Anti-insulin serum coupled to Sepharose 4B as a tool for the investigation of insulin biosynthesis in the B-cells of obese hyperglycemic mice.

The biosynthetic activity of the B-cells of obese hyperglycemic mice (obob) was measured by the incorporation of [3H]leucine into proteins in collagenase-isolated pancreatic islets. To quantitate the incorporation into proinsulin and insulin, an immune binding method was used. For this purpose, anti-insulin serum was coupled to cyanogen bromide-activated SepharoseR 4B. This turned out to be a specific and versatile technique for the measurement of newly synthesized proinsulin and insulin in the B-cells. The B-cells of obob mice appear to be well adapted to a high rate of hormone biosynthesis, since at 16.7 mM glucose 44% of [3H]leucine incorporated into TCA-precipitable proteins was bound to the insulin antibodies coupled to Sepharose 4B. The insulin biosynthetic rate was stimulated 9 times at 16.7 mM glucose, during a 3-h incubation, compared with the basal insulin biosynthesis rate.