated mechanism(s) may be involved in regulating the translational efficiency of secreted proteins in isolated islets (Welsh, M., Scherberg, N., Gilmore, R., and Steiner, D. F. (1986) Biochem. J. 235, 459-467). Furthermore, in the beta-cells, growth hormone follows the normal regulated pathway of secretory granule transport and exocytosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Mutations in the guinea pig preproglucagon gene are restricted to a specific portion of the prohormone sequence.

A cDNA clone encoding guinea pig preproglucagon has been isolated from a pancreatic cDNA library. The predicted amino acid sequence of proglucagon is highly conserved in all regions, in comparison to other mammals, except for the C-terminal portion of the 29-residue glucagon region, in which 5 amino acid substitutions have occurred. These changes may serve to offset the reduced receptor-binding potency of the highly mutated insulin in this New World species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Regulation of RNA metabolism in relation to insulin production and oxidative metabolism in mouse pancreatic islets in vitro.

This study was undertaken to investigate the long-term effects of different substrates, in particular glucose, on the regulation of islet RNA metabolism and the relationship of this regulation to the metabolism and insulin production of the islet B-cell. For this purpose collagenase-isolated mouse islets were used either in the fresh state or after culture for 2 or 5 days in RPMI 1640 plus 10% calf serum supplemented with various test compounds. Islets cultured with 16.7 mM glucose contained more RNA than those cultured with 3.3 mM glucose. Culture of islets in glucose at low concentrations inhibited glucose-stimulated RNA synthesis and this inhibitory effect was reversed by prolonged exposure to high glucose concentrations. Culture with 10 mM leucine and 3.3 mM glucose or with 10 mM 2-ketoisocaproate and 3.3 mM glucose increased the total RNA content of islets as compared to that of islets cultured with 3.3 mM glucose alone. Islets cultured with 5 mM theophylline maintained a high RNA content in the presence of 3.3 mM glucose. Theophylline also increased the islet RNA content when added together with 16.7 mM glucose, as compared to 16.7 mM glucose alone. Theophylline probably exerted this effect by decreasing the rate of RNA degradation. Changes in islet RNA metabolism showed a close correlation to changes in islet total protein biosynthesis, whereas islet (pro)insulin biosynthesis and insulin release exhibited different glucose-dependency patterns. The response of islet oxygen uptake to glucose was similar to that of islet RNA and protein biosynthesis. It is concluded that the RNA content of the pancreatic islets is controlled at the levels of both synthesis and degradation. Glucose stimulates the RNA synthesis and inhibits its degradation. Moreover, the results suggest that regulation of RNA synthesis may be mediated through islet metabolic fluxes and the cAMP system.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Translational control of insulin biosynthesis. Evidence for regulation of elongation, initiation and signal-recognition-particle-mediated translational arrest by glucose.

The biosynthesis of insulin in the islets of Langerhans is strongly controlled at the translational level by glucose. We have used a variety of experimental approaches in efforts to dissect the mechanisms underlying the stimulatory effect of glucose. To assess its effects on rates of peptide-chain elongation, isolated rat islets were labelled with [3H]leucine at different glucose concentrations in the presence or absence of low concentrations of cycloheximide. Under these conditions, at glucose concentrations up to 5.6 mM, endogenous insulin mRNA did not become rate-limiting for the synthesis of insulin, whereas stimulation of non-insulin protein synthesis was abolished by cycloheximide at all glucose concentrations, indicating either that insulin synthesis is selectively regulated at the level of elongation at glucose concentrations up to 5.6 mM, or that at these concentrations inactive insulin mRNA is transferred to an actively translating pool. Glucose-induced changes in the intracellular distribution of insulin mRNA in cultured islets were assessed by subcellular fractionation and blot-hybridization using insulin cDNA probes. At glucose concentrations above 3.3 mM, cytoplasmic insulin mRNA was increasingly transferred to fractions co-sedimenting with ribosomes, and relatively more of the ribosome-associated insulin mRNA became membrane-associated, consistent with effects of glucose above 3.3 mM on both the initiation of insulin mRNA and SRP (signal recognition particle)-mediated transfer of cytosolic nascent preproinsulin to the endoplasmic reticulum. When freshly isolated islets were homogenized and incubated with 125I-Tyr-tRNA, run-off incorporation of 125I into preproinsulin was increased by prior incubation of the islets at 16.7 mM-glucose. The addition of purified SRP receptor increased the run-off incorporation of [125I]iodotyrosine into preproinsulin, especially when the islets had been preincubated at 16.7 mM-glucose. These findings taken together suggest that glucose may stimulate elongation rates of nascent preproinsulin at concentrations up to 5.6 mM, stimulates initiation of protein synthesis involving both insulin and non-insulin mRNA at concentrations above 3.3 mM, and increases the transfer of initiated insulin mRNA molecules from the cytoplasm to microsomal membranes by an SRP-mediated mechanism that involves the modification of interactions between SRP and its receptor.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effects of D-glucose, L-leucine, and 2-ketoisocaproate on insulin mRNA levels in mouse pancreatic islets.

