Malonyl-CoA and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK): possible links between insulin resistance in muscle and early endothelial cell damage in diabetes

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.B. Ruderman ◽  
J.M. Cacicedo ◽  
S. Itani ◽  
N. Yagihashi ◽  
A.K. Saha ◽  
...  

Based on available evidence, we would propose the following. (i) Excesses of glucose and free fatty acids cause insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and damage to the endothelial cell by a similar mechanism. (ii) Key pathogenetic events in this mechanism very likely include increased fatty acid esterification, protein kinase C activation, an increase in oxidative stress (demonstrated to date in endothelium) and alterations in the inhibitor κB kinase/nuclear factor κB system. (iii) Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibits all of these events and enhances insulin signalling in the endothelial cell. It also enhances insulin action in muscle; however, the mechanism by which it does so has not been well studied. (iv) The reported beneficial effects of exercise and metformin on cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance in humans could be related to the fact that they activate AMPK. (v) The comparative roles of AMPK in regulating metabolism, signalling and gene expression in muscle and endothelial cells warrant further study.

Endocrinology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 2098-2108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Fomusi Ndisang ◽  
Nina lane ◽  
Ashok Jadhav

Emerging evidence indicates that aldosterone causes oxidative stress by stimulating proinflammatory/oxidative mediators, including nuclear factor-κB, activating protein (AP-1), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Thus, in insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes (T2D), oxidative stress generated by hyperglycemia and aldosterone would potentiate the oxidative destruction of tissue and important regulators of glucose metabolism like adiponectin and insulin. Although heme oxygenase (HO)-1 is cytoprotective, its effects on T2D have not been fully characterized. Here we report an enduring antidiabetic effect of the HO inducer, hemin, on Zucker diabetic-fatty rat (ZDF), a model of insulin-resistant T2D. Chronically applied hemin to ZDF reduced and maintained significantly low fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia for 4 months after therapy. The antidiabetic effect was accompanied by enhanced HO activity, catalase, cyclic GMP, bilirubin, ferritin, total antioxidant capacity, and insulin. In contrast, reduced aldosterone alongside markers/mediators of oxidative stress, including 8-isoprostane, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, nuclear factor-κB, AP-1, and AP-2 were observed. Interestingly, in hemin-treated ZDF, inhibitory proteins of insulin-signaling, such as glycogen synthase kinase-3 and protein-tyrosine phosphastase-1B were reduced, whereas agents that promote insulin signaling including adiponectin, cAMP, AMP-activated protein kinase, aldolase-B, and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4), were robustly increased. Correspondingly, hemin improved ip glucose tolerance, reduced insulin intolerance, and lowered insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), and the inability of insulin to enhance GLUT4 was overturned. These results suggest that the suppression of hyperglycemia and aldosterone-induced oxidative stress alongside the potentiation of insulin-sensitizing pathways may account for the 4-month enduring antidiabetic effect. The synergistic interaction between the HO system, aldolase-B, adiponectin, AMP-activated protein kinase, and GLUT4 may be explored for novel strategies against postprandial/fasting hyperglycemia and insulin-resistant T2D.


2011 ◽  
Vol 435 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte J. Green ◽  
Katherine Macrae ◽  
Sarah Fogarty ◽  
D. Grahame Hardie ◽  
Kei Sakamoto ◽  
...  

Sustained over-supply of saturated non-esterified ‘free’ fatty acids has been shown to promote skeletal muscle insulin resistance, which may be driven, in part, by an increase in inflammatory signalling within this tissue. In the present manuscript we show that exposure of L6 myotubes to palmitate, a saturated fatty acid, induces activation of the NF-κB (nuclear factor κB) pathway {based on increased IKK [IκB (inhibitory κB) kinase] phosphorylation, IκBα loss and elevated interleukin-6 mRNA expression} and that this was associated with enhanced phosphorylation/activation of p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) as well as impaired insulin-dependent activation of PKB (protein kinase B)/Akt and glucose transport. NF-κB activation by palmitate was unaffected by pharmacological inhibition of p38 MAPK or JNK, but was suppressed significantly by inhibition of MEK (MAPK/ERK kinase)/ERK signalling. The importance of ERK with respect to downstream NF-κB signalling was underscored by the finding that PMA, a potent ERK activator, enhanced IKK phosphorylation. Strikingly, both palmitate- and PMA-induced activation of IKK/NF-κB were antagonized by AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) activators because of reduced ERK signalling. Although palmitate-induced activation of NF-κB was repressed by AMPK activation and by cellular overexpression of a mutated IκBα (S32A/S36A) super-repressor, this did not ameliorate the loss in insulin-stimulated PKB activation or glucose transport. Our results from the present study indicate that ERK plays a pivotal role in palmitate-induced activation of the IKK/NF-κB signalling axis and that AMPK can restrain the activity of this pro-inflammatory pathway. The finding that insulin resistance persists in myotubes in which NF-κB signalling has been repressed implies that palmitate and/or its lipid derivatives retain the capacity to impair insulin-regulated events independently of the increase in inflammatory signalling.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 1221-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Rubink ◽  
W. W. Winder

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has previously been demonstrated to phosphorylate and inactivate skeletal muscle acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), the enzyme responsible for synthesis of malonyl-CoA, an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 and fatty acid oxidation. Contraction-induced activation of AMPK with subsequent phosphorylation/inactivation of ACC has been postulated to be responsible in part for the increase in fatty acid oxidation that occurs in muscle during exercise. These studies were designed to answer the question: Does phosphorylation of ACC by AMPK make palmitoyl-CoA a more effective inhibitor of ACC? Purified rat muscle ACC was subjected to phosphorylation by AMPK. Activity was determined on nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated ACC preparations at acetyl-CoA concentrations ranging from 2 to 500 μM and at palmitoyl-CoA concentrations ranging from 0 to 100 μM. Phosphorylation resulted in a significant decline in the substrate saturation curve at all palmitoyl-CoA concentrations. The inhibitor constant for palmitoyl-CoA inhibition of ACC was reduced from 1.7 ± 0.25 to 0.85 ± 0.13 μM as a consequence of phosphorylation. At 0.5 mM citrate, ACC activity was reduced to 13% of control values in response to the combination of phosphorylation and 10 μM palmitoyl-CoA. Skeletal muscle ACC is more potently inhibited by palmitoyl-CoA after having been phosphorylated by AMPK. This may contribute to low-muscle malonyl-CoA values and increasing fatty acid oxidation rates during long-term exercise when plasma fatty acid concentrations are elevated.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (6) ◽  
pp. E1107-E1112 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. F. Merrill ◽  
E. J. Kurth ◽  
D. G. Hardie ◽  
W. W. Winder

5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) has previously been reported to be taken up into cells and phosphorylated to form ZMP, an analog of 5′-AMP. This study was designed to determine whether AICAR can activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in skeletal muscle with consequent phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), decrease in malonyl-CoA, and increase in fatty acid oxidation. Rat hindlimbs were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate containing 4% bovine serum albumin, washed bovine red blood cells, 200 μU/ml insulin, and 10 mM glucose with or without AICAR (0.5–2.0 mM). Perfusion with medium containing AICAR was found to activate AMPK in skeletal muscle, inactivate ACC, and decrease malonyl-CoA. Hindlimbs perfused with 2 mM AICAR for 45 min exhibited a 2.8-fold increase in fatty acid oxidation and a significant increase in glucose uptake. No difference was observed in oxygen uptake in AICAR vs. control hindlimb. These results provide evidence that decreases in muscle content of malonyl-CoA can increase the rate of fatty acid oxidation.


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