Effect of insulin and glucocorticoids on glucose transporters in rat adipocytes

1987 ◽  
Vol 252 (4) ◽  
pp. E441-E453 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Carter-Su ◽  
K. Okamoto
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Insulin Binding ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
Transport Activity ◽  
Rat Adipocytes ◽  
Dose Dependent Fashion

The ability of glucocorticoids to modify the effect of insulin on glucose transport was investigated in both intact isolated rat adipocytes and in membranes isolated from hormone-treated adipocytes. In intact adipocytes, dexamethasone, a potent synthetic glucocorticoid, inhibited insulin-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose transport at all concentrations of insulin tested (0-2,000 microU/ml). Insulin sensitivity, as well as the maximal response to insulin, was decreased by dexamethasone in the absence of a change in insulin binding. The inhibition was observed regardless of which hormone acted first, was blocked by actinomycin D, and resulted from a decrease in Vmax rather than an increase in Kt of transport. In plasma membranes isolated from insulin-treated adipocytes, glucose transport activity and the amount of glucose transporter covalently labeled with [3H]cytochalasin B were increased in parallel in a dose-dependent fashion. The amount of labeled transporter in a low-density microsomal fraction (LDMF) was decreased in a reciprocal fashion. In contrast, addition of dexamethasone to insulin-stimulated cells caused decreases in both transport activity and amount of labeled transporter in the plasma membranes. This was accompanied by a small increase in the amount of [3H]cytochalasin B incorporated into the glucose transporter in the LDMF. These results are consistent with both insulin and glucocorticoids altering the distribution of glucose transporters between the plasma membrane and LDMF, in opposite directions.

scholarly journals Cycloheximide decreases glucose transporters in rat adipocyte plasma membranes without affecting insulin-stimulated glucose transport

1988 ◽  
Vol 251 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Matthaei ◽  
J M Olefsky ◽  
E Karnieli
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Electrophoretic Analysis ◽  
Adipocyte Plasma Membranes ◽  
Inhibitor Of Protein Synthesis ◽  
Adipose Cells

This study examines the relationship between insulin-stimulated glucose transport and insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporters in isolated rat adipocytes. Adipose cells were incubated with or without cycloheximide, a potent inhibitor of protein synthesis, for 60 min and then for an additional 30 min with or without insulin. After the incubation we measured 3-O-methylglucose transport in the adipose cells, and subcellular membrane fractions were prepared. The numbers of glucose transporters in the various membrane fractions were determined by the cytochalasin B binding assay. Basal and insulin-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose uptakes were not affected by cycloheximide. Furthermore, cycloheximide affected neither Vmax. nor Km of insulin-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose transport. In contrast, the number of glucose transporters in plasma membranes derived from cells preincubated with cycloheximide and insulin was markedly decreased compared with those from cells incubated with insulin alone (10.5 +/- 0.8 and 22.2 +/- 1.8 pmol/mg of protein respectively; P less than 0.005). The number of glucose transporters in cells incubated with cycloheximide alone was not significantly different compared with control cells. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoretic analysis of [3H]cytochalasin-B-photolabelled plasma-membrane fractions revealed that cycloheximide decreases the amount of labelled glucose transporters in insulin-stimulated membranes. However, the apparent molecular mass of the protein was not changed by cycloheximide treatment. The effect of cycloheximide on the two-dimensional electrophoretic profile of the glucose transporter in insulin-stimulated low-density microsomal membranes revealed a decrease in the pI-6.4 glucose-transporter isoform, whereas the insulin-translocatable isoform (pI 5.6) was decreased. Thus the observed discrepancy between insulin-stimulated glucose transport and insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporters strongly suggests that a still unknown protein-synthesis-dependent mechanism is involved in insulin activation of glucose transport.

Stimulation of glucose transport by thyroid hormone in 3T3-L1 adipocytes: increased abundance of GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporter proteins

2000 ◽  
Vol 164 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Romero ◽  
B Casanova ◽  
N Pulido ◽  
AI Suarez ◽  
E Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Glucose Uptake ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Insulin Binding ◽  
Total Protein Content ◽  
Glucose Transporter Proteins

