CYCLIC adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate potentiates Ca2+ signaling and insulin secretion by phospholipase C-linked hormones in HIT cells.

Neurotransmitters and hormones, by binding to receptors linked to adenylate cyclase or phospholipase C (PLC), increase cytosolic free Ca2+ and potentiate glucose-induced insulin release from beta-cells. Interactions between both signaling pathways may occur and be of relevance to the regulation of insulin secretion. We demonstrate here that in single insulin-secreting HIT cells, forskolin and 8-bromo-cAMP, which stimulate Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCC), cause a marked increase in the frequency, amplitude, and duration of Ca2+ transients evoked by hormones linked to PLC, such as arginine vasopressin (AVP) or bombesin. Forskolin also potentiates AVP- or bombesin-induced insulin secretion from populations of HIT cells in the presence of elevated glucose (10 mM). BAY K 8644, an activator of VDCC, mimicked the effects of elevated cAMP on both AVP- and bombesin-induced Ca2+ transients and insulin release, which suggests that enhanced Ca2+ influx through VDCC activated by cAMP-dependent mechanisms underlies the positive interactions of both signaling pathways on Ca2+ signaling and insulin secretion. Physiologically, synergistic cross-signaling between the cAMP- and Ca2+ -phosphoinositide signaling pathway could be important for the regulation of insulin release under conditions where extracellular glucose is high and beta-cells are exposed to multiple stimuli activating adenylate cyclase or PLC at the same time.