Role for c-Jun N-terminal kinase in beta-cell recovery from nitric oxide-mediated damage

Treatment of rat islets with the cytokine IL-1 results in the inhibition of mitochondrial function and insulin secretion, events that are mediated by beta-cell expression of iNOS [inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase] and production of NO. beta-Cells recover from the inhibitory actions of NO, produced following 24 h incubation with IL-1, on islet oxidative metabolism and insulin secretion if iNOS enzymatic activity is inhibited and the islets are cultured (in the presence of IL-1 and iNOS inhibitors) for a brief period of 8 h. Islet recovery from cytokine- and NO-mediated damage is an active process that requires new gene expression, and NO itself is one activator of this recovery process. In this study, the mechanism by which NO stimulates islet recovery has been examined. Incubation of rat islets or RINm5F cells with the NO donor compound, sodium (Z)-1(N,N-diethylamino) diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (DEA-NO) for 1 h results in a 60% inhibition of mitochondrial aconitase activity. beta-Cells completely recover aconitase activity if the cells are washed to remove the NO donor compound and incubated for an additional 5 h in the absence of DEA-NO. The recovery of mitochondrial aconitase activity correlates with a 4-fold increase in cyclic GMP accumulation and is prevented by the inhibition of guanylate cyclase. The recovery of aconitase activity also correlates with the activation of members of the MAPKs, p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and ERK, and the activation p38 and JNK is attenuated by inhibition of guanylate cyclase. ERK and p38 do not appear to participate in the recovery process as selective inhibition of these kinases fails to prevent recovery of aconitase activity; however, transduction of beta-cells with a dominant negative mutant JNK prevents beta-cell recovery from NO-mediated damage. These findings support a role for guanylate cyclase and JNK in the recovery of beta-cells from NO-mediated damage.