The stimulatory action of tolbutamide on Ca²⁺-dependent exocytosis in pancreatic β cells is mediated by a 65-kDa mdr-like P-glycoprotein

Intracellular application of the sulfonylurea tolbutamide during whole- cell patch-clamp recordings stimulated exocytosis >5-fold when applied at a cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration of 0.17 μM. This effect was not detectable in the complete absence of cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ and when exocytosis was elicited by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTPγS). The stimulatory action could be antagonized by the sulfonamide diazoxide, by the Cl^-- channel blocker 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS), by intracellular application of the antibody JSB1 [originally raised against a 170-kDa multidrug resistance (mdr) protein], and by tamoxifen (an inhibitor of the mdr- and volume-regulated Cl^- channels). Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analyses revealed that JSB1 recognizes a 65-kDa protein in the secretory granules. This protein exhibited no detectable binding of sulfonylureas and is distinct from the 140-kDa sulfonylurea high-affinity sulfonylurea receptors also present in the granules. We conclude that (i) tolbutamide stimulates Ca²⁺-dependent exocytosis secondary to its binding to a 140-kDa high-affinity sulfonylurea receptor in the secretory granules; and (ii) a granular 65-kDa mdr-like protein mediates the action. The processes thus initiated culminate in the activation of a granular Cl^- conductance. We speculate that the activation of granular Cl^- fluxes promotes exocytosis (possibly by providing the energy required for membrane fusion) by inducing water uptake and an increased intragranular hydrostatic pressure.