Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

T J Rink

Publications and source records attributed to T J Rink.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Dose-response for glucagonostatic effect of amylin in rats.

Glucagon secretion from pancreatic alpha cells is inhibited by insulin from beta cells. Amylin is a partner hormone to insulin cosecreted in response to nutrient stimuli, which, like insulin, inhibits beta-cell secretion. We investigated whether amylin also inhibits alpha-cell secretion of glucagon in response to infused L-arginine. Rat amylin (1.2, 3.6, 12, 36, or 120 pmol/kg/min; calculated plasma concentration, 13, 47, 195, 713, and 2,950 pmol/L, respectively; n = 7, 8, 6, 4, and 7) or saline (n = 23) was infused into anesthetized male Harlan-Sprague-Dawley rats during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps, which were used to equalize the influences of glucose and insulin on glucagon secretion. Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and mean arterial pressures were not different between amylin- and saline-treated rats during a 10-minute 2-mmol L-arginine infusion delivered during the clamps. Plasma glucagon measurements taken during and after the arginine challenge showed that compared with saline infusions, amylin administration dose-dependently suppressed the glucagon response to arginine by a maximum of 62% (incremental area under the curve [AUC] 0 to 60 minutes) with a plasma amylin EC50 of 18 pmol/L +/- 0.3 log units. These data indicate that amylin potently inhibits arginine-stimulated glucagon secretion.

Amyloid↗

Comparison of the in vitro and in vivo pharmacology of adrenomedullin, calcitonin gene-related peptide and amylin in rats.

Adrenomedullin has been reported to be structurally similar to a group of peptides that includes amylin, calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Human and rat adrenomedullin displaced [125I]CGRP from membranes of SK-N-MC cells (CGRP receptors) with affinities intermediate between those of rat amylin and rat CGRP alpha (Ki values 0.12 +/- 0.06, 0.017 +/- 0.007, 3.83 +/- 1.14 and 0.007 +/- 0.001 nM, respectively). In contrast Ki values for displacement of [125I]rat amylin from accumbens membranes (amylin receptors), and [125I]salmon calcitonin from T47D cells (calcitonin receptors) were lower than with rat amylin or rat CGRP alpha in these preparations (51 +/- 5, 34 +/- 2, 0.024 +/- 0.002, 0.31 +/- 0.07 nM, respectively, at amylin receptors; 33 +/- 5, 69 +/- 29, 2.7 +/- 1.5 and 13 +/- 3 nM, respectively, at calcitonin receptors). In anesthetized rats, the hypotensive potency of adrenomedullin was between that of amylin and CGRP alpha. In contrast, for amylin or calcitonin agonist actions (inhibition of [14C]glycogen formation in soleus muscle, hyperlactemia, hypocalcemia and inhibition of gastric emptying), human adrenomedullin was without measurable effect. Thus, in its binding behaviour and in its biological actions, adrenomedullin appeared to behave as a potent CGRP agonist, but as a poor amylin or calcitonin agonist.

Adrenomedullin↗

Dose-responses for the slowing of gastric emptying in a rodent model by glucagon-like peptide (7-36) NH2, amylin, cholecystokinin, and other possible regulators of nutrient uptake.

Several peptides have been proposed as regulators of nutrient release from the stomach and subsequent uptake from the gut. Using a phenol red gavage method, we compared the potencies of subcutaneously preinjected amylin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (7-36)amide (GLP-1), cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8), gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), glucagon, and pancreatic peptide on slowing the release of an acaloric gel from rat stomach. The latter three peptides did not fully inhibit gastric emptying at subcutaneous doses up to 100 micrograms. Amylin, GLP-1, and CCK-8 fully inhibited gastric emptying, with ED50s of 0.42 +/- 0.07, 6.1 +/- 0.12, and 8.5 +/- 0.20 nmol/kg +/- SE of log, respectively.

Amino Acids↗

Lactate production from the rat hindlimb is increased after glucose administration and is suppressed by a selective amylin antagonist: evidence for action of endogenous amylin in skeletal muscle.

By serially measuring blood flow and venous-arterial lactate differences across the hindlimb of the fasted anesthetized rat, we examined (1) whether exogenous amylin increased muscle lactate production in vivo, (2) whether glucose administration increased muscle lactate production, and (3), by using the selective amylin antagonist AC187 to block endogenous peptide, whether amylin secreted in response to glucose could mediate muscle lactate production. Abdominal aortic flow was unchanged by any treatment. Hindlimb lactate production was increased by both 100 micrograms s.c. amylin (4.0 +/- 0.4 cf 2.6 +/- 0.3 mumol/min after saline, P < 0.05) and by infusion of 2mmol D-glucose (3.0 +/- 0.2 cf 2.3 +/- 0.2 mumole/hr after saline, P < 0.03). The increase in hindlimb lactate production was prevented by infusion of AC187 (mean post-treatment venoarterial delta-lactate 140 +/- 11 microM; n.s. vs saline-treated delta-lactate 154 +/- 10 microM; P < 0.05 vs glucose-treated delta-lactate 201 +/- 14 microM). These findings are consistent with endogenous amylin secreted in response to a glucose challenge having acted at skeletal muscle to release lactate.

