Electroacupuncture combined with acarbose improves insulin sensitivity via peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ activation and produces a stronger glucose-lowering effect than acarbose alone in a rat model of steroid-induced insulin resistance

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 335-342
Author(s):  
Yuan-Chiang Chung ◽  
Ying-I Chen ◽  
Chih-Ming Lin ◽  
Su-Wei Chang ◽  
Tai-Hao Hsu ◽  
...  

Background: Previous studies have reported that electroacupuncture (EA) induces a glucose-lowering effect by improving insulin resistance (IR) and reduces plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels in rats with steroid-induced insulin resistance (SIIR). In addition, EA can activate cholinergic nerves and stimulate endogenous opioid peptides to lower plasma glucose in streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic rats. The aim of this study was to investigate the glucose-lowering effects of 15 Hz EA at bilateral ST36 in combination with acarbose (ACA). We hypothesized that EA combined with ACA would produce a stronger glucose-lowering effect than ACA alone. Methods: In this study, normal Wistar rats and SIIR rats were randomly divided into two groups: ACA and ACA + EA. To explore the potential mechanisms underlying the glucose-lowering effect, plasma FFA/insulin and insulin transduction signal pathway proteins were assayed. Results: Combined ACA + EA treatment had a greater glucose-lowering effect than ACA alone in normal Wistar rats (−45% ± 3% vs −19% ± 3%, p < 0.001) and SIIR model rats (−43% ± 2% vs −16% ± 6%, p < 0.001). A significant reduction in plasma FFA levels, improvement in homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) index (−48.9% ± 4.0%, p < 0.001) and insulin sensitivity index (102% ± 16.9%, p < 0.001), and significant increases in insulin receptor substrate 1, glucose transporter 4, and peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ protein expressions in skeletal muscle, were also observed in the ACA + EA group of SIIR rats. Conclusion: Combined EA and ACA therapy had a greater glucose-lowering effect than ACA monotherapy; this combined therapy could be more effective at improving IR in SIIR rats, which may be related to a reduction in plasma FFA levels and an elevation of insulin signaling proteins. Whether this combined therapy has an effect in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients still needs to be explored.

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (10) ◽  
pp. 743-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adil El Midaoui ◽  
Calin Lungu ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Lingyun Wu ◽  
Caroline Robillard ◽  
...  

This study sought to determine the impact of α-lipoic acid (LA) on superoxide anion (O2•–) production and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) expression in liver tissue, plasma free fatty acids (FFA), and aortic remodeling in a rat model of insulin resistance. Sprague–Dawley rats (50–75 g) were given either tap water or a drinking solution containing 10% D-glucose for 14 weeks, combined with a diet with or without LA supplement. O2•– production was measured by lucigenin chemiluminescence, and PPAR-α expression by Western blotting. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the aortic media and lumen and number of smooth muscle cells (SMC) were determined histologically. Glucose increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), plasma levels of glucose and insulin, and insulin resistance (HOMA index). All of these effects were attenuated by LA. Whereas glucose had no effect on liver PPAR-α protein level, it decreased plasma FFA. LA decreased the aortic and liver O2•– production, body weight, and plasma FFA levels in control and glucose-treated rats. Liver PPAR-α protein levels were increased by LA, and negatively correlated with plasma FFA. Medial CSA was reduced in all glucose-treated rats, and positively correlated with plasma FFA but not with SBP or aortic O2•– production. Glucose also reduced aortic lumen area, so that the media-to-lumen ratio remained unchanged. The ability of LA to lower plasma FFA appears to be mediated, in part, by increased hepatic PPAR-α expression, which may positively affect insulin resistance. Glucose-fed rats may serve as a unique model of aortic atrophic remodeling in hypertension and early metabolic syndrome.


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.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (5) ◽  
pp. E1120-E1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christelle Veyrat-Durebex ◽  
Xavier Montet ◽  
Manlio Vinciguerra ◽  
Asllan Gjinovci ◽  
Paolo Meda ◽  
...  

