scholarly journals A Crucial Role for the Small GTPase Rac1 Downstream of the Protein Kinase Akt2 in Insulin Signaling that Regulates Glucose Uptake in Mouse Adipocytes

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 5443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takenaka ◽  
Nakao ◽  
Matsui ◽  
Satoh

Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is mediated by translocation of the glucose transporter GLUT4 to the plasma membrane in adipocytes and skeletal muscle cells. In both types of cells, phosphoinositide 3-kinase and the protein kinase Akt2 have been implicated as critical regulators. In skeletal muscle, the small GTPase Rac1 plays an important role downstream of Akt2 in the regulation of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. However, the role for Rac1 in adipocytes remains controversial. Here, we show that Rac1 is required for insulin-dependent GLUT4 translocation also in adipocytes. A Rac1-specific inhibitor almost completely suppressed GLUT4 translocation induced by insulin or a constitutively activated mutant of phosphoinositide 3-kinase or Akt2. Constitutively activated Rac1 also enhanced GLUT4 translocation. Insulin-induced, but not constitutively activated Rac1-induced, GLUT4 translocation was abrogated by inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase or Akt2. On the other hand, constitutively activated Akt2 caused Rac1 activation, and insulin-induced Rac1 activation was suppressed by an Akt2-specific inhibitor. Moreover, GLUT4 translocation induced by a constitutively activated mutant of Akt2 or Rac1 was diminished by knockdown of another small GTPase RalA. RalA was activated by a constitutively activated mutant of Akt2 or Rac1, and insulin-induced RalA activation was suppressed by an Akt2- or Rac1-specific inhibitor. Collectively, these results suggest that Rac1 plays an important role in the regulation of insulin-dependent GLUT4 translocation downstream of Akt2, leading to RalA activation in adipocytes.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10753
Author(s):  
Kiko Hasegawa ◽  
Nobuyuki Takenaka ◽  
Kenya Tanida ◽  
Man Piu Chan ◽  
Mizuki Sakata ◽  
...  

Insulin stimulates glucose uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle by inducing plasma membrane translocation of the glucose transporter GLUT4. Although the small GTPase Rac1 is a key regulator downstream of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the protein kinase Akt2 in skeletal muscle, it remains unclear whether Rac1 also regulates glucose uptake in white adipocytes. Herein, we investigated the physiological role of Rac1 in white adipocytes by employing adipocyte-specific rac1 knockout (adipo-rac1-KO) mice. Subcutaneous and epididymal white adipose tissues (WATs) in adipo-rac1-KO mice showed significant reductions in size and weight. Actually, white adipocytes lacking Rac1 were smaller than controls. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation were abrogated in rac1-KO white adipocytes. On the other hand, GLUT4 translocation was augmented by constitutively activated PI3K or Akt2 in control, but not in rac1-KO, white adipocytes. Similarly, to skeletal muscle, the involvement of another small GTPase RalA downstream of Rac1 was demonstrated. In addition, mRNA levels of various lipogenic enzymes were down-regulated in rac1-KO white adipocytes. Collectively, these results suggest that Rac1 is implicated in insulin-dependent glucose uptake and lipogenesis in white adipocytes, and reduced insulin responsiveness due to the deficiency of Rac1 may be a likely explanation for atrophy of WATs.


2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (4) ◽  
pp. E817-E828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taku Nedachi ◽  
Makoto Kanzaki

