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 incapacit...