Glucose homeostasis is maintained by beta cells of pancreatic islets through precisely regulated release of insulin from preformed granules. To maintain constant intracellular insulin stores while meeting wide physiological variations in demand, insulin synthesis is modulated in parallel with secretion rates [1]. Immediately following glucose stimulation, synthesis is primarily augmented through enhanced translation [2] and decreased degradation of existing insulin mRNAs [3]. Glucose also induces delayed responses that are manifested several hours after stimulation [4] by increasing insulin gene transcription [5] and expression of other genes involved in beta-cell function. Increased gene expression of glucose transporter 2 (GLUT-2) [6], pyruvate kinase [7], acetyl-coenzyme A-carboxylase [8], and 64 kDa glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) [9] have been observed in primary rat islets in vitro and in rodent insulin-producing tumour cell lines following exposure to glucose. Together these changes comprise a delayed adaptive response that could be necessary to meet increased metabolic and secretory demands during extended or repeated periods of hyperglycaemia. Diabetologia (1999) Summary A copy deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) clone of the immediate early growth response gene, egr-1 (Krox-24, Zif268, NGFI-1), was isolated through subtractive hybridization screening to identify glucose-induced genes in pancreatic beta cells. Glucose rapidly and transiently induced egr-1 mRNA in the SV40-transformed murine beta-cell line, MIN6. Glucose also increased egr-1 mRNA expression in INS-1, bTC3 and RINm5F beta-cell lines, although with different kinetics. Expression of the 82 kDa Egr-1 protein was induced both in MIN6 cells stimulated with glucose in vitro and in primary rat islet cells stimulated in vivo or in vitro. This response is unique to beta cells since glucose did not affect egr-1 expression in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts or glucosesensitive hepatocytes. In beta cells egr-1 induction is specifically associated with insulin secretion, as it was not observed after stimulation with serum or insulin but was elicited by insulin secretagogues, including membrane depolarizing agents and cAMP agonists. Moreover, induction of egr-1 by glucose was inhibited by EDTA, indicating dependence on influx of extracellular Ca 2+. Other immediate early response genes, c-fos and junB, were also induced following glucose stimulation with kinetics similar to egr-1, whereas c-jun and junD expression were not affected. Since the zinc-finger protein encoded by egr-1 is highly homologous to transcription factors that control expression of glucose-regulated genes in yeast, Egr-1 could mediate delayed adaptive responses of beta cells to sustained glucose stimulation through transcriptional regulation. [Diabetologia (1999) 42: 195±203]

To investigate adaptive responses of pancreatic beta-cells to hyperglycemia, genes induced by glucose stimulation were identified by subtraction cloning. Among 53 clones representing differentially expressed genes, 20 encoded the endogenous opioid precursor, prodynorphin. The amino acid sequence of murine prodynorphin is identical to the rat protein in sequences comprising the opioid peptides and 86% identical in the remainder of the molecule. Stimulation of MIN6 cells increased prodynorphin RNA levels to more than 20-fold in proportion to physiological glucose concentrations. Similar induction levels were observed in murine betaTC3 and rat Rinm5F beta-cell lines. Prodynorphin RNA expression increased within 1 h of glucose stimulation, achieved maximal levels by 4 h, and remained elevated for at least 24 h. By using RIA, MIN6 cells were shown to contain and secrete increased amounts of dynorphin-A following glucose stimulation. Treatment of MIN6 cells with KCl, forskolin, or isobutyl-methyl-xanthine strongly induced prodynorphin RNA expression, suggesting that induction may be related to secretion-coupled signaling pathways. The induction of prodynorphin in several beta-cell lines is consistent with previous demonstrations of beta-cell synthesis of other endogenous opioids, including beta-endorphin, and suggests that opioids may have a potentially significant role in regulating beta-cell secretion.

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