It remains unclear how ␣-ketoisocaproate (KIC) and leucine are metabolized to stimulate insulin secretion. Mitochondrial BCATm (branched-chain aminotransferase) catalyzes reversible transamination of leucine and ␣-ketoglutarate to KIC and glutamate, the first step of leucine catabolism. We investigated the biochemical mechanisms of KIC and leucine-stimulated insulin secretion (KICSIS and LSIS, respectively) using Although leucine oxidation and KIC transamination were blocked in BCATm ؊/؊ islets, KIC oxidation was unaltered.These data indicate that KICSIS requires transamination of KIC and glutamate to leucine and ␣-ketoglutarate, respectively. LSIS does not require leucine catabolism and may be through leucine activation of glutamate dehydrogenase. Thus, KICSIS and LSIS occur by enhancing the metabolism of glutamine/glutamate to ␣-ketoglutarate, which, in turn, is metabolized to produce the intracellular signals such as ATP and NADPH for insulin secretion.To maintain glucose homeostasis in response to a meal, insulin secretion is precisely stimulated by nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, and free fatty acids as well as incretin hormones such as glucagon-like peptide-1. Nutrients are thought to stimulate insulin secretion through metabolic secretion coupling to generate metabolic signals, i.e. second messengers or coupling factors. Extensive research has been conducted to determine how nutrients are metabolized to generate these coupling factors, e.g. ATP and NADPH. Although leucine and ␣-ketoisocaproate (KIC) 3 are potent insulin secretagogues (1), the underlying mechanisms of leucine and KIC-stimulated insulin secretion (LSIS and KICSIS, respectively) remain elusive. A key question is whether their oxidative decarboxylation is required for induction of insulin secretion.