Amyloid↗

Amylin and epinephrine have no direct effect on glucose transport in isolated rat soleus muscle.

Amylin and epinephrine did not significantly affect insulin stimulated, or basal, 3-O-methylglucose transport in isolated rat soleus muscle, as measured by the release of 3-O-methylglucose from pre-loaded tissue. Both amylin and epinephrine inhibited insulin-stimulated 2-deoxyglucose uptake (by 25% and 38%, respectively) in soleus muscle from fed rats but not from fasted rats. The latter results are consistent with amylin and epinephrine stimulating glycogenolysis and inhibiting hexokinase activity by intracellular accumulation of glucose 6-phosphate. We conclude that amylin, like epinephrine, does not specifically inhibit glucose transporters in skeletal muscle.

3-O-Methylglucose↗

Gastric emptying is accelerated in diabetic BB rats and is slowed by subcutaneous injections of amylin.

Gastric emptying was measured in normal and insulin-treated spontaneously diabetic BB rats using the retention of an acaloric methylcellulose gel containing phenol red delivered by gavage. Dye content in stomachs removed after killing 20 min later was determined spectroscopically, and was compared to that in rats killed immediately after gavage to assess emptying. Diabetic rats had a markedly greater gastric emptying (90.3 +/- 1.7% passed) compared to normal Harlan Sprague Dawley rats (49.1 +/- 4.7% passed; p < 0.001) and non-diabetic BB rats (61.1 +/- 9.2% passed; p < 0.001). The pancreatic beta-cell peptide, amylin, which is deficient in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, dose-dependently inhibited gastric emptying in both normal and diabetic rats. The ED50 of the response in normal rats measured by phenol red and novel [3-3H]glucose gavage techniques was approximately 0.4 microgram. This dose was estimated to increase plasma amylin concentration by a mean of approximately 20 pmol/l to concentrations within the range observed in vivo. It is proposed that amylin could participate in the physiological control of nutrient entry into the duodenum and that the accelerated gastric emptying seen in BB rats could be related to their lack of amylin secretion.

Amyloid↗

Diabetogenic effects of salmon calcitonin are attributable to amylin-like activity.

During the development of synthetic calcitonins for therapeutic use in bone disease, a "diabetogenic" (hyperglycemic) effect was observed, particularly with salmon calcitonin. The effect was attributed by some to inhibition of insulin secretion. We have recently reported high-affinity (28 pmol/L) amylin-binding sites in certain areas of rat brain, and found that these sites also bind salmon but not rat calcitonin with comparable high affinity. Rat amylin and salmon calcitonin have been determined to have significant structural homology. In vitro and in vivo studies indicate that rat amylin can exert calcitonin-like effects on osteoclasts and on plasma calcium. Here we report that salmon calcitonin mimics the actions of rat amylin on skeletal muscle glycogen metabolism in vitro; it stimulates glycogenolysis and inhibits incorporation of radiolabeled glucose into glycogen (50% effective concentration [EC50], 0.4 +/- 0.11 nmol/L log and 8.4 +/- 0.05 nmol/L log, respectively). In anesthetized rats, salmon calcitonin, like rat amylin, rapidly increases plasma lactate concentration, followed by a slower increase in glucose concentration. Like amylin, salmon calcitonin also inhibits the insulin response to 2 mmol infused glucose (insulin increments suppressed by 52% and 57% at 10 minutes for salmon calcitonin and amylin). Other shared actions, such as suppression of appetite, stimulation of renin secretion, inhibition of gastric acid secretion, and inhibition of gastric emptying, further affirm our proposal that the exogenous peptide, salmon calcitonin, is a mimic of endogenous amylin in the rat.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Regulation of muscle glycogen metabolism by CGRP and amylin: CGRP receptors not involved.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether amylin and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) act through shared or distinct receptors to inhibit insulin-stimulated incorporation of [14C]-glucose into glycogen. Rat amylin was 3 fold more potent than either rat alpha CGRP or rat beta CGRP at reducing glycogen synthesis from [14C]-glucose in insulin-treated rat soleus muscle. This action was blocked by peptide antagonists, with the rank order of potency being AC187 > salmon calcitonin8-32 (sCT8-32) > h-alpha CGRP8-37 for antagonism of either amylin or CGRP. The antagonist potency order correlated with affinity for amylin receptors measured in rat nucleus accumbens but not CGRP receptors measured in rat L6 muscle cells. Inhibition of glucose incorporation into glycogen by amylin and CGRP appears to be mediated by shared receptors that have the pharmacological characteristics of amylin receptors, and are distinct from previously described CGRP receptors.

