Role of the NADH shuttle system in glucose-induced insulin secretion

To determine the role of the NADH shuttle system composed of the glycerol phosphate shuttle and malate-aspartate shuttle in glucose-induced insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, we have generated mice which lack mitochondrial glycerol-3 phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPDH), a rate-limiting enzyme of the glycerol phosphate shuttle. When both shuttles were halted in mGPDH-deficient islets treated with aminooxyacetate, an inhibitor of the malate-aspartate shuttle, glucose-induced insulin secretion was almost completely abrogated. Under these conditions, although the flux of glycolysis and supply of glucose-derived pyruvate into mitochondria were unaffected, glucose-induced increases in NAD(P)H autofluorescence, mitochondrial membrane potential, Ca2+ entry into mitochondria, and ATP content were severely attenuated. This study provides the first direct evidence that the NADH shuttle system is essential for coupling glycolysis with the activation of mitochondrial energy metabolism to trigger glucose-induced insulin secretion and thus revises the classical model for the metabolic signals of glucose-induced insulin secretion.