Effect of the lysosomotropic drug suramin on islet lysosomal enzyme activities and the insulin-secretory response induced by various secretagogues.

The trypanocidal drug suramin is known to concentrate in lysosomes and to depress the activity of different lysosomal enzymes. We have previously shown that suramin can inhibit the activity of the islet lysosomal enzyme acid amyloglucosidase, a glycogenolytic glucose-producing hydrolase, which seems to be involved in certain insulin-secretory processes. In the present investigation we studied the pH dependency and dose-response effects of suramin on islet lysosomal enzyme activities as well as the effect of suramin treatment on the insulin-secretory response to various secretagogues in mice. It was found that two injections of suramin (0.18 mmol/kg) to normal NMRI mice at -24 and -2 h induced a moderate depression of the activities of islet acid amyloglucosidase (-22%) and acid phosphatase (-13%), whereas no effect was recorded for the activities of acid alpha-glucosidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and the non-lysosomal enzyme neutral alpha-glucosidase. Direct addition of different concentrations of suramin to islet homogenates showed that the drug was a potent inhibitor of acid amyloglucosidase and acid alpha-glucosidase at pH 4.0. At pH 5.0, suramin induced a large increase in acid alpha-glucosidase activity, whereas acid amyloglucosidase and acid phosphatase were inhibited. Suramin-injected mice showed a reduced insulin-secretory response to the sulphonylurea drug glibenclamide (-45%), whereas the insulin response to the cholinergic agonist carbachol or the phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX (1-isobutyl-3-methylxanthine) was unaffected. It is concluded that suramin inhibits islet acid amyloglucosidase activity in vivo and in vitro, whereas its effect on acid alpha-glucosidase is complex and pH dependent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)