To elucidate a possible mechanism for regulation of insulin mRNA levels in the pancreatic B-cell, isolated mouse pancreatic islets were cultured in the presence of either glucose, leucine, or 2-ketoisocaproate, and insulin mRNA levels were compared with insulin biosynthesis, insulin release, and islet O2 uptake. It was observed that leucine or 2-ketoisocaproate was as effective as 20 mM glucose in supporting high insulin mRNA levels, high basal rates of insulin release or insulin synthesis, and rapid O2 uptake. Furthermore, islets cultured with either leucine or 2-ketoisocaproate could be stimulated to increase their insulin biosynthesis by a high glucose concentration. In addition the insulin release and respiration of such islets could be increased by exposure to 2-ketoisocaproate + glutamine. It is concluded that the maintenance of high concentrations of insulin mRNA levels and high rates of insulin biosynthesis and release are all processes correlated with metabolic fluxes in islets rather than the presence of the glucose molecule per se.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Radial partition immunoassay applied to automated quantification of human choriogonadotropin with use of two monoclonal antibodies.

We describe a novel application of radial partition immunoassay to quantification of human choriogonadotropin (hCG). In this "sandwich"-type assay, two monoclonal antibodies, specific for different sites on the intact molecule are used. The solid phase consists of tabs of glass-fiber filter paper containing a pre-immobilized antibody specific for the alpha subunit of hCG. The patient's sample is first applied directly to the central "reaction zone" of the tab, allowing hCG to bind to the solid-phase antibody. Then a buffered solution containing enzyme-labeled Fab' fragments of a monoclonal antibody specific for the beta subunit of hCG is applied, initiating "sandwich" formation. Finally, a wash buffer containing a fluorogenic substrate is applied, eluting unbound conjugate to the tab periphery. Bound enzyme conjugate is quantified by measuring the rate of increase in fluorescence. Rates are converted to clinical units by comparison with a stored calibration curve. Elapsed time from sample application to results is less than 8 min. Specific performance characteristics of this assay are reported.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1985

Control of insulin gene expression in pancreatic beta-cells and in an insulin-producing cell line, RIN-5F cells. I. Effects of glucose and cyclic AMP on the transcription of insulin mRNA.

To define the mechanism whereby glucose regulates islet insulin mRNA content, insulin gene transcription rates were determined in islets labeled with [3H]uridine at low (3.3) or high (17 mM) glucose. Glucose stimulated the transcription of total RNA almost 2-fold and insulin mRNA 5.6-fold. Addition of dibutyryl cAMP to islets in vitro could partially mimic the effect of glucose on insulin gene-specific transcription. In the insulin-producing RIN-5F cell line, glucose did not affect transcription, while cholera toxin acted as a secretagogue and increased total RNA and insulin gene-specific transcription as well. We conclude that glucose exerts a specific stimulatory effect on the transcription of the insulin gene(s) in normal islets and that this effect may be mediated in part by cAMP.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Control of insulin gene expression in pancreatic beta-cells and in an insulin-producing cell line, RIN-5F cells. II. Regulation of insulin mRNA stability.