It is well established that insulin stimulation of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells is mediated through translocation of GLUT4 from intracellular storage sites to the cell surface. However, the established skeletal muscle cell lines, with the exception of L6 myocytes, reportedly show minimal insulin-dependent glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation. Using C2C12 myocytes expressing exofacial-Myc-GLUT4-enhanced cyan fluorescent protein, we herein show that differentiated C2C12 myotubes are equipped with basic GLUT4 translocation machinery that can be activated by insulin stimulation (∼3-fold increase as assessed by anti-Myc antibody uptake and immunostaining assay). However, this insulin stimulation of GLUT4 translocation was difficult to demonstrate with a conventional 2-deoxyglucose uptake assay because of markedly elevated basal glucose uptake via other glucose transporter(s). Intriguingly, the basal glucose transport activity in C2C12 myotubes appeared to be acutely suppressed within 5 min by preincubation with a pathophysiologically high level of extracellular glucose (25 mM). In contrast, this activity was augmented by acute glucose deprivation via an unidentified mechanism that is independent of GLUT4 translocation but is dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity. Taken together, these findings indicate that regulation of the facilitative glucose transport system in differentiated C2C12 myotubes can be achieved through surprisingly acute glucose-dependent modulation of the activity of glucose transporter(s), which apparently contributes to obscuring the insulin augmentation of glucose uptake elicited by GLUT4 translocation. We herein also describe several methods of monitoring insulin-dependent glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes and propose this cell line to be a useful model for analyzing GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 7852-7861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liora Braiman ◽  
Addy Alt ◽  
Toshio Kuroki ◽  
Motoi Ohba ◽  
Asia Bak ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Insulin stimulates glucose uptake into skeletal muscle tissue mainly through the translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane. The precise mechanism involved in this process is presently unknown. In the cascade of events leading to insulin-induced glucose transport, insulin activates specific protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. In this study we investigated the roles of PKCζ in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation in primary cultures of rat skeletal muscle. We found that insulin initially caused PKCζ to associate specifically with the GLUT4 compartments and that PKCζ together with the GLUT4 compartments were then translocated to the plasma membrane as a complex. PKCζ and GLUT4 recycled independently of one another. To further establish the importance of PKCζ in glucose transport, we used adenovirus constructs containing wild-type or kinase-inactive, dominant-negative PKCζ (DNPKCζ) cDNA to overexpress this isoform in skeletal muscle myotube cultures. We found that overexpression of PKCζ was associated with a marked increase in the activity of this isoform. The overexpressed, active PKCζ coprecipitated with the GLUT4 compartments. Moreover, overexpression of PKCζ caused GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane and increased glucose uptake in the absence of insulin. Finally, either insulin or overexpression of PKCζ induced serine phosphorylation of the GLUT4-compartment-associated vesicle-associated membrane protein 2. Furthermore, DNPKCζ disrupted the GLUT4 compartment integrity and abrogated insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation and glucose uptake. These results demonstrate that PKCζ regulates insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation and glucose transport through the unique colocalization of this isoform with the GLUT4 compartments.


Author(s):  
Abraham Giacoman-Martínez ◽  
Francisco Javier Alarcón-Aguilar ◽  
Alejandro Zamilpa-Alvarez ◽  
Fengyang Huang ◽  
Rodrigo Romero ◽  
...  

α-amyrin, a natural pentacyclic triterpene, have anti-hyperglycemic effect in mice and dual PPARδ/γ action in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and potential in the control of type 2 diabetes (T2D). About 80% of glucose uptake occurs in skeletal muscle cells, playing a significant role in IR and T2D. Peroxisome-proliferator activated receptors (PPARs), in particular PPARδ and PPARγ, are involved in the regulation of lipids and carbohydrates and, along adenosine-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and protein kinase B (Akt/PKB), are implicated in translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). However, it is still unknown whether α-amyrin can affect these pathways in skeletal muscle cells. The work's objective was to determine the action of α-amyrin in PPARδ, PPARγ, AMPK, and Akt/PKB in C2C12 myoblasts. The expression of PPARδ, PPARγ, FATP, and GLUT4 was quantified using RT-qPCR and Western blot. α-amyrin increased these markers along with p-AMPK but not p-Akt/PKB. Molecular docking showed that α-amyrin acts as an AMPK-allosteric activator, and may be related to GLUT4 translocation, evidenced by confocal microscopy. These data support that α-amyrin could have an insulin-mimetic action in C2C12 myoblasts and should be considered as a bioactive molecule for new multitarget drugs with utility in T2D and other metabolic diseases.


2014 ◽  
Vol 306 (9) ◽  
pp. E1065-E1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidemitsu Sakagami ◽  
Yuichi Makino ◽  
Katsutoshi Mizumoto ◽  
Tsubasa Isoe ◽  
Yasutaka Takeda ◽  
...  

Defects in glucose uptake by the skeletal muscle cause diseases linked to metabolic disturbance such as type 2 diabetes. The molecular mechanism determining glucose disposal in the skeletal muscle in response to cellular stimuli including insulin, however, remains largely unknown. The hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a transcription factor operating in the cellular adaptive response to hypoxic conditions. Recent studies have uncovered pleiotropic actions of HIF-1α in the homeostatic response to various cellular stimuli, including insulin under normoxic conditions. Thus we hypothesized HIF-1α is involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism stimulated by insulin in the skeletal muscle. To this end, we generated C2C12myocytes in which HIF-1α is knocked down by short-hairpin RNA and examined the intracellular signaling cascade and glucose uptake subsequent to insulin stimulation. Knockdown of HIF-1α expression in the skeletal muscle cells resulted in abrogation of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake associated with impaired mobilization of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane. Such defect seemed to be caused by reduced phosphorylation of the protein kinase B substrate of 160 kDa (AS160). AS160 phosphorylation and GLUT4 translocation by AMP-activated protein kinase activation were abrogated as well. In addition, expression of the constitutively active mutant of HIF-1α (CA-HIF-1α) or upregulation of endogenous HIF-1α in C2C12cells shows AS160 phosphorylation comparable to the insulin-stimulated level even in the absence of insulin. Accordingly GLUT4 translocation was increased in the cells expressing CA-HIF1α. Taken together, HIF-1α is a determinant for GLUT4-mediated glucose uptake in the skeletal muscle cells thus as a possible target to alleviate impaired glucose metabolism in, e.g., type 2 diabetes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (2) ◽  
pp. C377-C385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas T. Treebak ◽  
Eric B. Taylor ◽  
Carol A. Witczak ◽  
Ding An ◽  
Taro Toyoda ◽  
...  