Amyloid↗

Differential antagonism of amylin's metabolic and vascular actions with amylin receptor antagonists.

High affinity amylin binding sites are present in the rat nucleus accumbens. These sites bind [125I]amylin with an affinity of 27 pM and have high affinity for salmon calcitonin (sCT) and moderately high affinity for calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP). N-terminally truncated peptides were tested for their ability to compete for [125I]amylin binding to these sites and to antagonize the metabolic and vascular actions of amylin. CGRP(8-37), sCT(8-32), and ac-[Asn30,Tyr32]sCT(8-32) (AC187) inhibited [125I]amylin binding to rat nucleus accumbens. Order of potency at inhibiting amylin binding (AC187 > sCT(8-32) > CGRP(8-37)) differed from the order of potency at inhibiting [125I]CGRP binding to SK-N-MC neuroblastoma cells (CGRP(8-37) > AC187 > sCT(8-32)) . AC187 was the most potent antagonist of amylin's effects on isolated rat soleus muscle glycogen metabolism, and it was more effective than either sCT(8-32) or CGRP(8-37) at reducing amylin-stimulated hyperlactemia in rats. In contrast, CGRP(8-37) was the most potent peptide at antagonizing amylin-induced hypotension in rats. Amylin's hypotensive actions appear to be mediated by a weak action at CGRP receptors, while its metabolic actions are mediated by receptors with a distinct antagonist profile. AC187 is a potent antagonist of amylin binding sites in nucleus accumbens and of amylin's metabolic actions.

Amyloid↗

Selective amylin antagonist suppresses rise in plasma lactate after intravenous glucose in the rat. Evidence for a metabolic role of endogenous amylin.

Data presented here provide the first demonstration that circulating amylin regulates metabolism in vivo, and support an endocrine hormonal role that is distinct from its autocrine action at pancreatic islets. When rats were pre-treated with the potent amylin antagonist AC187 (n = 18), and then administered a 2 mmol glucose load, the rise in plasma lactate was less than in rats administered glucose only (n = 27; P < 0.02). When rats were treated so that plasma glucose and insulin profiles were similar (n = 8), the increase in plasma lactate in the presence of AC187 was only 50.3% as high as the increase when AC187 was absent (P < 0.001). These experimental results fit with the view that some of the lactate appearing in plasma after a glucose load comes from insulin-sensitive tissues. The experiments also support the view that an important fraction of the increase in lactate depends on processes inhibited by a selective amylin antagonist, most likely amylin action in muscle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Molecular physiology of amylin.

Amylin is a 37-amino acid peptide first isolated, purified, and characterized from the amyloid deposits in the pancrease of type 2 diabetics. It is synthesized and secreted primarily from pancreatic beta cells along with insulin. The ability of amylin to potently reduce insulin-stimulated incorporation of glucose into glycogen in skeletal muscle requires both an intact 2Cys-7Cys disulfide bond and a COOH-terminal amide. Amylin has structural and functional relationships to two other messenger proteins, calcitonin and CGRP. Amylin has relatively potent calcitonin-like activity on bone metabolism and weaker CGRP-like activity on the vasculature. CGRP is a slightly weaker agonist than amylin for metabolic responses. Although rat calcitonins are weak, teleost fish calcitonins are very potent agonists for amylin's metabolic effects. This group of peptides appears to act on a family of related G protein-coupled receptors; several variant calcitonin receptors have recently been cloned and expressed. These receptors appear to be coupled to adenylyl cyclase in many instances; recent evidence supports the view that amylin's effects on skeletal muscle occur, at least in large part, through activation of the cAMP pathway.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Dose response characteristics for the hyperglycemic, hyperlactemic, hypotensive and hypocalcemic actions of amylin and calcitonin gene-related peptide-I (CGRP alpha) in the fasted, anaesthetized rat.