The half-life of insulin mRNA at various glucose concentrations was determined by filter hybridization techniques in isolated rat islets incubated with 3H-labeled uridine followed by a chase incubation at 3.3 or 17 mM glucose. High glucose induced a greater stabilization of insulin mRNA than of other poly(A) + RNAs or total cellular RNA. In RIN-5F insulinoma cells, an insulin-producing cell line, cholera toxin, but not glucose, induced a stabilization of insulin mRNA. After 24 h of culture of islets with actinomycin D or alpha-amanitin at several glucose concentrations, insulin mRNA content was decreased in comparison to controls only at higher glucose concentrations. The biosynthesis of islet proteins other than insulin was strongly decreased by actinomycin D at all glucose concentrations. Insulin biosynthesis was inhibited proportionately to the observed decreases in insulin mRNA content. We conclude that inhibition of insulin mRNA degradation is an important component in increasing the insulin mRNA content in response to glucose, thereby augmenting the effects of glucose stimulation on insulin gene transcription (5). This stabilization may be partly mediated by cAMP as evidenced by the similar responses to cholera toxin in the RIN-5F cells. Furthermore, the results of experiments with actinomycin D suggest that the degradation of insulin mRNA may require the continuous production of a factor(s) which could be either RNA or protein in nature.

Amanitins↗
PubMed1985

Partial deletion of distal 17q.

A newborn female was found to have a deletion of the terminal portion of 17q. Prominent manifestations included microcephaly, apparent hypertelorism, epicanthic folds, a broad nasal bridge with anteverted nostrils, posteriorly angulated ears, micrognathia, widely spaced nipples, arachnodactyly with proximal thumbs, and a coxa vara deformity. The unbalanced translocation was inherited from the mother, who had a reciprocal translocation involving the terminal portions of 2p and 17q. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a liveborn infant with deletion of the distal portion of 17q with the exception of reports of patients with ring chromosome 17.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1985

The side-chain cleavage of cholesterol sulfate--II. The effect of phospholipids on the oxidation of the sterol sulfate by inner mitochondrial membranes and by a reconstituted cholesterol desmolase system.

This study compares the side-chain cleavage of aqueous suspensions of cholesterol sulfate with the side-chain cleavage of cholesterol sulfate which is incorporated into phospholipid vesicles. Three different cholesterol desmolase systems are examined: the membrane-bound cholesterol side-chain cleavage system present in inner mitochondrial membranes isolated from bovine adrenal mitochondria; a soluble, lipid-depleted, reconstituted side-chain cleavage system prepared from cytochrome P-450scc, adrenodoxin and adrenodoxin reductase; a membrane associated side-chain cleavage system prepared by adding phospholipid vesicles, prepared from adrenal mitochondrial, to the reconstituted system. Soluble cholesterol sulfate, in low concentration, is a good substrate for the lipid-depleted reconstituted side chain cleavage system. However, at concentrations above 2 microM, in the absence of phospholipids, the sterol sulfate appears to bind at a non-productive site on cytochrome P-450scc which leads to substrate inhibition. Phospholipids, while inhibiting the binding of cholesterol sulfate to the cytochrome, also appear to prevent non-productive binding of the sterol sulfate to the cytochrome. Thus the addition of phospholipids to the lipid-depleted enzyme system leads to an activation of side-chain cleavage of high concentrations of the sterol sulfate. Soluble cholesterol sulfate is a good substrate for both the native and reconstituted membrane-bound systems and no substrate inhibition is observed when the membrane bound enzyme systems are employed in the assay of side-chain activity. However, the cleavage of cholesterol sulfate, which is incorporated into phospholipid vesicles, by both membrane bound enzyme systems appears to be competitively inhibited by the phospholipids of the vesicles. The results of this study suggest that the regulation of the side-chain cleavage of cholesterol sulfate may be entirely different than the regulation of the side-chain cleavage of cholesterol, if cholesterol sulfate exists intracellularly as a soluble non-complexed substrate. If, on the other hand, cholesterol sulfate is present in the cell in lipid droplets as a complex with phospholipids, its metabolism may be under the same constraints as the side-chain cleavage of cholesterol.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1984

The stimulus-secretion coupling of amino acid-induced insulin release. Inhibition of islet respiration and insulin release by aminooxyacetate.

