A transcriptional repressor regulates mouse GLUT4 gene expression during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. (73/1714)

GLUT4, the major glucose transporter in adipose tissue, is expressed during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells from preadipocytes to adipocytes. We previously examined the mouse GLUT4 promoter activity up to -590 bp, and demonstrated that the 5'-flanking region of the GLUT4 gene between -200 and -100 bp contains sequences that act as a repressor in preadipocytes, but not in adipocytes. Here we examine in detail the activity of this repressor in 3T3-L1 cells. Transient transfections indicated that the region extending from -125 to -112 bp functions as a repressor element only in preadipocytes. In electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), this GLUT4 repressor element (G4RE) generated specific bands with nuclear extracts from preadipocytes, but not from adipocytes. Southwestern blot analysis identified a protein of approximately 96 kDa from preadipocytes that bound to the G4RE site. Mutation of the G4RE site, which abolished the protein/DNA complex formation by EMSA, increased GLUT4 promoter activity only in preadipocytes. These results suggest that the G4RE site and its binding protein may regulate GLUT4 gene transcription during adipocyte differentiation.  (+info)

Increased glucose disposal induced by adenovirus-mediated transfer of glucokinase to skeletal muscle in vivo. (74/1714)

In non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is impaired in muscle, contributing in a major way to development of hyperglycemia. We previously showed that expression of the glucose phosphorylating enzyme glucokinase (GK) in cultured human myocytes improved glucose storage and disposal, suggesting that GK delivery to muscle in situ could potentially enhance glucose clearance. Here we have tested this idea directly by intramuscular delivery of an adenovirus containing the liver GK cDNA (AdCMV-GKL) into one hind limb. We injected an adenovirus containing the beta-galactosidase gene (AdCMV-lacZ) into the hind limb of newborn rats. beta-Galactosidase activity was localized in muscle for as long as 1 month after delivery, with a large percentage of fibers staining positive in the gastrocnemius. Using the same approach with AdCMV-GKL, GK protein content was increased from zero to 50-400% of the GK in normal liver sample, and total glucose phosphorylating activity was increased in GK-expressing muscles relative to the counterpart uninfected muscle. Expression of GK in muscle improved glucose tolerance rather than changing basal glycemic control. Glucose levels were reduced by approximately 35% 10 min after administration of a glucose bolus to fed animals treated with AdCMV-GKL relative to AdCMV-lacZ-treated controls. The enhanced rate of glucose clearance was reflected in increases in muscle 2-deoxy glucose uptake and blood lactate levels. We conclude that restricted expression of GK in muscle leads to an enhanced capacity for muscle glucose disposal and whole body glucose tolerance under conditions of maximal glucose-insulin stimulation, suggesting that under these conditions glucose phosphorylation becomes rate-limiting. Our findings also show that gene delivery to a fraction of the whole body is sufficient to improve glucose disposal, providing a rationale for the development of new therapeutic strategies for treatment of diabetes.-Jimenez-Chillaron, J. C., Newgard, C. B., Gomez-Foix, A. M. Increased glucose disposal induced by adenovirus-mediated transfer of glucokinase to skeletal muscle in vivo.  (+info)

Postexercise glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle from GLUT4-deficient mice. (75/1714)

To determine the role of GLUT4 on postexercise glucose transport and glycogen resynthesis in skeletal muscle, GLUT4-deficient and wild-type mice were studied after a 3 h swim exercise. In wild-type mice, insulin and swimming each increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake by twofold in extensor digitorum longus muscle. In contrast, insulin did not increase 2-deoxyglucose glucose uptake in muscle from GLUT4-null mice. Swimming increased glucose transport twofold in muscle from fed GLUT4-null mice, with no effect noted in fasted GLUT4-null mice. This exercise-associated 2-deoxyglucose glucose uptake was not accompanied by increased cell surface GLUT1 content. Glucose transport in GLUT4-null muscle was increased 1.6-fold over basal levels after electrical stimulation. Contraction-induced glucose transport activity was fourfold greater in wild-type vs. GLUT4-null muscle. Glycogen content in gastrocnemius muscle was similar between wild-type and GLUT4-null mice and was reduced approximately 50% after exercise. After 5 h carbohydrate refeeding, muscle glycogen content was fully restored in wild-type, with no change in GLUT4-null mice. After 24 h carbohydrate refeeding, muscle glycogen in GLUT4-null mice was restored to fed levels. In conclusion, GLUT4 is the major transporter responsible for exercise-induced glucose transport. Also, postexercise glycogen resynthesis in muscle was greatly delayed; unlike wild-type mice, glycogen supercompensation was not found. GLUT4 it is not essential for glycogen repletion since muscle glycogen levels in previously exercised GLUT4-null mice were totally restored after 24 h carbohydrate refeeding.-Ryder, J. W., Kawano, Y., Galuska, D., Fahlman, R., Wallberg-Henriksson, H., Charron, M. J., Zierath, J. R. Postexercise glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle from GLUT4-deficient mice.  (+info)

