Regulation of GLUT4 expression in denervated skeletal muscle

Silibinin improves L-cell mass and function through an estrogen receptor-mediated antioxidative mechanism

BACKGROUND

Silibinin, a major component of milk thistle extract silymarin, promotes hypoglycemia by activating estrogen receptor (ER) α and β-mediated pathways in pancreatic β-cells. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is the enteroendocrine peptide produced in L-cells, and it controls glucose homeostasis through multiple pathways. The effect of silibinin on L-cell mass and function is still unknown.

PURPOSE

The protective effect of silibinin on palmitate (PA)-treated intestinal L-cell line GLUTag cells and the SHRSP•Z-Leprfa/Izm-Dmcr (SP•ZF) diabetic rat model was investigated in current study.

METHODS

After pre-incubation with 50 μM silibinin for 4 h, GLUTag cells were treated with 0.125 mM PA. MTT, Annexin V/PI apoptosis, Hoechst 33342 staining, western blot, DCFH-DA, GLP-1 ELISA, qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence analyses were undertaken to determine ER-dependent protection of silibinin against PA-induced cellular damage. The differential protein expression of GLUTag cells under different treatments was examined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). The SP•ZF diabetic rat model was chosen for in vivo study. After 4 weeks of gastric gavage with 100 or 300 mg kg-1 of silibinin, the physiological indexes of the rats were measured. Cells expressing GLP-1, 8‑hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), ERα, and/or ERβ in duodenum tissues were detected by immunofluorescence.

RESULTS

The current study showed that the GLUTag cells preincubated with silibinin activated the transcription factor nuclear erythroid-2 like factor-2 (Nrf2)-antioxidant pathway, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and improved cell survival and GLP-1 content, while the antioxidative effect of silibinin was blocked by the selective ERα antagonist MPP or ERβ antagonist PHTPP in GLUTag cells. Our proteomics data further revealed that ERα or β inactivation reduced glutathione peroxide and proteins associated with endocytosis and reproduction, thus at least partially reversing the protective effect of silibinin. SP•ZF rats received silibinin treatment showed increased serum GLP-1 content and improved glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, silibinin upregulated ERα and β levels and reduced the level of 8-OHdG in GLP-1-positive cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that silibinin improved L-cell mass and function through an ER-mediated antioxidant pathway, and the proteomics analysis revealed for the first time the differential regulation of proteins by PA and silibinin in GLUTag cells.

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV attenuates inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction under insulin resistance in C2C12 cells

CaMKIV has been reported involved in the improvement of whole-body insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial biogenesis of skeletal muscle. Here, we first investigate the effects of CaMKIV on glucose metabolism, cell viability, inflammatory function, and mitochondrial function in palmitate-induced C2C12 cells of insulin resistance. Then we explored the potential mechanism of these effects. Differentiated C2C12 cells were treated with or without 100 ng/ml of CaMKIV under palmitate-induced insulin resistance. The results suggest palmitate induced insulin sensitivity, reduced glucose uptake, decreased cell viability, increased inflammatory factors, and caused mitochondrial dysfunction in C2C12 cells. Of note, CaMKIV reversed palmitate-induced insulin resistance, increased the reduction of glucose uptake, inhibited inflammatory response, and mitochondrial dysfunction, despite of no change in cells viabilities. However, these beneficial effects of CaMKIV were blocked by the downregulation of CREB1. Taken together, our data demonstrated CaMKIV prevents palmitate-induced insulin resistance, inflammatory response, and mitochondrial dysfunction through phosphorylated CREB1 in differentiated C2C12 cells.

