Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder projected to afflict 700 million people globally by 2045. Fundamental to the progression of diabetes is an insufficient supply of insulin to meet metabolic demand. The MIN6-K8 cell line is a mouse insulinoma model of pancreatic β-cells frequently used to study the mechanisms of insulin secretion. Here, we evaluated the effects of short-term exposure to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a polar aprotic solvent commonly used in drug screening, on physiological characteristics of MIN6-K8 cells. Short-term exposure of MIN6-K8 cells to DMSO enhanced glucose-induced and tolbutamide-stimulated insulin secretion without significant effects on basal secretion or potassium responsiveness. Calcium influx was enhanced during glucose and tolbutamide treatments, suggesting that DMSO’s mechanism of action is upstream of calcium-dependent insulin granule exocytosis. Based on these studies, investigators should use caution when conducting experiments with DMSO in the MIN6-K8 cell line and should report all DMSO concentrations when used as a solvent.
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Availability of data
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Change history
09 May 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-01988-9
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Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Rui Tang and Eben Alsberg for their technical assistance during the described study. The authors would also like to thank Graeme Bell and Susumu Seino for their constructive feedback and guidance.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01-ES-028879; P30-ES-027792; and P30-DK-020595).
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All authors contributed to study design, coordination, and drafting of the manuscript. The study was conceived by CMC. Data was analyzed by CMC and LZ. The study was overseen by RMS. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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RMS has received honoraria from CVS/Health and the American Medical Forum. The authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to disclose related to this work.
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Carmean, C.M., Zhao, L., Landeche, M. et al. Dimethyl sulfoxide acutely enhances regulated insulin secretion in the MIN6-K8 mouse insulinoma cell line. Histochem Cell Biol 156, 69–73 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-01984-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-01984-z