Phosphoinositide phosphorylation and hydrolysis in pancreatic islet cell membrane

Membranes were isolated from dispersed rat pancreatic islet cells by attachment to Sephadex beads. When these membranes were exposed to [gamma-32P]ATP, formation of 32P-labeled phosphatidate, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate, and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate was observed. Carbamylcholine, added 10 s prior to lipid extraction, caused a dose-related fall in 32P-labeled phospholipids. The effect of the cholinergic agent was suppressed by atropine, ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid, and verapamil, and simulated, in part, by an increase in Ca2+ concentration. When the membranes were derived from islet cells prelabeled with [U-14C]arachidonate, carbamylcholine stimulation, in addition to decreasing labeled polyphosphoinositides, was accompanied by an increased production of labeled diacylglycerol, without a concomitant increase in labeled phosphatidylinositol. These results indicate that activation of a plasma membrane-associated phospholipase C directed against polyphosphoinositides represents a primary event in the functional response of the pancreatic beta cell to cholinergic agents.