Fasting enhances glycogen synthase activation in hepatocytes from insulin-resistant genetically obese (fa/fa) rats

GPR105 ablation prevents inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity in mice with diet-induced obesity

GPR105, a G protein-coupled receptor for UDP-glucose, is highly expressed in several human tissues and participates in the innate immune response. Because inflammation has been implicated as a key initial trigger for type 2 diabetes, we hypothesized that GPR105 (official gene name: P2RY14) might play a role in the initiation of inflammation and insulin resistance in obesity. To this end, we investigated glucose metabolism in GPR105 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). We also examined whether GPR105 regulates macrophage recruitment to liver or adipose tissues by in vivo monocyte tracking and in vitro chemotaxis experiments, followed by transplantation of bone marrow from either KO or WT donors to WT recipients. Our data show that genetic deletion of GPR105 confers protection against HFD-induced insulin resistance, with reduced macrophage infiltration and inflammation in liver, and increased insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation in liver, muscle, and adipose tissue. By tracking monocytes from either KO or WT donors, we found that fewer KO monocytes were recruited to the liver of WT recipients. Furthermore, we observed that uridine 5-diphosphoglucose enhanced the in vitro migration of bone marrow-derived macrophages from WT but not KO mice, and that plasma uridine 5-diphosphoglucose levels were significantly higher in obese versus lean mice. Finally, we confirmed that insulin sensitivity improved in HFD mice with a myeloid cell-specific deletion of GPR105. These studies indicate that GPR105 ablation mitigates HFD-induced insulin resistance by inhibiting macrophage recruitment and tissue inflammation. Hence GPR105 provides a novel link between innate immunity and metabolism.

Role of excess glycogenolysis in fasting hyperglycemia among pre-diabetic and diabetic Zucker (fa/fa) rats

Sources of plasma glucose and glucose turnover were investigated in 8-week-old (pre-diabetic) and 13-week-old (diabetic) Zucker (fa/fa) rats after a 24-h fast. Intraperitoneal (2)H(2)O was administered and [3,4-(13)C(2)]glucose and [U-(13)C(3)]propionate were infused into conscious active rats. (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of monoacetone glucose derived from blood glucose indicated that glucose production was increased significantly in 8- and 13-week-old fa/fa rats compared with age-matched Zucker (+/+) rats, and hepatic glycogen was dramatically higher among fa/fa animals regardless of age. Glycogenolysis, essentially 0 in +/+ rats after a 24-h fast, was significant in fa/fa rats (11 +/- 6 and 17 +/- 7% of glucose production in 8- and 13-week-old rats, respectively), even after a 24-h fast. Tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux and efflux of carbon skeletons from the cycle (cataplerosis) were both significantly higher in fa/fa rats compared with controls, but net gluconeogenesis from the TCA cycle was not higher because products leaving the cycle were returned to the cycle via a pyruvate cycling pathway. Thus, pyruvate cycling flux increased in proportion to TCA cycle flux, leaving net gluconeogenesis unchanged in fa/fa animals compared with control animals. The distribution of (2)H in skeletal muscle glycogen suggested that at least a fraction of glucose molecules entering glycogen pass through phosphomannose isomerase.

Increased sensitivity of glycogen synthesis to phosphorylase-a and impaired expression of the glycogen-targeting protein R6 in hepatocytes from insulin-resistant Zucker fa/fa rats

Hepatic insulin resistance in the leptin-receptor defective Zucker fa/fa rat is associated with impaired glycogen synthesis and increased activity of phosphorylase-a. We investigated the coupling between phosphorylase-a and glycogen synthesis in hepatocytes from fa/fa rats by modulating the concentration of phosphorylase-a. Treatment of hepatocytes from fa/fa rats and Fa/? controls with a selective phosphorylase inhibitor caused depletion of phosphorylase-a, activation of glycogen synthase and stimulation of glycogen synthesis. The flux-control coefficient of phosphorylase on glycogen synthesis was glucose dependent and at 10 mm glucose was higher in fa/fa than Fa/? hepatocytes. There was an inverse correlation between the activities of glycogen synthase and phosphorylase-a in both fa/fa and Fa/? hepatocytes. However, fa/fa hepatocytes had a higher activity of phosphorylase-a, for a corresponding activity of glycogen synthase. This defect was, in part, normalized by expression of the glycogen-targeting protein, PTG. Hepatocytes from fa/fa rats had normal expression of the glycogen-targeting proteins G(L) and PTG but markedly reduced expression of R6. Expression of R6 protein was increased in hepatocytes from Wistar rats after incubation with leptin and insulin. Diminished hepatic R6 expression in the leptin-receptor defective fa/fa rat may be a contributing factor to the elevated phosphorylase activity and/or its high control strength on glycogen synthesis.

