Nerve growth factor (NGF) induces neuritelike process outgrowth in cultured adult pancreatic β cells. DbcAMP partially mimics
this effect on cell morphology, and both compounds act synergistically to promote neuritelike process outgrowth. To determine
if NGF- and dbcAMP-induced differentiation was accompanied by changes in β cell electrical activity, we studied the macroscopic
Na current of adult rat β cells identified with the reverse hemolytic plaque assay and cultured for one week with these factors.
After 5–7 days, β cells cultured in the presence of 2.5S NGF exhibited a 48% increase on the macroscopic Na current, which
was due to an increase on Na current density. We did not observe changes on voltage dependence of current activation, nor
on steady-state inactivation. Although dbcAMP also promotes changes on β cell morphology, it did not affect the Na current
density.
Key words: NGF—Na channels—Pancreatic β-cells—cAMP—Reverse hemolytic plaque assay
Received: 12 March 1996/Revised: 2 May 1996