Munc18c function is required for insulin-stimulated plasma membrane fusion of GLUT4 and insulin-responsive amino peptidase storage vesicles. (76/1714)

To examine the functional role of the interaction between Munc18c and syntaxin 4 in the regulation of GLUT4 translocation in 3T3L1 adipocytes, we assessed the effects of introducing three different peptide fragments (20 to 24 amino acids) of Munc18c from evolutionarily conserved regions of the Sec1 protein family predicted to be solvent exposed. One peptide, termed 18c/pep3, inhibited the binding of full-length Munc18c to syntaxin 4, whereas expression of the other two peptides had no effect. In parallel, microinjection of 18c/pep3 but not a control peptide inhibited the insulin-stimulated translocation of endogenous GLUT4 and insulin-responsive amino peptidase (IRAP) to the plasma membrane. In addition, expression of 18c/pep3 prevented the insulin-stimulated fusion of endogenous and enhanced green fluorescent protein epitope-tagged GLUT4- and IRAP-containing vesicles into the plasma membrane, as assessed by intact cell immunofluorescence. However, unlike the pattern of inhibition seen with full-length Munc18c expression, cells expressing 18c/pep3 displayed discrete clusters of GLUT4 abd IRAP storage vesicles at the cell surface which were not contiguous with the plasma membrane. Together, these data suggest that the interaction between Munc18c and syntaxin 4 is required for the integration of GLUT4 and IRAP storage vesicles into the plasma membrane but is not necessary for the insulin-stimulated trafficking to and association with the cell surface.  (+info)

Characterization of insulin-responsive GLUT4 storage vesicles isolated from 3T3-L1 adipocytes. (77/1714)

Insulin regulates glucose transport in muscle and adipose tissue by triggering the translocation of a facilitative glucose transporter, GLUT4, from an intracellular compartment to the cell surface. It has previously been suggested that GLUT4 is segregated between endosomes, the trans-Golgi network (TGN), and a postendosomal storage compartment. The aim of the present study was to isolate the GLUT4 storage compartment in order to determine the relationship of this compartment to other organelles, its components, and its presence in different cell types. A crude intracellular membrane fraction was prepared from 3T3-L1 adipocytes and subjected to iodixanol equilibrium sedimentation analysis. Two distinct GLUT4-containing vesicle peaks were resolved by this procedure. The lighter of the two peaks (peak 2) was comprised of two overlapping peaks: peak 2b contained recycling endosomal markers such as the transferrin receptor (TfR), cellubrevin, and Rab4, and peak 2a was enriched in TGN markers (syntaxin 6, the cation-dependent mannose 6-phosphate receptor, sortilin, and sialyltransferase). Peak 1 contained a significant proportion of GLUT4 with a smaller but significant amount of cellubrevin and relatively little TfR. In agreement with these data, internalized transferrin (Tf) accumulated in peak 2 but not peak 1. There was a quantitatively greater loss of GLUT4 from peak 1 than from peak 2 in response to insulin stimulation. These data, combined with the observation that GLUT4 became more sensitive to ablation with Tf-horseradish peroxidase following insulin treatment, suggest that the vesicles enriched in peak 1 are highly insulin responsive. Iodixanol gradient analysis of membranes isolated from other cell types indicated that a substantial proportion of GLUT4 was targeted to peak 1 in skeletal muscle, whereas in CHO cells most of the GLUT4 was targeted to peak 2. These results indicate that in insulin-sensitive cells GLUT4 is targeted to a subpopulation of vesicles that appear, based on their protein composition, to be a derivative of the endosome. We suggest that the biogenesis of this compartment may mediate withdrawal of GLUT4 from the recycling system and provide the basis for the marked insulin responsiveness of GLUT4 that is unique to muscle and adipocytes.  (+info)

