The role of sodium and potassium in insulin secretion from rabbit pancreas.

1. Insulin secretion from pieces of rabbit pancreas incubated in vitro was studied in media of different ionic composition and in response to different substances added to the media.2. Experiments were performed which demonstrated that a sodium pump played a role in insulin secretion and that inhibition of the pump by ouabain, or by the omission of extracellular potassium, stimulated insulin secretion.3. A rise in extracellular potassium concentration stimulated insulin secretion independently of changes in the osmolarity or sodium or chloride concentration of the incubation medium.4. The role of extracellular sodium in insulin secretion was investigated. Extracellular sodium was a pre-requisite for insulin secretion stimulated by glucose, glucagon, L-leucine, tolbutamide, potassium or ouabain.5. The presence of 3.3 mM glucose in the incubation medium was not essential for the stimulation of insulin secretion by L-leucine, tolbutamide or ouabain. Glucagon did not stimulate insulin secretion in the presence of 3.3 mM glucose but did so in the presence of 16.5 mM glucose.6. The results obtained in these experiments suggested that a transmembrane sodium flux probably in the beta cell was a fundamental event in the stimulation of insulin secretion by diverse stimuli.