Protein kinase CK2 is altered in insulin-resistant genetically obese (fa/fa) rats

Hepatic insulin receptor levels in 6-week-old obese (fa/fa) rats were about 2-fold lower than those from lean (Fa/-) rats, which agrees with their insulin-resistant state. Nuclear protein kinase CK2 activity and protein content in livers from obese (fa/fa) rats were similar to those of lean (Fa/-) animals but the cytosolic levels were reduced to half, due to a decrease in the 39-kD)a catalytic subunit. Marked increases in activity, due to rises in the 44-kDa and 39-kDa catalytic subunits, were seen in the 16000 x g sediments (M1) from insulin-resistant rats, with moderate changes in the 100000xg sediments (M2). The increase in CK2 binding to M1 did not require increases in the molecular chaperone grp94, which was unaltered in insulin-resistant rats.

Defects in liver and muscle glycogen metabolism in neonatal and adult New Zealand obese mice

Impaired glycogen synthesis is present in subjects at risk for developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), suggesting that it is a primary defect in NIDDM. To examine whether defects in glycogen metabolism are present at birth in an animal model of NIDDM, glycogen synthase (GS), glycogen phosphorylase (GP), and total glycogen content were measured in liver and quadriceps muscle of 1-day- and 20-week-old insulin-resistant New Zealand Obese (NZO) mice and control (NZC) mice. In livers of both neonatal and adult NZO mice, active GS was reduced by 54% and 36%, respectively, as compared with that in NZC mice (P < .03). Total liver GS activity was the same in neonates, but was 65% higher in adult NZO as compared with NZC mice (P < .02). Liver glycogen was 28% lower at birth in NZO mice (P < .03), but was 49% higher at 20 weeks of age. Active and total GP were the same in NZO and NZC animals, despite hyperinsulinemia in 20-week-old NZO mice. In muscle, active GS was reduced by 41% in both 1-day- and 20-week-old NZO mice (P < .02). Total GS was also lower in NZC mice at 1 day of age (P < .01), but not at 20 weeks. No differences were detected in GP activity or in total glycogen content in muscle. Therefore, reduced GS activity is an early defect present at birth in the insulin-resistant NZO mouse in both liver and muscle. However, it is not the sole determinant of the amount of glycogen deposited in tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Regulation of glycogen synthase activation in isolated hepatocytes

Glycogen synthase, the regulatory enzyme of glycogen synthesis undergoes multisite phosphorylation leading to its inactivation. The kinases responsible for this covalent modification (ex. cAMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C and glycogen synthase kinase-3) are controlled by the second messengers generated by different hormones. The isolated hepatocytes has been used as one of the experimental models for studying this complex regulatory process. Inactivation of glycogen synthase by glucagon and vasopressin has been shown to be accompanied with incorporation of phosphate into the enzyme protein. Insulin has been shown to activate glycogen synthase by inhibition of kinases and activation of synthase phosphatase. Glycogen synthase is activated by several gluconeogenic substrates, in addition to glucose. Studies in hepatocytes with activators and inhibitors of protein kinase C show that this enzyme negatively controls glycogen synthase. The differential effects of the phosphatase inhibitors, calyculin A and okadaic acid in liver cells provide supporting evidence that protein phosphatase type-1 plays a major role in the regulation of glycogen synthase. Hepatocytes isolated from diabetic rats of both types (insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent) mimic the defective glycogen synthase activation seen in vivo.

Liver and peripheral tissue glycogen metabolism in obese mice: effect of a mixed meal

Glycogen metabolism in the liver, skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and white adipose tissue was studied in gold thioglucose (GTG) obese mice after fasting and during refeeding. Prolonged (48 h) fasted control and GTG mice were refed with standard laboratory diet for 24 h. During fasting and refeeding, the changes in glycogen content and the activity of glycogen synthase I and R and phosphorylase alpha in the liver were similar in lean and GTG mice. However, the glycogen storage in the livers from GTG mice was always greater than that in lean animals. In GTG mice the activity of liver glycogen synthase I and R was significantly higher than that in lean animals 3 and 6 h after refeeding. The activity of liver phosphorylase alpha in GTG mice was higher than that in lean mice after refeeding. There were no significant differences in the glycogen content of white adipose tissue, cardiac muscle, and skeletal muscle from lean and GTG mice during the entire study. The results of this study suggest that increased glycogen storage in the liver is a major alteration in nonoxidative glucose metabolism and contributes to the development of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in GTG obese mice.

Altered regulation of glycogen metabolism by vasopressin and phenylephrine in hepatocytes from insulin-resistant obese (fa/fa) rats. Role of protein kinase C

The hormonal control of glycogen synthase and phosphorylase interconversion was investigated in hepatocytes isolated from lean and genetically obese (fa/fa) rats. In cells from obese animals, the inactivation of synthase by 4 beta-phorbol 12 beta-myristate 13 alpha-acetate (PMA), phospholipase C, vasopressin and the alpha 1-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine was markedly impaired, and the property of PMA to counteract phosphorylase activation by phenylephrine was attenuated. The maximal response of phosphorylase activation to phenylephrine and vasopressin was increased in obese-rat hepatocytes, but the sensitivity to these hormones was similar to that in lean-rat hepatocytes. These observations indicate that the defect in protein kinase C that we reported previously in heart of insulin-resistant fa/fa rats [van de Werve, Zaninetti, Lang, Vallotton & Jeanrenaud (1987) Diabetes 36, 310-319] is probably also expressed in liver.