Insulin Secretion in Response to L-Arginine under Decreasing Tetrahydrobiopterin Content

• Main Authors: Ishii Masakazu, Shimizu Shunichi, Watabe Tatsuya, Kiuchi Yuji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2008-02-01
• Series: Pteridines
• Subjects: tetrahydrobiopterin; nitric oxide; calcium; l-arginine; insulin; β-cell
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/pteridines.2008.19.1.93

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) content in the pancreas from GK (Goto-Kakizaki) rats as a type II diabetic model was markedly decreased compared to Wistar rats as a healthy control. Moreover, insulin stimulated BH4 synthesis in a hamster pancreatic β-cell line, HIT-T15 cells. Therefore, in diabetic condition, the reduction of insulin action is likely to lead to the low levels of BH4 content in pancreatic β-cells. In this study, we examined the effects of the decrease in BH4 content on insulin secretion by L-arginine (L-Arg) or glucose using HIT-T15 cells. Cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in HIT-T15 cells was increased by L-Arg. Under the low BH4 content using 2,4- diamino-6-hydroxypyrimidine (DAHP), a selective inhibitor of BH4 synthesis, L-Arg-induced both Ca2+ response and insulin secretion were stimulated. These stimulating effects were recovered by BH4 content recovering, using sepiapterin, a precursor of BH4 biosynthesis. By contrast, glucose-induced Ca2+ response was not affected by the BH4 content. These results suggest that the decrease of BH4 content in β-cells may stimulate insulin secretion by L-Arg, but not by glucose, under diabetic conditions.