Altered anomeric specificity of glucose-induced insulin release in rabbits with duct-ligated pancreas.

Ligation of the pancreatic duct in rabbits provokes a decrease in the insulin and glucagon content of the pancreas, and may lead to chronic hyperglycemia. The insulin secretory behavior of the perfused pancreas is perturbed in duct-ligated animals, and this is illustrated in several respects: 1. The steady-state insulin output evoked by L-leucine (10 mM) is higher in duct-ligated than control rabbits; 2. In the presence of the amino acid, the response to D-glucose is characterized by a delayed onset, the absence of an early secretory peak, and a sluggish return towards basal value upon removal of the hexose from the perfusate; and 3. Whereas control rabbits display a higher secretory response to alpha- than beta-D-glucose, such is no more the case in duct-ligated rabbits. The perturbation of the anomeric specificity in secretory response is most obvious in diabetic duct-ligated rabbits, in which case beta-D-glucose stimulates insulin release more efficiently than alpha-D-glucose. In both control and duct-ligated rabbits, however, the alpha-anomer is more potent than the beta-anomer in suppressing leucine-stimulated glucagon secretion. These findings are compatible with the view that chronic hyperglycemia leads to alteration in the anomeric preference of the pancreatic B-cell for alpha-D-glucose, possibly as a result of the nonenzymatic glycation of glycolytic enzymes in insulin-producing, but not glucagon-producing, islet cells.