Key Glycolytic Metabolites in Paralyzed Skeletal Muscle Are Altered Seven Days after Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in rapid muscle atrophy and an oxidative-to-glycolytic fiber-type shift. Those with chronic SCI are more at risk for developing insulin resistance and reductions in glucose clearance than able-bodied individuals, but how glucose metabolism is affected after SCI is not well known. An untargeted metabolomics approach was utilized to investigate changes in whole-muscle metabolites at an acute (7-day) and subacute (28-day) time frame after a complete T9 spinal cord transection in 20-week-old female C57BL/6 mice. Two hundred one metabolites were detected in all samples, and 83 had BinBase IDs. A principal components analysis showed the 7-day group as a unique cluster. Further, 36 metabolites were altered after 7- and/or 28-day post-SCI (p values <0.05), with 12 passing further false discovery rate exclusion criteria; of those 12 metabolites, three important glycolytic molecules-glucose and downstream metabolites pyruvic acid and lactic acid-were reduced at 7 days compared to those values in sham and/or 28-day animals. These changes were associated with altered expression of proteins associated with glycolysis, as well as monocarboxylate transporter 4 gene expression. Taken together, our data suggest an acute disruption of skeletal muscle glucose uptake at 7 days post-SCI, which leads to reduced pyruvate and lactate levels. These levels recover by 28 days post-SCI, but a reduction in pyruvate dehydrogenase protein expression at 28 days post-SCI implies disruption in downstream oxidation of glucose.

Vaspin promotes insulin sensitivity of elderly muscle and is upregulated in obesity

Adipokines have emerged as central mediators of insulin sensitivity and metabolism, in part due to the known association of obesity with metabolic syndrome disorders such as type 2 diabetes. Recent studies in rodents have identified the novel adipokine vaspin, as playing a protective role in inflammatory metabolic diseases by functioning to promote insulin sensitivity during metabolic stress. However, at present the skeletal muscle and adipose tissue expression of vaspin in humans is poorly characterised. Furthermore, the functional role of vaspin in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity has not been studied. Since skeletal muscle is the major tissue for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake understanding the functional role of vaspin in human muscle insulin signalling is critical in determining its role in glucose homeostasis. The objective of this study was to profile the skeletal muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue expression of vaspin in humans of varying adiposity and to determine the functional role of vaspin in mediating insulin signalling and glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle. Our data shows that vaspin is secreted from both human subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, and is more highly expressed in obese older individuals compared to lean older individuals. Furthermore, we demonstrate that vaspin induces activation of the PI3K/AKT axis, independent of insulin receptor activation, promotes GLUT4 expression and translocation and sensitises older obese human skeletal muscle to insulin-mediated glucose uptake.

Compensatory responses of the insulin signaling pathway restore muscle glucose uptake following long-term denervation

We investigated the role of muscle activity in maintaining normal glucose homeostasis via transection of the sciatic nerve, an extreme model of disuse atrophy. Mice were killed 3, 10, 28, or 56 days after transection or sham surgery. There was no difference in muscle weight between sham and transected limbs at 3 days post surgery, but it was significantly lower following transection at the other three time points. Transected muscle weight stabilized by 28 days post surgery with no further loss. Myocellular cross-sectional area was significantly smaller at 10, 28, and 56 days post transection surgery. Additionally, muscle fibrosis area was significantly greater at 56 days post transection. In transected muscle there was reduced expression of genes encoding transcriptional regulators of metabolism (PPARα, PGC-1α, PGC-1β, PPARδ), a glycolytic enzyme (PFK), a fatty acid transporter (M-CPT 1), and an enzyme of mitochondrial oxidation (CS) with transection. In denervated muscle, glucose uptake was significantly lower at 3 days but was greater at 56 days under basal and insulin-stimulated conditions. Although GLUT 4 mRNA was significantly lower at all time points in transected muscle, Western blot analysis showed greater expression of GLUT4 at 28 and 56 days post surgery. GLUT1 mRNA was unchanged; however, GLUT1 protein expression was also greater in transected muscles. Surgery led to significantly higher protein expression for Akt2 as well as higher phosphorylation of Akt. While denervation may initially lead to reduced glucose sensitivity, compensatory responses of insulin signaling appeared to restore and improve glucose uptake in long-term-transected muscle.

