Monoamine oxidase inhibitors: nature of their interaction with rabbit pancreatic islets to alter insluin secretion.

Using an in vitro rabbit pancreas system, we studied the effect of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors on flucose-stimulated insulin secretion. We evaluated the effect of both brief (15 min) and prolonged (60 min) exposure of pancreas segments to non-hydrazine (harmine, alpha-methyltryptamine, tranylcypromine and pargyline) and hydrazine (phenelzine, nialamide, iproniazid) type MAO inhibitors. All of the hydrazine type MAO inhibitors potentiated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Of the non-hydrazine inhibitors, only harmine and alpha-methyltryptamine potentiated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Hydrazine, although not itself an MAO inhibitor, also potentiated insulin secretion. Sixty minutes of exposure to tranylcypromine or alpha-methyltryptamine caused a decrease in insulin secretion. These MAO inhibitors are primary amines and primary amines can inhibit insulin secretion. The dopamine (DA) or serotonin (5-HT) content of the B-cells was increased by incubating rabbit pancreas with L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-Dopa) or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) for forty-five minutes prior to stimulation with glucose. Non-hydrazine MAO inhibitors increased dopamine inhibition of insulin secretion and either did not alter, or decreased serotonin inhibition of insulin secretion. Rabbit pancreatic islets were isolated using the collagenase digestion technique. The MAO activity of islet homogenates was determined using 5-HT and DA as substrates. Rabbit islet MAO has only one-tenth the specific activity against 5-HT (35 +/- 8.7 mumumoles/mg/min, M +/- SEM) that it has against DA (357 +/- 62.3 mumumoles/mg/min). This suggests that one reason that MAT inhibitors do not increase serotonin inhibition of insulin secretion is because MAO is not the major pathway for 5-HT inactivation in rabbit pancreatic islets. These studies suggest that MAO inhibitors alter insulin secretion, by both decreasing B-cell monoamine degradation and by mechanisms that do not involve MAO inhibition.