In 3T3-L1 adipocytes we have examined the effect of tri-iodothyronine (T(3)) on glucose transport, total protein content and subcellular distribution of GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporters. Cells incubated in T(3)-depleted serum were used as controls. Cells treated with T(3) (50 nM) for three days had a 3.6-fold increase in glucose uptake (P<0.05), and also presented a higher insulin sensitivity, without changes in insulin binding. The two glucose carriers, GLUT1 and GLUT4, increased by 87% (P<0.05) and 90% (P<0. 05), respectively, in cells treated with T(3). Under non-insulin-stimulated conditions, plasma membrane fractions obtained from cells exposed to T(3) were enriched with both GLUT1 (3. 29+/-0.69 vs 1.20+/-0.29 arbitrary units (A.U.)/5 microg protein, P<0.05) and GLUT4 (3.50+/-1.16 vs 0.82+/-0.28 A.U./5 microg protein, P<0.03). The incubation of cells with insulin produced the translocation of both glucose transporters to plasma membranes, and again cells treated with T(3) presented a higher amount of GLUT1 and GLUT4 in the plasma membrane fractions (P<0.05 and P<0.03 respectively). These data indicate that T(3) has a direct stimulatory effect on glucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes due to an increase in GLUT1 and GLUT4, and by favouring their partitioning to plasma membranes. The effect of T(3) on glucose uptake induced by insulin can also be explained by the high expression of both glucose transporters.

scholarly journals Cell surface accessibility of GLUT4 glucose transporters in insulin-stimulated rat adipose cells. Modulation by isoprenaline and adenosine

1992 ◽  
Vol 288 (1) ◽  
pp. 325-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
S J Vannucci ◽  
H Nishimura ◽  
S Satoh ◽  
S W Cushman ◽  
G D Holman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Transport Activity ◽  
Surface Accessibility ◽  
Adipose Cells ◽  
Membrane Concentration

Insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity in rat adipocytes is inhibited by isoprenaline and enhanced by adenosine. Both of these effects occur without corresponding changes in the subcellular distribution of the GLUT4 glucose transporter isoform. In this paper, we have utilized the impermeant, exofacial bis-mannose glucose transporter-specific photolabel, 2-N-4-(1-azi-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)benzoyl-1,3-bis-(D-mannos- 4-yloxy)-2-propylamine (ATB-BMPA) [Clark & Holman (1990) Biochem. J. 269, 615-622], to examine the cell surface accessibility of GLUT4 glucose transporters under these conditions. Compared with cells treated with insulin alone, adenosine in the presence of insulin increased the accessibility of GLUT4 to the extracellular photolabel by approximately 25%, consistent with its enhancement of insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity; the plasma membrane concentration of GLUT4 as assessed by Western blotting was unchanged. Conversely, isoprenaline, in the absence of adenosine, promoted a time-dependent (t1/2 approximately 2 min) decrease in the accessibility of insulin-stimulated cell surface GLUT4 of > 50%, which directly correlated with the observed inhibition of transport activity; the plasma membrane concentration of GLUT4 decreased by 0-15%. Photolabelling the corresponding plasma membranes revealed that these alterations in the ability of the photolabel to bind to GLUT4 are transient, as the levels of both photolabel incorporation and plasma membrane glucose transport activity were consistent with the observed GLUT4 concentration. These data suggest that insulin-stimulated GLUT4 glucose transporters can exist in two distinct states within the adipocyte plasma membrane, one which is functional and accessible to extracellular substrate, and one which is non-functional and unable to bind extracellular substrate. These effects are only observed in the intact adipocyte and are not retained in plasma membranes isolated from these cells when analysed for their ability to transport glucose or bind photolabel.

scholarly journals Qualitative and quantitative comparison of glucose transport activity and glucose transporter concentration in plasma membranes from basal and insulin-stimulated rat adipose cells

1988 ◽  
Vol 249 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
H G Joost ◽  
T M Weber ◽  
S W Cushman
Keyword(s):  
Activation Energy ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Transport ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Transport Activity ◽  
Adipose Cells ◽  
Stimulation Of

