Analysis of oxygen radical toxicity in pancreatic islets at the single cell level.

Despite extensive studies on streptozotocin, alloxan and nitric oxide toxicity in pancreatic islets the mechanism of oxygen radical induced islet cell death has not been determined. The present study shows at the level of single cells that following exposure to oxygen radicals generated from xanthine oxidase DNA strand breaks occur in cell nuclei within 5-60 min and precede cell death by several hours. Similar kinetics were seen when treating islet cells with the alkylating agent streptozotocin. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated the endogenous formation of ADP-ribose polymers in nearly all islet cell nuclei within minutes of treatment with xanthine oxidase, indicating activation of the enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Concomitantly, cellular NAD+ depletion was noted. Nicotinamide largely prevented NAD+ depletion and in parallel resulted in islet cell survival. These findings identify islet cell nuclear DNA as a primary target of oxygen radical toxicity and suggest related pathways of oxygen radical, nitric oxide and streptozotocin toxicity.