Increased blood flow and vascular leakage of proteins preferentially affect tissues that are sites of diabetic complications in humans and animals. These vascular changes in diabetic rats are largely prevented by aminoguanidine. Glucose-induced vascular changes in nondiabetic rats are also prevented by aminoguanidine and by A^-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), an established inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) formation from L-arginine. Aminoguanidine and NMMA are equipotent inhibitors of interleukin-1 p-induced 1) nitrite formation (an oxidation product of NO) and cGMP accumulation by the rat p-cell insulinoma cell line RINm5F, and 2) inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and formation of iron-nitrosyl complexes by islets of Langerhans. In contrast, NMMA is ~40 times more potent than aminoguanidine in elevating blood pressure in nondiabetic rats. These results demonstrate that aminoguanidine inhibits NO production and suggest a role for NO in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular complications. Diabetes 41:552-56, 1992 N itric oxide synthase catalyzes the mixed functional oxidation of a guanidino nitrogen atom of L-arginine to yield L-citrulline and NO-(1,2). The constitutive isoform of NO-synthase is Ca 2+ dependent and produces small amounts of NO-that activate guanylate cyclase, resulting in the formation of cGMP, which mediates endothelium-dependent relaxation (2) and neural transmission (3). NO-is produced in much larger amounts by the cytokine-and endotoxininducible isoform of NO-synthase, which is Ca 2+ inde-

Cytokines have been implicated s immunological effector molecules that mediate beta cell destruction asciated with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In this report we demonstrate that the cytokine combination of human recombinant interieukin lp (IL-1*), tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a), and interferon y (IFN-y) induces the formation of nitric oxide by human islets. This combination of cytokines stimulates both the formation of the nitric oxide derivative, nitrite, and the accumulation of cGMP by human iWets. The nitric oide synthase inhibitor NG.monomethyl-L-argIne prevents formation of both cGMP and nitrite. IL-1,B and IFN-y are sufcient to induce nitric oide formation by human islets, whereas TNF-a potentiates nitrite production. This combination of cytokines (IL-1f3, TNF-a, and IFN-y) also influences insulin secretion by human idets. Pretreatment of human iWets with low concentrations of this cytokne combination (IL-lp at 15 units/ml, 0.7 nM TNF-a, and IFN-y at 150 units/ml) appears to slightly stimulate insulin secretion. Higher concentrations (IL-l1 at 75 units/nl, 3.5 nM TNF-a, and IFN-yat 750 units/ml) inhibit inlin secretion from human islets, and the inhibitory effect is prevented by NG-monomethyl-L-argine. This higher concentration of cytokines also induces the formation of an electron paramagnetic resonance-detectable g = 2.04 axial feature by human islets that is characteristic of the formation of an iron-diho-dinitrosyl complex. The formation of this complex is prevented by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, thus confirming that this cytokine combination induces the formation of nitric oxide by human islets. These results indicate that nitric oxide mediates the inhibitory effects of cytoldnes on glucosestimulated insulin secretion by human Wets and suggest that nitric oidde may participate in beta-cell dysfunction associated with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is an autoimmune disease characterized by specific destruction of the pancreatic islet beta cell (1). The destruction of beta cells is believed to be mediated by infiltrating lymphocytes. The ability of T cells to adoptively transfer diabetes in diabetesprone BB rats (2) and in the NOD mouse indicates that T cells participate in beta-cell destruction (3). Cytokines, released by infiltrating lymphocytes, have also been implicated as possible mediators of beta-cell destruction. Pretreatment of isolated rat islets with the cytokine human recombinant interleukin 1,B (IL-1*8) results in a concentration-and timedependent inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion that is followed by islet destruction after prolonged exposures to this cytokine (4, 5).The free-radical nitric oxide has been implicated as the cellular effector molecule that mediates the inhibitory and cytotoxic effects of IL-1,3 on rat islets (6). Pretreatment of rat islets for 18-24 hr with IL-1lB results in nearly complete inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion that is prevented by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor...

IntroductionNitric oxide has recently been implicated as the effector molecule that mediates IL-1(3-induced inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and (3-cell specific destruction. The pancreatic islet represents a heterogeneous cell population con-

Treatment of pancreatic islets with interleukin 1 (IL-1) results in a time-dependent inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion which has recently been demonstrated to be dependent on the metabolism of L-arginine to nitric oxide. In this report IL-1 beta is shown to induce the accumulation of cyclic GMP (cGMP) in a time-dependent fashion that mimics the time-dependent inhibition of insulin secretion by IL-1 beta. The accumulation of cGMP is dependent on nitric oxide synthase activity, since NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase) prevents IL-1 beta-induced cGMP accumulation. cGMP formation and nitrite production induced by IL-1 beta pretreatment of islets are also blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. The formation of cGMP does not appear to mediate the inhibitory effects of IL-1 beta on insulin secretion since a concentration of cycloheximide (1 microM) that blocks IL-1 beta-induced inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and nitric oxide formation does not prevent cGMP accumulation, thus dissociating the two events. By using e.p.r. spectroscopy, IL-1 beta is shown to induce the formation of a g = 2.04 iron-nitrosyl feature in islets which is prevented by cycloheximide, demonstrating the requirement of protein synthesis for IL-1 beta-induced nitric oxide formation. Iron-nitrosyl complex-formation by islets confirms that IL-1 beta induces the generation of nitric oxide by islets, and provides evidence indicating that nitric oxide mediates destruction of iron-sulphur clusters of iron-containing enzymes. Consistent with the destruction of iron-sulphur centres is the finding that pretreatment of islets with IL-1 beta results in an approx. 60% inhibition of mitochondrial oxidation of D-glucose to CO2. Inhibition of islet glucose oxidation appears to be mediated by nitric oxide since both NMMA and cycloheximide prevent IL-1 beta-induced inhibition of glucose oxidation. These results show that IL-1 beta-induced nitric oxide formation parallels the ability of IL-1 beta to inhibit glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by islets, and that protein synthesis is required for IL-1 beta-induced nitric oxide formation. These results also suggest that nitric oxide mediates IL-1 beta-induced inhibitory effects on the pancreatic beta-cell by functioning as an effector molecule responsible for the destruction of iron-sulphur centres of iron-containing proteins, resulting in an impairment of mitochondrial function.

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