Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic analyses of insulin biosynthesis in isolated rat and mouse islets.

Two RP-HPLC systems were developed for the separation of the products of the conversion of proinsulin into insulin in rat and mouse islets, including proinsulin I and II. Peaks were identified by microsequencing and radiosequencing. It was confirmed that mouse C-peptide I has a two amino acid deletion compared to rat C-peptide I. A marked species difference in the ratio between insulin I and II was observed, i.e., 2:1 in the rat and 1:2 in the mouse. Pulse-chase experiments in rat islets have demonstrated that the ratio between insulin I and II in newly synthesized insulin is higher than that of the stored insulin, indicating a slower conversion rate of proinsulin II compared to proinsulin I.