D-mannoheptulose was recently found to inhibit D-glucose metabolism in hepatocytes and pancreatic islets, whilst failing to do so in parotid cells, erythrocytes and the exocrine pancreas. In the latter three systems, however, the hexaacetate ester of D-mannoheptulose efficiently inhibits D-glucose metabolism. It was proposed, therefore, that the transport of unesterified D-mannoheptulose into cells may be mediated by GLUT2. Since cytochalasin B is known to inhibit D-glucose transport into pancreatic islet cells, it was now investigated whether the mould metabolite (0.02 mM) also impairs the inhibitory action of D-mannoheptulose (1.0 mM) upon D-glucose metabolism in rat pancreatic islets. The relative extent of D-mannoheptulose inhibitory action on D-[5-3H]glucose utilization and D-[U-14C]glucose conversion to 14CO2, as well as radioactive amino acids and acidic metabolites, was indeed much less marked in the presence of cytochalasin B (13+/-4% inhibition) than in its absence (40+/-3% inhibition). A comparable situation was not observed, however, in the case of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, cytochalasin B augmenting insulin output to the same relative extent in the absence or presence of D-mannoheptulose. These findings support the view that the entry of D-mannoheptulose into cells may be mediated by a cytochalasin B-sensitive transport system, such as the GLUT2 carrier.

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