Aminooxyacetate, an inhibitor of cytosolic transamination reactions, inhibited insulin release evoked by either 2-ketoisocaproate or L-leucine in rat pancreatic islets incubated in the presence of L-glutamine or L-asparagine. As a rule, aminooxyacetate also inhibited the oxidation of these nutrient secretagogues and impaired the respiratory response of the islets to the combinations of nutrients. However, the oxidative and secretory response to the combination of L-leucine and L-glutamine was less severely affected by aminooxyacetate than that evoked by the three other combinations of exogenous nutrients. These findings reinforce the view that the stimulus-secretion coupling of insulin release in response to L-leucine and 2-ketoisocaproate in association with either L-glutamine or L-asparagine tightly depends on the oxidation of these nutrient secretagogues, on their effect upon O2 uptake and, within limits, on the intracellular site of generation of reducing equivalents in the pancreatic islet cells.

Acetates↗
PubMed1984

Studies on lens vimentin.

Antibody prepared against chick lens vimentin cross-reacts with chick fibroblast vimentin and with vimentin of mammalian, reptilian, amphibian and fish lenses. This protein is localized in the epithelial and cortical fiber cells and is progressively lost from the deeper cortical cells. It is absent from the nuclear cells. Lens vimentin is readily oxidized to form high molecular components.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Nicotinamide does not protect islet B-cell metabolism against alloxan toxicity.

Nicotinamide, a poly(ADP-ribose)synthetase inhibitor, protected NMRI mice against alloxan-induced hyperglycemia when given 10 min before, but not 10 min after, the injection of the drug. Pretreatment in vivo with nicotinamide induced hyperglycemia at the time of alloxan injection, and this could account for the protective action of nicotinamide against alloxan diabetes. Exposure of islets to alloxan (2 mM) in vitro caused a marked inhibition of both glucose-stimulated proinsulin biosynthesis and insulin release, and this was not affected by the action of nicotinamide. Alloxan-impaired islet glucose oxidation was partly restored by nicotinamide. The decreased islet content of NADH plus NAD, which was observed after alloxan treatment, could be prevented by nicotinamide. Glucose-stimulated islet oxygen uptake was abolished after treatment with alloxan, and nicotinamide had no protective effect in this process. Leucine (10 mM) plus glutamine (10 mM), however, were still able to evoke an islet respiratory response after alloxan exposure. Alloxan caused an immediate increase in the islet efflux of radiolabeled nucleotides, which was followed after about 5 min by a further increase. This latter increase of the radio efflux was inhibited by the addition of nicotinamide. The inability of nicotinamide to prevent the alloxan-induced impairment of proinsulin biosynthesis, insulin release, and oxygen uptake, together with the failure of nicotinamide to prevent the development of diabetes when given after alloxan, does not support a current hypothesis that the major cytotoxic effect of alloxan is primarily due to DNA damage. The present data suggest that organelles other than the nuclei, e.g., the mitochondria or the plasma membrane, are the primary sites of B-cell injury by alloxan.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alloxan↗
PubMed1984

The stimulus-secretion coupling of amino acid-induced insulin release. Secretory and oxidative response of pancreatic islets to L-asparagine.

L-Asparagine (2-10 mM) failed to affect insulin secretion from rat pancreatic islets incubated in the absence of exogenous nutrient or presence of D-glucose, but caused a dose-related and progressive enhancement of insulin release evoked by L-leucine, 2-aminobicyclo[2,2,1]heptane-2-carboxylate, or 2-ketoisocaproate. The secretory response to the combination of L-asparagine and L-leucine was augmented by theophylline and inhibited in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ or presence of either menadione or methylamine. L-Asparagine augmented leucine-stimulated 45Ca net uptake. The ATP content, rate of O2 uptake, and malate/pyruvate ratio were not significantly different in islets exposed to L-leucine alone or to both L-asparagine and L-leucine, respectively. In the sole presence of L-asparagine, however, the malate/oxalacetate ratio was decreased and the malate/pyruvate ratio increased, relative to basal values. It is proposed that the enhancing action of L-asparagine upon insulin release evoked by L-leucine might be due to an accelerated generation rate of cytosolic NADPH, rather than to any sizable increase in either islet respiration or steady-state cytosolic NADPH/NADP+ ratio.

Amino Acids↗