Sialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM): a new tool for the identification and sorting of beta-cell subpopulations with different functional activity

• Published in: Diabetes (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 50; no. suppl 1; pp. S125 - S130
• Main Authors: BERNARD-KARGAR, Catherine, KASSIS, Nadim, BERTHAULT, Marie-France, PRALONG, William, KTORZA, Alain
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria, VA American Diabetes Association 01-02-2001
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Separation - methods; Cells, Cultured; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endocrine pancreas; Flow Cytometry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucose - pharmacology; Immunohistochemistry; Insulin - metabolism; Insulin Secretion; Islets of Langerhans - chemistry; Islets of Langerhans - drug effects; Islets of Langerhans - metabolism; Male; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Morphology. Functional localizations; Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule L1; Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules - analysis; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Sialic Acids - analysis; Vertebrates: endocrinology; Vertebrata; Molecular form; Mammalia; Neural cell adhesion molecule; Investigation method; Rat; Langerhans islet; Rodentia; Biological marker; β Cell; Cell subpopulation; Endocrine pancreas
• ISSN: 0012-1797; 1939-327X
• DOI: 10.2337/diabetes.50.2007.S125

To clarify the relationship between variations in beta-cell mass and pancreatic function, we investigated the possibility to analyze, quantify, and sort beta-cell subpopulations with different functional maturity. To this aim, we tested the reliability of the sialylated form of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) (PSA-NCAM) as a marker of beta-cell functional activity. Islet cells isolated from adult rats were analyzed for their PSA-NCAM abundance using an anti-PSA-NCAM antibody. We found that PSA-NCAM is expressed only in beta-cells. The PSA-NCAM labeling was also studied with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. We showed that the beta-cell population is heterogeneous for PSA-NCAM labeling. To directly determine the relationship between PSA-NCAM labeling and beta-cell activity, in vitro insulin secretion studies were performed on sorted beta-cell subpopulations using a perifusion technique. Two beta-cell subpopulations were analyzed: one that was highly labeled for PSA-NCAM and another that was poorly labeled. Insulin secretion from high PSA-NCAM-labeled beta-cells was significantly higher than that in low PSA-NCAM-labeled beta-cells. This differential expression in the beta-cell population was well correlated with differences in glucose responsiveness. PSA-NCAM seems thus suitable for use as a tool to identify beta-cell subpopulations according to their glucose responsiveness.