Vitamin D Increases Glucose Stimulated Insulin Secretion from Insulin Producing Beta Cells (INS1E)

Vitamin D affects the pancreatic beta cell function and in vitro studies have shown that vitamin D may influence insulin secretion, apoptosis, and gene regulation. However, the outcomes have differed and there has been uncertainty regarding the effect of different vitamin D metabolites on insulin secretion.

We hypothesized that vitamin D could increase insulin secretion in insulin producing beta cells and investigated the effect of 25(OH) vitamin D and 1,25(OH)₂ vitamin D on insulin secretion.

The study was conducted in INS1E cells, an established insulinoma cell line from rat. The cells were divided into three groups; a control group, a group with 1,25(OH)₂ vitamin D enriched medium (10 nM), and a group with 25(OH) vitamin D (10 nM) supplemented medium. After 72 hours of treatment, the cells underwent glucose stimulation at different concentrations (0, 5, 11, and 22 mM) for 60 minutes.

INS1E cells treated with 1,25(OH)₂ vitamin D showed a trend towards increased insulin secretion at all glucose concentrations compared to control cells and at 22 mM glucose, the difference was significant (18.40 +/- 1.97 vs 12.90 +/- 2.22 nmol/L, P < 0.05). However, pretreatment with 25(OH) vitamin D did not show any significant increase in insulin secretion compared to cells without vitamin D treatment. There was no difference in insulin secretion in cells not stimulated with glucose.

Treatment with 1,25(OH)₂ vitamin D combined with high levels of glucose increased insulin secretion in INS1E cells, whereas 25(OH) vitamin D had no effect. This suggests that glucose stimulated insulin secretion in INS1E beta cells appears to be related to the type of vitamin D metabolite treatment.