Enhanced glucagon secretion by pancreatic islets from prednisolone-treated mice

This work was undertaken to study the effect of prednisolone on glucagon release in mouse pancreatic islets isolated by the collagenase technique. Pretreatment of the donors with prednisolone (0.2--0.3 mg daily) induced an increase in glucagon release both in the absence (1005+/-75, SEM, vs. 796+/-46 pg/10 islets/60 min, p=0.019) and in the presence of 7.5 mM arginine (1500+/-119 vs. 1236+/-61 pg/10 islets/60 min, p=0.05). The glucagon content of the islets was not modified by the treatment (28.6+/-1.1 vs. 28.0+/-1.1 ng/50 islets). The addition of prednisolone (5 - 10(-5) M) into the medium, failed to affect significantly glucagon secretion. In agreement with previous human studies, our data indicate that chronic glucocorticoid administration augments the secretory activity of the A-cell. This does not seem to be a result of increased glucagon synthesis nor a direct effect of glucocorticoids on the glucagon-releasing mechanism. Rather, environmental changes induced by these hormones could be responsible for A-cell hyperfunction.