Conditions are described which allow the isolation of rat adipose-cell plasma membranes retaining a large part of the stimulatory effect of insulin in intact cells. In these membranes, the magnitude of glucose-transport stimulation in response to insulin was compared with the concentration of transporters as measured with the cytochalasin-B-binding assay or by immunoblotting with an antiserum against the human erythrocyte glucose transporter. Further, the substrate- and temperature-dependencies of the basal and insulin-stimulated states were compared. Under carefully controlled homogenization conditions, insulin-treated adipose cells yielded plasma membranes with a glucose transport activity 10-15-fold higher than that in membranes from basal cells. Insulin increased the transport Vmax. (from 1,400 +/- 300 to 15,300 +/- 3,400 pmol/s per mg of protein; means +/- S.E.M.; assayed at 22 degrees C) without any significant change in Km (from 17.8 +/- 4.4 to 18.9 +/- 1.4 nM). Arrhenius plots of plasma-membrane transport exhibited a break at 21 degrees C, with a higher activation energy over the lower temperature range. The activation energy over the higher temperature range was significantly lower in membranes from basal than from insulin-stimulated cells [27.7 +/- 5.0 kJ/mol (6.6 +/- 1.2 kcal/mol) and 45.3 +/- 2.1 kJ/mol (10.8 +/- 0.5 kcal/mol) respectively], giving rise to a larger relative response to insulin when transport was assayed at 37 degrees C as compared with 22 degrees C. The stimulation of transport activity at 22 degrees C was fully accounted for by an increase in the concentration of transporters measured by cytochalasin B binding, if a 5% contamination of plasma membranes with low-density microsomes was assumed. However, this 10-fold stimulation of transport activity contrasted with an only 2-fold increase in transporter immunoreactivity in membranes from insulin-stimulated cells. These data suggest that, in addition to stimulating the translocation of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane, insulin appears to induce a structural or conformational change in the transporter, manifested in an altered activation energy for plasma-membrane transport and possibly in an altered immunoreactivity as assessed by Western blotting.

Alterations of glucose transporter systems in insulin-resistant uremic rats

1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (2) ◽  
pp. E193-E197 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Jacobs ◽  
G. R. Hayes ◽  
J. A. Truglia ◽  
D. H. Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Serum Insulin ◽  
Total Concentration ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Insulin Binding ◽  
Serum Glucose ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Fat Cells

To further define the cellular alteration(s) involved in the impaired glucose transport associated with chronic uremia, we examined the concentration and translocation of glucose transport systems in adipocytes isolated from partially nephrectomized uremic rats. Uremic animals, compared with matched controls, had increased blood urea nitrogen and serum insulin, whereas serum glucose was unchanged. In agreement with previous work, 125I-insulin binding to its receptor was unaltered and transport of 2-deoxy-D-glucose was decreased in both the absence (basal) and presence of a maximal (7 nM) insulin concentration by 44 and 35%, respectively. To assess the movement and concentration of glucose transport systems in various membrane fractions prepared from basal and insulin-treated (20 nM) uremic fat cells, the technique of D-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding was utilized. In plasma membranes isolated from these cells the concentration of glucose transporters was decreased by 16 (P less than 0.01) and 30% (P less than 0.005) in basal and insulin-treated cells, respectively. Concomitantly, microsomal membranes prepared from uremic cells treated in the absence and presence of insulin had a 28 (P less than 0.01) and 15% (P less than 0.05) decrease in concentration of glucose transport systems, respectively. Additionally, glucose transporter concentration was significantly decreased by 17% (P less than 0.025) in total membranes prepared from uremic cells. Thus, impairment of glucose transport in uremic fat cells can be attributed to a postbinding defect that, at least in part, results from a decrease in the total concentration of glucose transporters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

scholarly journals Staurosporine inhibits phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate- and insulin-stimulated translocation of GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporters in rat adipose cells

1994 ◽  
Vol 302 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Nishimura ◽  
I A Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Insulin Sensitivity ◽  
Insulin Receptor ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Insulin Binding ◽  
Transport Activity ◽  
Insulin Receptor Signalling ◽  
Adipose Cells

Staurosporine, a widely used protein kinase C inhibitor, completely inhibited both phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)- and insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity in isolated rat adipocytes. The inhibition was non-competitive and was attributed to a blockade of the PMA- and insulin-induced translocation of both GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporters. The PMA-stimulated glucose transport activity was more sensitive to inhibition by staurosporine than was insulin-stimulated transport activity (PMA, IC50 = 1.1 +/- 0.1 microM; insulin, IC50 = 6.4 +/- 0.7 microM; P < 0.05, n = 3). At 1 microM staurosporine the insulin-sensitivity was decreased, i.e. EC50 increased from 0.12 nM to 5.4 nM, but the maximum response to insulin and the time course for stimulation were unaffected. At 6 microM staurosporine the insulin-sensitivity was further decreased, the maximal stimulation was decreased by 25%, and the apparent half-time for stimulation was extended from 2.5 min in control cells to 9.4 min. Staurosporine (30 microM) was able to block insulin's ability to stimulate glucose transport, whether added before or after insulin, by a mechanism that did not alter the rate of GLUT4 internalization. In intact adipose cells, staurosporine (30 microM) induced a slight (30%) decrease in the maximal insulin-induced receptor autophosphorylation and a similar decrease in the tyrosine phosphorylation of pp60 and pp160 (insulin-receptor substrate-1: ‘IRS-1’), but was without effect on insulin binding to its receptor. Conversely, staurosporine induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of the constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated (pp120) protein and of an insulin-stimulated protein pp53 in the cytosol. The locus of staurosporine's action appears to be distal from the initial insulin-receptor signalling, at a step that regulates the specific translocation of the glucose transporters to the plasma membranes.

