Effects of stimulation of adenylate cyclase and protein kinase-C on cultured fetal rat B-cells.

To study the maturation of fetal pancreatic B-cells, cell suspensions of pancreas from 21.5-day-old fetuses were cultured in RPMI medium containing 10 mM glucose. Forskolin (1 microM), used to stimulate adenylate cyclase, moderately delayed the neoformation of islets, slightly accelerated the proliferation of endocrine cells, and considerably increased insulin release by the cultures. The latter increase was not completely compensated for by the stimulation of insulin biosynthesis, so that the islet insulin content was decreased. The phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA; 25 nM), used to stimulate protein kinase-C, had little effect on the evolution of the cultures, but increased insulin release. This increase was almost compensated for by the stimulation of insulin biosynthesis. After 9-10 days of culture, insulin release in response to 15 mM glucose or 10 mM leucine was studied with perifused islets. In control islets, glucose produced a sustained increase in insulin release, which, however, was 6-fold smaller than that produced by leucine. Addition of forskolin or TPA to the perifusion medium markedly amplified the response to glucose without causing a biphasic pattern of release. In islets cultured with forskolin, the insulin response to glucose or leucine was decreased, largely owing to the lower insulin stores. In islets cultured with TPA, the insulin response to glucose or leucine was also decreased, but these differences cannot be explained simply by changes in insulin content. Neither treatment affected the kinetics of release. In conclusion, acute stimulation of adenylate cyclase or protein kinase-C markedly increased insulin release from fetal islets without causing an adult-like biphasic pattern of secretion. Chronic stimulation did not accelerate maturation of B-cells.