The alpha anomer of D-glucose is more potent than the beta anomer in stimulating insulin release. We have studied the effects of D-glucose anomers on insulin release from the perfused pancreas isolated from a rat model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDD) induced by streptozotocin injection at 2 days of age. Insulin release from the pancreas of the diabetic rat in response to 10 mM alpha-D-glucose was markedly impaired, while insulin response to the same concentration of beta-D-glucose was only slightly reduced as compared to that in the control pancreas. Thus, the pancreatic B cell of the diabetic rat did not discriminate between the alpha and beta anomers of D-glucose. Insulin release induced by 5 mM D-glyceraldehyde was decreased in the diabetic pancreas, while insulin release induced by 0.15 mg/ml tolbutamide did not differ from that in the control pancreas. Glucose oxidation in the islets isolated from the diabetic pancreas was not lower than that in comparable control islets. Treatment of the diabetic pancreas with 5 microM forskolin or 0.15 mg/ml tolbutamide did not restore its defective discrimination between the two anomers, although forskolin potentiated insulin release more markedly in the diabetic pancreas. The findings may provide some insight into the pathophysiology of the pancreatic B cell in NIDD.