scholarly journals Glycaemia regulates the glucose transporter number in the plasma membrane of rat skeletal muscle

1992 ◽  
Vol 284 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Dimitrakoudis ◽  
T Ramlal ◽  
S Rastogi ◽  
M Vranic ◽  
A Klip
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Transport System ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Rat Skeletal Muscle

The number of glucose transporters was measured in isolated membranes from diabetic-rat skeletal muscle to determine the role of circulating blood glucose levels in the control of glucose uptake into skeletal muscle. Three experimental groups of animals were investigated in the post-absorptive state: normoglycaemic/normoinsulinaemic, hyperglycaemic/normoinsulinaemic and hyperglycaemic/normoinsulinaemic made normoglycaemic/normoinsulinaemic by phlorizin treatment. Hyperglycaemia caused a reversible decrease in total transporter number, as measured by cytochalasin B binding, in both plasma membranes and internal membranes of skeletal muscle. Changes in GLUT4 glucose transporter protein mirrored changes in cytochalasin B binding in plasma membranes. However, there was no recovery of GLUT4 levels in intracellular membranes with correction of glycaemia. GLUT4 mRNA levels decreased with hyperglycaemia and recovered only partially with correction of glycaemia. Conversely, GLUT1 glucose transporters were only detectable in the plasma membranes; the levels of this protein varied directly with glycaemia, i.e. in the opposite direction to GLUT4 glucose transporters. This study demonstrates that hyperglycaemia, in the absence of hypoinsulinaemia, is capable of down-regulating the glucose transport system in skeletal muscle, the major site of peripheral resistance to insulin-stimulated glucose transport in diabetes. Furthermore, correction of hyperglycaemia causes a complete restoration of the transport system in the basal state (determined by the transporter number in the plasma membrane), but possibly only an incomplete recovery of the transport system's ability to respond to insulin (since there is no recovery of GLUT4 levels in the intracellular membrane insulin-responsive transporter pool). Finally, the effect of hyperglycaemia is specific for glucose transporter isoforms, with GLUT1 and GLUT4 proteins varying respectively in parallel and opposite directions to levels of glycaemia.

scholarly journals Phorbol esters imitate in rat fat-cells the full effect of insulin on glucose-carrier translocation, but not on 3-O-methylglucose-transport activity

1988 ◽  
Vol 249 (3) ◽  
pp. 865-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Mühlbacher ◽  
E Karnieli ◽  
P Schaff ◽  
B Obermaier ◽  
J Mushack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Phorbol Esters ◽  
Fat Cells ◽  
Transport Activity ◽  
Rat Adipocytes ◽  
Glucose Carrier ◽  
Stimulation Of

Tumour-promoting phorbol esters have insulin-like effects on glucose transport and lipogenesis in adipocytes and myocytes. It is believed that insulin activates the glucose-transport system through translocation of glucose transporters from subcellular membranes to the plasma membrane. The aim of the present study was to investigate if phorbol esters act through the same mechanism as insulin on glucose-transport activity of rat adipocytes. We compared the effects of the tumour-promoting phorbol ester tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA) and of insulin on 3-O-methylglucose transport and on the distribution of D-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin-B binding sites in isolated rat adipocytes. Insulin (100 mu units/ml) stimulated 3-O-methylglucose uptake 9-fold, whereas TPA (1 nM) stimulated the uptake only 3-fold (mean values of five experiments, given as percentage of equilibrium reached after 4 s: basal 7 +/- 1.3%, insulin 60 +/- 3.1%, TPA 22 +/- 2.3%). In contrast, both agents stimulated glucose-transporter translocation to the same extent [cytochalasin B-binding sites (pmol/mg of protein; n = 7): plasma membranes, basal 6.2 +/- 1.0, insulin 13.4 +/- 2.0, TPA 12.7 +/- 2.7; low-density membranes, basal 12.8 +/- 2.1, insulin 6.3 +/- 0.9, TPA 8.9 +/- 0.7; high-density membranes, 6.9 +/- 1.1; insulin 12.5 +/- 1.0, TPA 8.1 +/- 0.9]. We conclude from these data: (1) TPA stimulates glucose transport in fat-cells by stimulation of glucose-carrier translocation; (2) insulin and TPA stimulate the carrier translocation to the same extent, whereas the stimulation of glucose uptake is 3-fold higher with insulin, suggesting that the stimulatory effect of insulin on glucose-transport activity involves other mechanisms in addition to carrier translocation.

