Twenty-four hour variations in subcellular structures of rat pancreatic islet B-, A- and D-cells, and of portal plasma glucose and insulin levels.

Variations in stomach weights, plasma glucose and insulin levels in the portal vein, and in subcellular structures of rat pancreatic islet B-, A- and D-cells were examined over 24 h. The variation in stomach weights paralleled plasma glucose levels, indicating that the levels may be influenced by intestinal glucose absorption. Plasma insulin levels increased from the late dark to the early light periods, whereas they decreased from the late light to the early dark periods. The variation in plasma insulin levels was in the opposite sense to that in the relative numbers of B-cell granules. The decrease in the relative numbers of A-cell granules occurred between the late dark and early light periods. The relative numbers of D-cell granules decreased before and after the decreases in B- and A-cell granules. The variation in D-cell granules appears to correspond to the inhibitory effect of somatostatin. The relative amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) in each cell varied in a reciprocal manner to those of B-cell granules. Moreover, the variation in plasma insulin levels coincided with variations in rER of hepatocytes and pancreatic acinar cells. The changes in rER of each cell may correlate with the trophic effect of insulin.