It has been shown previously that glucose-induced insulin release is completely absent in rat pancreatic islets that had been cultured for 1 day at low glucose (1 mM) and that it is restored by culturing islets for a 2nd day at high (20 mM) glucose (MacDonald, M. J., Fahien, L. A., McKenzie, D. I., and Moran, S. M. (1991) Am. J. Physiol. 259, E548-E554). It has been suggested that the incapacitation of glucose's insulinotropism is due to down-regulation of the synthesis of enzymes that process glucose's metabolic signal for insulin release. In the current study, results of metabolic, enzymic, and molecular biologic experiments were each consistent with (an) intramitochondrial site(s) of down-regulation in islets cultured at low glucose. Glucose metabolism was inhibited 80% in islets cultured at 1 mM glucose. The suppression of release of 14CO2 from [6-14C]glucose greater than from [U-14C]glucose greater than [3,4-14C]glucose greater than from [1-14C]glucose in islets cultured at low glucose indicated a mitochondrial site of down-regulation because C-6 of glucose can only be converted to CO2 in the citric acid cycle, whereas C-1 can be released as CO2 in the 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase [corrected] reaction, and C-6 of glucose dwells in the citric acid cycle longer than carbons 2-5 of glucose. Since carbons 3 and 4 of glucose can be decarboxylated in the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction, incomplete suppression of CO2 formation from these carbons is consistent with suppression of pyruvate carboxylation as well as decarboxylation. Formation of 3HOH from [5-3H]glucose was equal in the two groups of islets, indicating that glycolysis as far as phosphoenolpyruvate was intact. This idea was supported by assays which showed that activities of enzymes of the glycolytic pathway between glucokinase/hexokinase and pyruvate kinase were equal in both types of islets. Additional studies indicated that regulation by glucose was at transcription of genes coding for some mitochondrial enzymes. Glucokinase, malic enzyme, and fumarase mRNAs were not affected by glucose, whereas the pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha subunit and pyruvate carboxylase mRNAs were decreased 85-90% in islets cultured at 1 mM glucose. Pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme activity was decreased to a similar extent in these islets. About 24 h was required for maximal (de)induction of pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha and pyruvate carboxylase mRNAs, and the amounts of transcripts were proportional to the concentrations of glucose between 1 and 20 mM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)