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. 1969 Apr 1;41(1):167–176. doi: 10.1083/jcb.41.1.167

ISOLATION AND PROPERTIES OF SECRETORY GRANULES FROM RAT ISLETS OF LANGERHANS

III. Studies of the Stability of the Isolated Beta Granules

S L Howell 1, D A Young 1, P E Lacy 1
PMCID: PMC2107727  PMID: 4887229

Abstract

A partially purified secretory granule fraction, isolated from rat islets of Langerhans by differential centrifugation, was used for investigating the stability of the beta granules during incubation in various conditions. Effects of pH, temperature, and time were studied; the granules possessed optimal stability at 4° and pH 6.0, and could be solubilized at pH 4.0 or 8.5, or in the presence of sodium deoxycholate, but not by phospholipase c, ouabain, or alloxan. Incubation with glucose or some of its metabolites, or with tolbutamide, ATP, or cyclic 3',5'-AMP did not alter the stability of the beta granules Exogenous insulin-131I was not bound by the isolated granules under the conditions used; no specific insulin-degrading activity could be detected in subcellular fractions of the islets. These findings indicate that intracellular solubilization of the granules with subsequent diffusion of the insulin into the extracellular space is not a likely mode of insulin secretion in vivo, and suggest that a crystalline zinc-insulin complex may exist in the matrix of the beta granules.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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