Amylin, a 37 amino-acid peptide secreted from the pancreatic beta-cells, exerts marked effects on carbohydrate metabolism in intact rats. It has approximately 50% amino-acid identity with the calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP) as well as certain shared biological actions. In vivo potencies were determined for four responses (increases in plasma glucose, increases in plasma lactate, decreases in plasma calcium, and depression of arterial pressure). These responses were measured in fasted, lightly anaesthetized rats given single intravenous bolus injections of rat amylin or rat CGRP alpha at doses of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1000 micrograms (about 7 pmol/kg-700 nmol/kg). Control animals received an equal volume of saline. The order of potency for the different responses was as follows: (i) increase in plasma glucose concentration, amylin approximately 2 times more potent than CGRP (by ED50) with detectable responses occurring at doses 100-fold less; (ii) decrease in plasma total calcium concentration, CGRP of equal or greater potency than amylin; and (iii) decrease in arterial pressure, CGRP 44-fold more potent than amylin. An increase in plasma lactate occurred with amylin doses 1000-fold lower than the CGRP doses producing such effects. Saturation of the dose-dependent increase in lactate was not observed, so median effective doses (ED50) were not obtained. These results are consistent with the existence of separate receptor systems for amylin and CGRP. The effects of amylin on plasma glucose and lactate concentrations were demonstrable at doses of 0.1-1.0 micrograms (70-700 pmol/kg). These doses produced plasma levels that were within the concentration range previously reported for insulin-resistant rats, supporting the proposal that amylin is a physiologic endocrine regulator of carbohydrate metabolism in vivo.

Amyloid↗

Structure and biology of amylin.

Amylin is a recently discovered 37 amino acid peptide secreted into the bloodstream, along with insulin, from pancreatic beta-cells. It is about 50% identical to calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP alpha and CGRP beta) and structurally related to the calcitonins. Amylin can elicit the vasodilator effects of CGRP and the hypocalcaemic actions of calcitonin, while these peptides can mimic newly discovered actions of amylin on carbohydrate metabolism. The different relative potencies of these peptides suggest that they act with different selectivities at a family of receptors. Amylin is deficient in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, while plasma levels are elevated in insulin-resistant conditions such as obesity and impaired glucose tolerance. In this Viewpoint article, Tim Rink and colleagues propose that amylin is an endocrine partner to insulin and glucagon; deficiency or excess of amylin may therefore contribute to important metabolic diseases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Response to intravenous injections of amylin and glucagon in fasted, fed, and hypoglycemic rats.

The actions of intravenous glucagon and amylin, a newly discovered hyperglycemic pancreatic islet hormone, have been compared in 20-h fasted and fed, lightly anesthetized rats, and in rats made hypoglycemic with an insulin infusion. In fasted animals, amylin (75 nmol/kg) was more effective than glucagon (90 nmol/kg) in increasing plasma glucose (glucose increment 4.55 vs. 1.71 mM, P < 0.001). Amylin elicited a marked increase in plasma lactate, as previously reported, whereas glucagon did not alter plasma lactate. In fed animals, glucagon elicited twice as much increase in plasma glucose as did amylin; amylin again elicited a marked lactate increase that was greater (increment 1.45 vs. 0.97 mM, P < 0.05) and more prolonged than in the fasted state, whereas glucagon was without effect on lactate levels. These findings are consistent with glucagon's known action to promote hyperglycemia from hepatic glycogenolysis and amylin's demonstrated action to promote muscle glycogenolysis and increase lactate supply to the liver. Infusions of sodium lactate that produced plasma lactate increments similar to those evoked by 75 nmol/kg amylin evoked patterns of glucose response in fasted and fed rats similar to those evoked by amylin. Thus increased lactate supply to the liver may account for amylin's hyperglycemic effects. Amylin and glucagon could each restore plasma glucose to control levels in fasted animals made hypoglycemic by insulin infusion (plasma glucose reduced to 3.3 mM). A bolus of 75 nmol/kg amylin was more effective than 180 nmol/kg glucagon, restoring basal glucose levels for > 3 h, whereas glucagon restored it for < 1 h.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amyloid↗

High affinity amylin binding sites in rat brain.

Amylin, a 37-amino acid peptide structurally related to calcitonin gene-related peptide, is synthesized in and released along with insulin from pancreatic beta-cells. Amylin is proposed to act as an endocrine partner to insulin, in part through actions upon skeletal muscle that promote cycling of gluconeogenic precursors to liver. We report here that binding sites with high affinity (Kd = 27 pm) for radioiodinated rat amylin are present in the nucleus accumbens region of rat brain. Competition experiments show that sites measured in nucleus accumbens membranes have high affinity for rat amylin, lower affinity for rat calcitonin gene-related peptides, and very low affinity for rat calcitonin. In contrast to rat calcitonin, salmon calcitonin has a high affinity for these sites, indicating that it shares critical binding determinants with amylin. We further tested whether salmon calcitonin shares with amylin the ability to regulate glycogen metabolism in rat skeletal muscle. Salmon calcitonin potently inhibits insulin-stimulated glucose incorporation into rat soleus muscle glycogen, suggesting that rat skeletal muscle may also contain receptor populations that have high affinity for both amylin and salmon calcitonin.

Amyloid↗