Epinephrine and AICAR-induced PGC-1α mRNA expression is intact in skeletal muscle from rats fed a high-fat diet

2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (12) ◽  
pp. C1772-C1779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce C. Frier ◽  
Zhongxiao Wan ◽  
Deon B. Williams ◽  
Amanda L. Stefanson ◽  
David C. Wright

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis and is controlled, at least in part, through AMP-activated protein kinase and p38-dependent pathways. There is evidence demonstrating that activation of these kinases and induction of PGC-1α in skeletal muscle are regulated by catecholamines. The purpose of the present study was to determine if consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) impairs epinephrine and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR) signaling and induction of PGC-1α in rat skeletal muscle. Male Wistar rats were fed chow or a HFD for 6 wk and then given a weight-adjusted bolus injection of epinephrine (20, 10, or 5 μg/100 g body wt sc) or saline, and triceps muscles were harvested 30 min (signaling) or 2 and 4 h (gene expression) postinjection. Despite blunted increases in p38 phosphorylation, the ability of epinephrine to induce PGC-1α was intact in skeletal muscle from HFD-fed rats and was associated with normal increases in activation of PKA and phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein, reputed mediators of PGC-1α expression. The attenuated epinephrine-mediated increase in p38 phosphorylation was independent of increases in MAPK phosphatase 1. At 2 h following AICAR treatment (0.5 g/kg body wt sc), AMP-activated protein kinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation were similar in skeletal muscle from chow- and HFD-fed rats. Surprisingly, AICAR-induced increases in PGC-1α mRNA levels were greater in skeletal muscle from HFD-fed rats. Our results demonstrate that the ability of epinephrine and AICAR to induce PGC-1α remains intact in skeletal muscle from HFD-fed rats. These results question the existence of reduced β-adrenergic responsiveness in diet-induced obesity and demonstrate that increases in p38 phosphorylation are not required for induction of PGC-1α in muscle from obese rats.

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott P. Naples ◽  
Sarah J. Borengasser ◽  
R. Scott. Rector ◽  
Grace M. Uptergrove ◽  
E. Matthew Morris ◽  
...  

Rats selected artificially to be low-capacity runners (LCR) possess a metabolic syndrome phenotype that is worsened by a high-fat diet (HFD), whereas rats selected to be high-capacity runners (HCR) are protected against HFD-induced obesity and insulin resistance. This study examined whether protection against, or susceptibility to, HFD-induced insulin resistance in the HCR–LCR strains is associated with contrasting metabolic adaptations in skeletal muscle. HCR and LCR rats (generation 20; n = 5–6; maximum running distance ∼1800 m vs. ∼350 m, respectively (p < 0.0001)) were divided into HFD (71.6% energy from fat) or normal chow (NC) (16.7% energy from fat) groups for 7 weeks (from 24 to 31 weeks of age). Skeletal muscle (red gastrocnemius) mitochondrial-fatty acid oxidation (FAO), mitochondrial-enzyme activity, mitochondrial-morphology, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ) expression and insulin sensitivity (intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests) were measured. The HFD caused increased adiposity and reduced insulin sensitivity only in the LCR and not the HCR strain. Isolated mitochondria from the HCR skeletal muscle displayed a 2-fold-higher rate of FAO on NC, but both groups increased FAO following HFD. PGC-1α mRNA expression and superoxide dismutase activity were significantly reduced with the HFD in the LCR rats, but not in the HCR rats. PPARδ expression did not differ between strains or dietary conditions. These results do not provide a clear connection between protection of insulin sensitivity and HFD-induced adaptive changes in mitochondrial function or transcriptional responses but do not dismiss the possibility that elevated mitochondrial FAO in the HCR may play a protective role.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Hee Kim ◽  
Mi Jeong Sung ◽  
Jae Ho Park ◽  
Hye Jeong Yang ◽  
Jin-Taek Hwang

We examined the antidiabetic property ofBoehmeria nivea(L.) Gaud. Ethanolic extract ofBoehmeria nivea(L.) Gaud. (EBN) increased the uptake of 2-[N-(nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino]-2-deoxy-d-glucose in C2C12 myotubes. To examine the mechanisms underlying EBN-mediated increase in glucose uptake, we examined the transcriptional activity and expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), a pivotal target for glucose metabolism in C2C12 myotubes. We found that the EBN increased both the transcriptional activity and mRNA expression levels of PPAR-γ. In addition, we measured phosphorylation and expression levels of other targets of glucose metabolism, such as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and protein kinase B (Akt/PKB). We found that EBN did not alter the phosphorylation or expression levels of these proteins in a time- or dose-dependent manner, which suggested that EBN stimulates glucose uptake through a PPAR-γ-dependent mechanism. Further, we investigated the antidiabetic property of EBN using mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Administration of 0.5% EBN reduced the HFD-induced increase in body weight, total cholesterol level, and fatty liver and improved the impaired fasting glucose level, blood insulin content, and glucose intolerance. These results suggest that EBN had an antidiabetic effect in cell culture and animal systems and may be useful for preventing diabetes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Fillmore ◽  
Daniel L. Jacobs ◽  
David B. Mills ◽  
William W. Winder ◽  
Chad R. Hancock

Factors that stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle include AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), calcium, and circulating free fatty acids (FFAs). Chronic treatment with either 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR), a chemical activator of AMPK, or increasing circulating FFAs with a high-fat diet increases mitochondria in rat skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the combination of chronic chemical activation of AMPK and high-fat feeding would have an additive effect on skeletal muscle mitochondria levels. We treated Wistar male rats with a high-fat diet (HF), AICAR injections (AICAR), or a high-fat diet and AICAR injections (HF + AICAR) for 6 wk. At the end of the treatment period, markers of mitochondrial content were examined in white quadriceps, red quadriceps, and soleus muscles, predominantly composed of unique muscle-fiber types. In white quadriceps, there was a cumulative effect of treatments on long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, cytochrome c, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) protein, as well as on citrate synthase and β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (β-HAD) activity. In contrast, no additive effect was noted in the soleus, and in the red quadriceps only β-HAD activity increased additively. The additive increase of mitochondrial markers observed in the white quadriceps may be explained by a combined effect of two separate mechanisms: high-fat diet-induced posttranscriptional increase in PGC-1α protein and AMPK-mediated increase in PGC-1α protein via a transcriptional mechanism. These data show that chronic chemical activation of AMPK and a high-fat diet have a muscle type specific additive effect on markers of fatty acid oxidation, the citric acid cycle, the electron transport chain, and transcriptional regulation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 395-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Tanaka ◽  
Hiroaki Masuzaki ◽  
Shintaro Yasue ◽  
Ken Ebihara ◽  
Tetsuya Shiuchi ◽  
...  

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