Alterations in net glucose uptake and in the pancreatic B-cell GLUT2 transporter induced by diazoxide and by secretory stimuli

The pancreatic B-cell GLUT2 transporter and glucose metabolism were examined in isolated rat islets subjected to treatments affecting insulin secretion. Diazoxide was used to inhibit, while glipizide or depolarization of the plasma membrane with a high extracellular K+ concentration were used to stimulate insulin release in short-term experiments. Islet GLUT2 and insulin were determined by quantitative immunohistochemistry and GLUT2 was also determined by Western blot analysis. Islet net glucose uptake and glucose oxidation were measured using radioactively labelled glucose. Exposure of the islets to diazoxide was associated with a marked increase in the B-cell plasma membrane staining for GLUT2 and increased net glucose uptake. Glucose oxidation was not changed, which may reflect a lowered energy requirement. Conversely, islets subjected to a stimulated insulin secretion with glipizide or a high extracellular K+ concentration showed a reduced staining of the GLUT2 transporter. The net glucose uptake and glucose oxidation were also reduced. In islets exposed to the high K+ concentration no change in the molecular weight or phosphorylation of GLUT2 was observed but a lesser amount of the transporter was found by Western blot analysis. Thus, GLUT2 and glucose uptake in the pancreatic B-cell are modified by the secretory process, which suggests that changes in the glucose transporter have a functional role in normal B-cell physiology.