Potential mechanism of insulin resistance in ageing: impaired insulin-stimulated glucose transport due to a depletion of the intracellular pool of glucose transporters in Fischer rat adipocytes

1990 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Matthaei ◽  
H. Benecke ◽  
H. H. Klein ◽  
A. Hamann ◽  
G. Kreymann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Insulin Binding ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Intracellular Pool ◽  
Subcellular Membrane ◽  
Impaired Insulin ◽  
In Cells

ABSTRACT To examine the cellular mechanism responsible for impaired insulin action in ageing, we determined various in-vitro parameters involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, i.e. basal and insulin-stimulated [14C]3-O-methylglucose transport (30MG), 125I-labelled insulin binding, activation of insulin receptor kinase (IRKA) in intact cells, and number and subcellular distribution of glucose transporters in subcellular membrane fractions of adipocytes from 6- (FR-6) and 24- (FR-24) month-old Fischer rats. Ageing had no effect on basal 30MG (12±4 vs 13±3 fmol/5 × 104 cells, means ± s.e.m.); in contrast, in FR-24 rats insulin-stimulated 30MG was markedly decreased by 43% when compared with that in FR-6 rats (158±14 vs 90±8 fmol/5 × 104 cells; P < 0·01). Insulin binding to adipocytes from FR-6 rats was 2·40±0·38% compared with 2·28±0·47% in FR-24 (P not significant). Moreover, ageing had no significant effect on IRKA, as determined by insulin-stimulated (0, 1, 4 and 500 ng insulin/ml) 32P-incorporation into histone 2B. In subcellular membrane fractions, low density microsomes and plasma membranes, glucose transporter numbers were determined using [3H]cytochalasin B binding and immunodetection using an antiserum against the C-terminal peptide of the hepatoma-G2-glucose transporter. Cytochalasin B binding revealed that in the basal state the intracellular pool of glucose transporters was depleted in FR-24 by about 39% compared with low density microsomes from FR-6: (48·6±7·2 vs 29·8±5·5 pmol/mg membrane protein; P < 0·01). In consequence, in FR-24 there were fewer glucose transporters available for insulin-induced translocation to the plasma membrane (insulin-treated plasma membrane: 23·9±4·2 (FR-6) vs 14·4±3·1 (FR-24) pmol/mg membrane protein; P < 0·01). These results were confirmed by immunoblotting. In conclusion, (1) maximal insulin-stimulated 30MG was decreased by 43% in cells from FR-24 rats compared with those from FR-6 rats, while basal 30MG was similar in both groups, (2) neither insulin binding nor IRKA were significantly altered in cells from FR-24 rats, and (3) impaired insulin-stimulated 30MG was associated with reduced numbers of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane as a consequence of a depletion of the intracellular pool of glucose transporters in cells from FR-24 rats. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 126, 99–107

Discrepancy between glucose transport and transporters in human femoral adipocytes

1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (1) ◽  
pp. E179-E185 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Karnieli ◽  
R. Moscona ◽  
R. Rafaeloff ◽  
Y. G. Illouz ◽  
M. Armoni
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Cytochalasin B ◽  
Intact Cell ◽  
Transport Activity ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Insulin Resistant ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Microsomal Membranes ◽  
Subcutaneous Adipose

Obesity is known to be associated with insulin resistance in human and rat adipocytes. However, it is not known what are the perturbations in insulin action that contribute to disproportional femoral obesity. Thus femoral subcutaneous adipose tissue was obtained from lean women with various degrees of disproportional obesity, by liposuction. 3-O-methylglucose (3-O-methyl-D-glucopyranose) transport was measured in intact cells, and glucose transporter levels in plasma and low-density microsomal membranes were assessed using the cytochalasin B binding assay. A sixfold cellular enlargement was associated with increase in both basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity in the intact cell, and a 300-600% increase in insulin stimulating effect per se. However, when glucose transporter levels were assessed, this cellular enlargement was accompanied by a 40-70% transporter depletion (in largest cells compared with smallest ones) in both subcellular fractions examined, from either basal or insulin-stimulated cells. This discrepancy, between increasing cellular glucose transport rates and relative depletion of transporter levels, suggests that these cells are not insulin resistant, as could be expected from their large size. A role for other factor(s), additional to glucose transporter levels, in the regulation of cellular glucose uptake rate is thus suggested.

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