Characterization of voltage‐dependent sodium and calcium channels in mouse pancreatic A‐ and B‐cells

Abstract

Insulin and glucagon are the major hormones of the islets of Langerhans that are stored and released from the B- and A-cells, respectively. Both hormones are secreted when the intracellular cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) increases. The [Ca2+]i is modulated by mutual inhibition and activation of different voltage-gated ion channels. The precise interplay of these ion channels in either glucagon or insulin release is unknown, owing in part to the difficulties in distinguishing A- from B-cells in electrophysiological experiments. We have established a single-cell RT-PCR method to identify A- and B-cells from the mouse. A combination of PCR, RT-PCR, electrophysiology and pharmacology enabled us to characterize the different sodium and calcium channels in mouse islet cells. In both A- and B-cells, 60% of the inward calcium current (I(Ca)) is carried by L-type calcium channels. In B-cells, the predominant calcium channel is Ca(v)1.2, whereas Ca(v)1.2 and Ca(v)1.3 were identified in A-cells. These results were confirmed by using mice carrying A- or B-cell-specific inactivation of the Ca(v)1.2 gene. In B-cells, the remaining I(Ca) flows in equal amounts through Ca(v)2.1, Ca(v)2.2 and Ca(v)2.3. In A-cells, 30 and 15% of I(Ca) is due to Ca(v)2.3 and Ca(v)2.1 activity, respectively, whereas Ca(v)2.2 current was not found in these cells. Low-voltage-activated T-type calcium channels could not be identified in A- and B-cells. Instead, two TTX-sensitive sodium currents were found: an early inactivating and a residual current. The residual current was only recovered in a subpopulation of B-cells. A putative genetic background for these currents is Na(v)1.7.