TBC1D4 (also known as AS160) regulates glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) translocation and glucose uptake in adipocytes and skeletal muscle. Its mode of action involves phosphorylation of serine (S)/threonine (T) residues by upstream kinases resulting in inactivation of Rab-GTPase-activating protein (Rab-GAP) activity leading to GLUT4 mobilization. The majority of known phosphorylation sites on TBC1D4 lie within the Akt consensus motif and are phosphorylated by insulin stimulation. However, the 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and other kinases may also phosphorylate TBC1D4, and therefore we hypothesized the presence of additional phosphorylation sites. Mouse skeletal muscles were contracted or stimulated with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), and muscle lysates were subjected to mass spectrometry analyses resulting in identification of novel putative phosphorylation sites on TBC1D4. The surrounding amino acid sequence predicted that S711 would be recognized by AMPK. Using a phosphospecific antibody against S711, we found that AICAR and contraction increased S711 phosphorylation in mouse skeletal muscle, and this increase was abolished in muscle-specific AMPKα2 kinase-dead transgenic mice. Exercise in human vastus lateralis muscle also increased TBC1D4 S711 phosphorylation. Recombinant AMPK, but not Akt1, Akt2, or PKCζ, phosphorylated purified muscle TBC1D4 on S711 in vitro. Interestingly, S711 was also phosphorylated in response to insulin in an Akt2- and rapamycin-independent, but a wortmannin-sensitive, manner, suggesting this site is regulated by one or more additional upstream kinases. Despite increased S711 phosphorylation with AICAR, contraction, and insulin, mutation of S711 to alanine did not alter glucose uptake in response to these stimuli. S711 is a novel TBC1D4 phosphorylation site regulated by AMPK in skeletal muscle.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Victor Esteves ◽  
Francisco Javier Enguita ◽  
Ubiratan Fabres Machado

The solute carrier family 2 facilitated glucose transporter member 4 (GLUT4) plays a key role in the insulin-induced glucose uptake by muscle and adipose tissues. In prediabetes and diabetes, GLUT4 expression/translocation has been detected as reduced, participating in mechanisms that impair glycemic control. Recently, a class of short endogenous noncoding RNAs named microRNAs (miRNAs) has been increasingly described as involved in the posttranscriptional epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The present review focuses on miRNAs potentially involved in the expression of GLUT4 expression, and proteins related to GLUT4 and translocation in skeletal muscle, seeking to correlate them with insulin resistance and diabetes. So far, miR-21a-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-29c-3p, miR-93-5p, miR-106b-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-133b-3p, miR-222-3p, and miR-223-3p have been reported to directly and/or indirectly regulate the GLUT4 expression; and their expression is altered under diabetes-related conditions. Besides, some miRNAs that have been linked to the expression of proteins involved in GLUT4 translocation machinery in muscle could also impact glucose uptake. That makes these miRNAs promising targets for preventive and/or therapeutic approaches, which could improve glycemic control, thus deserving future new investigations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Furuzono ◽  
Tetsuya Kubota ◽  
Junki Taura ◽  
Masahiro Konishi ◽  
Asuka Naito ◽  
...  

Abstract Reduced glucose uptake into the skeletal muscle is an important pathophysiological abnormality in type 2 diabetes, and is caused by impaired translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the skeletal muscle cell surface. We found a novel xanthene compound, DS20060511, which induces GLUT4 translocation to the skeletal muscle cell surface, thereby stimulating glucose uptake into the skeletal muscle. DS20060511 induced GLUT4 translocation and glucose uptake into differentiated L6-miytubes and into the skeletal muscles of live mice. These effects were completely abolished in GLUT4 knockout mice. Induction of GLUT4 surface translocation by DS20060511 was independent of the insulin signaling pathways including IRS1-Akt-AS160 phosphorylation and IRS1-Rac1-actin polymerization, eNOS pathway and AMPK pathway. Acute and chronic DS20060511 treatment attenuated the glucose intolerance in obese diabetic mice. Taken together, DS20060511 acts as a skeletal muscle specific-GLUT4 translocation enhancer to facilitate glucose utilization. Further studies with DS20060511 would help to develop a novel antidiabetic medicine.


2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 993-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik A. Richter ◽  
Mark Hargreaves

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, Ca2+, 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.


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