Diversity in the utilization of glucose and lactate in synthetic mammalian myotubes generated by engineered configurations of MyoD and E12 in otherwise non-differentiation growth conditions

We previously used the expression of various combinations and configurations of MyoD and E12, two basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors (TF), to produce populations of myotubes assuming distinct morphology, myofibrillar development and Ca2+ dynamics, from mammalian C2C12 myoblasts in non-differentiation growth conditions. Here, we assessed the synthetically generated myotubes in terms of energetics, otherwise necessary to sustain their mechanical output as bio-actuators. We found that the myotubes exhibit changed expression of key regulators for the uptake and utilization of two major cellular fuels, glucose and lactate. Furthermore, while lactate transport was uniformly slowed in all the populations of myotubes, glucose uptake and utilization were modified by particular TF configuration. Our approach allows the production of a class of biomaterials with predetermined energetics that could be applied in biorobotics, where fuel of choice could be used, and also in reparative medicine where, for example, particular population of myotubes could be additionally employed as glucose sinks to mitigate effects of secondary metabolic syndrome.

Exercise, GLUT4, and skeletal muscle glucose uptake

Glucose is an important fuel for contracting muscle, and normal glucose metabolism is vital for health. Glucose enters the muscle cell via facilitated diffusion through the GLUT4 glucose transporter which translocates from intracellular storage depots to the plasma membrane and T-tubules upon muscle contraction. Here we discuss the current understanding of how exercise-induced muscle glucose uptake is regulated. We briefly discuss the role of glucose supply and metabolism and concentrate on GLUT4 translocation and the molecular signaling that sets this in motion during muscle contractions. Contraction-induced molecular signaling is complex and involves a variety of signaling molecules including AMPK, Ca(2+), and NOS in the proximal part of the signaling cascade as well as GTPases, Rab, and SNARE proteins and cytoskeletal components in the distal part. While acute regulation of muscle glucose uptake relies on GLUT4 translocation, glucose uptake also depends on muscle GLUT4 expression which is increased following exercise. AMPK and CaMKII are key signaling kinases that appear to regulate GLUT4 expression via the HDAC4/5-MEF2 axis and MEF2-GEF interactions resulting in nuclear export of HDAC4/5 in turn leading to histone hyperacetylation on the GLUT4 promoter and increased GLUT4 transcription. Exercise training is the most potent stimulus to increase skeletal muscle GLUT4 expression, an effect that may partly contribute to improved insulin action and glucose disposal and enhanced muscle glycogen storage following exercise training in health and disease.

Impairments in site-specific AS160 phosphorylation and effects of exercise training

The purpose of this study was to determine if site-specific phosphorylation at the level of Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) is altered in skeletal muscle from sedentary humans across a wide range of the adult life span (18-84 years of age) and if endurance- and/or strength-oriented exercise training could rescue decrements in insulin action and skeletal muscle AS160 phosphorylation. A euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp and skeletal muscle biopsies were performed in 73 individuals encompassing a wide age range (18-84 years of age), and insulin-stimulated AS160 phosphorylation was determined. Decrements in whole-body insulin action were associated with impairments in insulin-induced phosphorylation of skeletal muscle AS160 on sites Ser-588, Thr-642, Ser-666, and phospho-Akt substrate, but not Ser-318 or Ser-751. Twelve weeks of endurance- or strength-oriented exercise training increased whole-body insulin action and reversed impairments in AS160 phosphorylation evident in insulin-resistant aged individuals. These findings suggest that a dampening of insulin-induced phosphorylation of AS160 on specific sites in skeletal muscle contributes to the insulin resistance evident in a sedentary aging population and that exercise training is an effective intervention for treating these impairments.

Are cultured human myotubes far from home?

Satellite cells can be isolated from skeletal muscle biopsies, activated to proliferating myoblasts and differentiated into multinuclear myotubes in culture. These cell cultures represent a model system for intact human skeletal muscle and can be modulated ex vivo. The advantages of this system are that the most relevant genetic background is available for the investigation of human disease (as opposed to rodent cell cultures), the extracellular environment can be precisely controlled and the cells are not immortalized, thereby offering the possibility of studying innate characteristics of the donor. Limitations in differentiation status (fiber type) of the cells and energy metabolism can be improved by proper treatment, such as electrical pulse stimulation to mimic exercise. This review focuses on the way that human myotubes can be employed as a tool for studying metabolism in skeletal muscles, with special attention to changes in muscle energy metabolism in obesity and type 2 diabetes.