Sorbitol synthesis in isolated rat pancreatic islets

Sorbitol in isolation of rat pancreatic islets. Effects on islet yield, insulin secretion and accumulation of inositol phosphates

Tissue aggregation and exocrine contamination are problems encountered in gradient separation of pancreatic islets. Here we report that sorbitol used as an osmotic component in Percoll gradients gives a low ionic strength gradient with improved purity of islet fraction, less islet aggregation and reduced time for final manual rinsing following separation in gradients with NaCl as osmotic component. Previous reports have indicated that long-term (weeks) exposure to high sorbitol concentrations leads to low intracellular levels of inositol phosphates and subsequent effects on the intracellular signal transduction in cells. In our model, short-term exposure to high sorbitol concentrations had no effect on the accumulation of the inositol phosphates or insulin secretion caused by glucose. On the other hand, sorbitol increased the basal insulin secretion three-fold, apparently via a non-stimulatory mechanism. Therefore, we conclude that sorbitol is preferable to NaCl as the osmotic component in Percoll gradient separation of rat pancreatic islets, although long-term exposure should be avoided due to potential toxic effects.

Inhibition of glucose-induced release of insulin by aldose reductase inhibitors

ALDOSE REDUCTASE (ALDITOL: NADP oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21) is the enzyme responsible for the conversion of glucose to its sugar alcohol, sorbitol. In this study, aldose reductase and a closely related enzyme, L-hexonate dehydrogenase (L-gulonate: NADP oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.19), were purified from rat pancreas. Glutaric acid, 2,4-dimethyl glutaric acid, 3,3-tetramethylene glutaric acid, and colchicine inhibited both enzymes, albeit with different potencies. These compounds also inhibited both phases of glucose-induced release of insulin by the perfused rat pancreas. The potencies of these inhibitors in depressing the release of insulin correlated with their effectiveness in inhibiting aldose reductase. At higher concentrations of inhibitors, tolbutamide-induced release of insulin was also depressed. The addition of exogenous sorbitol to pancreases treated with glutaric acid restored their ability to respond to glucose and tolbutamide. These findings suggest that the conversion of free intracellular glucose to sorbitol in the beta cell is an essential step in the glucose-induced release mechanism.