Contraction-stimulated muscle glucose transport and GLUT-4 surface content are dependent on glycogen content. (78/1714)

The influence of muscle glycogen content on basal and contraction-induced glucose transport and cell surface GLUT-4 content was studied in rat skeletal muscle. Wistar rats were preconditioned by a combination of swimming exercise and diet, resulting in 40% lower (LG) or threefold higher (HG) muscle glycogen content compared with nonexercised controls (NG). At rest and during contractions, 2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake in perfused fast-twitch muscle, but not slow-twitch muscle, was significantly lower in HG compared with LG. Cell surface GLUT-4 content in the fast-twitch plantaris was 994 +/- 180, 1,173 +/- 311, and 2,155 +/- 243 dpm/g in the basal condition and increased (P < 0.05) to 2,285 +/- 239, 3,230 +/- 464, and 4,847 +/- 654 dpm/g during contractions with HG, NG, and LG, respectively, the increase being significantly smaller in HG compared with LG. The contraction-induced increments in glucose transport and in cell surface GLUT-4 content were negatively correlated with the initial glycogen content (P <0.01). In conclusion, glucose transport and cell surface GLUT-4 content in resting and contracting fast-twitch muscle are dependent on the muscle glycogen content.  (+info)

Insulin resistance and glucose transporter expression during the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp in the lamb. (79/1714)

Three- to six-day-old lambs infused with 100 mU x kg(-1) x min(-1) insulin required greater amounts of glucose to maintain euglycemia during a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp compared with 31- to 35-day-old insulin-infused lambs (15.87 +/- 3.47 vs. 4.30 +/- 1.11 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1), P < 0.05, respectively). Endogenous glucose production persisted in both groups; however, the percent decrease compared with age-matched lambs receiving no insulin was greater in the younger group compared with the older group (53%, P < 0.001, vs. 34%, P < 0.01). The younger animals showed greater glucose utilization compared with the older animals (215 vs. 96%, respectively, P < 0.01). No effect of insulin was noted on GLUT-4 protein expression in either group. GLUT-2 expression was increased in older vs. younger lambs. Older insulin-infused lambs showed lower GLUT-2 expression than older 0 insulin-infused lambs [0.94 +/- 0.07 vs. 1.64 +/- 0.10 (OD) units, P < 0.005]. Increased sensitivity to insulin in the younger animals was not related to acute changes in GLUT-4 expression. Increased GLUT-2 expression with age, as well as decreased expression with hyperinsulinemia, is consistent with the development of an insulin-resistant state in the adult.  (+info)

Biochemical and functional evidences for a GLUT-4 homologous protein in avian skeletal muscle. (80/1714)

The characteristics and modulation of glucose transport were investigated in skeletal muscles of 5-wk-old Muscovy ducklings (Cairina moschata). Glucose uptake by sarcolemmal vesicles isolated from gastrocnemius muscle followed typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a K(m) value (17 mM) similar to that described in equivalent mammalian preparations. Western blot analysis of duckling sarcolemma using antibodies directed against rat GLUT-4 transporter revealed an immunoreactive protein of similar molecular mass (45 kDa) to that present in rats. When ducklings were killed in the postabsorptive state, GLUT-4 homologous protein was located predominantly (80%) in intracellular membranes. Insulin stimulation of a perfused leg muscle preparation in vitro led to the translocation of GLUT-4 homologous proteins from intracellular pools to the sarcolemma, with a subsequent increase in glucose uptake by sarcolemmal vesicles and perfused muscles. Glucose transport was positively controlled by the metabolic needs of skeletal muscle as reflected by the increased glucose uptake of sarcolemmal vesicles isolated from cold-acclimated ducklings. Present results, therefore, demonstrate, for the first time in an avian species, the existence in skeletal muscle of a glucose transporter showing molecular and functional homologies with the mammalian GLUT-4 transporter.  (+info)