Effect of 2-deoxyglucose on [32P] phosphate and insulin release from perifused rat pancreatic islets

The effect of 2-deoxyglucose on glucose mediated insulin and [32P]phosphate release was studied by perifusion of isolated rat pancreatic islets. When islets were perifused with media containing 2.8 mmol/l glucose and 20 mmol/l 2-deoxyglucose for 60 minutes and then exposed to media containing 8.3 or 16.7 mmol/l glucose and 20 mmol/l 2-deoxyglucose for the next 15 minutes, insulin release at either glucose concentration was prompt but blunted. Similarly, islets preincubated (90 min) with [32P] orthophosphate, then perifused with 20 mmol/l 2-deoxyglucose for 75 min and stimulated by either 8.3 or 16.7 mmol/l glucose for the final 15 minutes or 2-deoxyglucose exposure demonstrated obtundation of [32P]phosphate release. Perifusion of islets with 20 mmol/l 2-deoxyglucose alone induced no heightened 32P efflux. These studies suggest that 2-deoxyglucose affects initial events in stimulus-secretion coupling of glucose mediated insulin release.