The inbred Lou/C rat, originating from the Wistar strain, has been described as a model of resistance to diet-induced obesity, but little is known about its metabolism. Since this knowledge could provide some clues about the etiology of obesity/insulin resistance, this study aimed at characterizing glucose and lipid metabolism in Lou/C vs. Wistar rats. This was achieved by performing glucose and insulin tolerance tests, euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamps, and characterization of intracellular insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. Substrate-induced insulin secretion was evaluated using perfused pancreas and isolated islets. Finally, body fat composition and the expression of various factors involved in lipid metabolism were determined. Body weight and caloric intake were lower in Lou/C than in Wistar rats, whereas food efficiency was similar. Improved glucose tolerance of Lou/C rats was not related to increased insulin output but was related to improved insulin sensitivity/responsiveness in the liver and in skeletal muscles. In the latter tissue, this was accompanied by improved insulin signaling, as suggested by higher activation of the insulin receptor and of the Akt/protein kinase B pathway. Fat deposition was markedly lower in Lou/C than in Wistar rats, especially in visceral adipose tissue. In the inguinal adipose depot, expression of uncoupling protein-1 was detected in Lou/C but not in Wistar rats, in keeping with a higher expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1 in these animals. The Lou/C rat is a valuable model of spontaneous food restriction with associated improved insulin sensitivity. Independently from its reduced caloric intake, it also exhibits a preferential channeling of nutrients toward utilization rather than storage.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengxia Liang ◽  
Rui Chen ◽  
Atsushi Nakagawa ◽  
Makoto Nishizawa ◽  
Shinichi Tsuda ◽  
...  

Electroacupuncture (EA) has been observed to reduce insulin resistance in obesity and diabetes. However, the biochemical mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of low-frequency EA on metabolic action in genetically obese and type 2 diabetic db/db mice. Nine-week-old db/m and db/db mice were randomly divided into four groups, namely, db/m, db/m + EA, db/db, and db/db + EA. db/m + EA and db/db + EA mice received 3-Hz electroacupuncture five times weekly for eight consecutive weeks. In db/db mice, EA tempered the increase in fasting blood glucose, food intake, and body mass and maintained insulin levels. In EA-treated db/db mice, improved insulin sensitivity was established through intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test. EA was likewise observed to decrease free fatty acid levels in db/db mice; it increased protein expression in skeletal muscle Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and induced gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator (PGC-), nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), and acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX). These results indicated that EA offers a beneficial effect on insulin resistance in obese and diabetic db/db mice, at least partly, via stimulation of SIRT1/PGC-, thus resulting in improved insulin signal.


2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Gayet ◽  
Veronique Leray ◽  
Masayuki Saito ◽  
Brigitte Siliart ◽  
Patrick Nguyen

Visceral adipose tissue and skeletal muscle have central roles in determining whole-body insulin sensitivity. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) is a potential mediator of insulin sensitivity. It can directly modulate the expression of genes that are involved in glucose and lipid metabolism, including GLUT4, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and adipocytokines (leptin and adiponectin). In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of obesity-associated insulin resistance on mRNA expression of PPARγ and its target genes. Dogs were studied when they were lean and at the end of an overfeeding period when they had reached a steady obese state. The use of a sensitive, real-time PCR assay allowed a relative quantification of mRNA expression for PPARγ, LPL, GLUT4, leptin and adiponectin, in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. In visceral adipose tissue and/or skeletal muscle, mRNA expression of PPARγ, LPL and GLUT4 were at least 2-fold less in obese and insulin-resistant dogs compared with the same animals when they were lean and insulin-sensitive. The mRNA expression and plasma concentration of leptin was increased, whereas the plasma level and mRNA expression of adiponectin was decreased, by obesity. In adipose tissue, PPARγ expression was correlated with leptin and adiponectin. These findings, in an original model of obesity induced by a prolonged period of overfeeding, showed that insulin resistance is associated with a decrease in PPARγ mRNA expression that could dysregulate expression of several genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (3) ◽  
pp. E618-E626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip D. G. Miles ◽  
Yaacov Barak ◽  
Ronald M. Evans ◽  
Jerrold M. Olefsky

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) is the target receptor for thiazolidinedione (TZD) compounds, which are a class of insulin-sensitizing drugs used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Paradoxically, however, mice deficient in PPARγ ( PPARγ+/− ) are more insulin sensitive than their wild-type (WT) littermates, not less, as would be predicted. To determine whether PPARγ deficiency could prevent the development of the insulin resistance associated with increasing age or high-fat (HF) feeding, insulin sensitivity was assessed in PPARγ+/− and WT mice at 2, 4, and 8 mo of age and in animals fed an HF diet. Because TZDs elicit their effect through PPARγ receptor, we also examined the effect of troglitazone (a TZD) in these mice. Glucose metabolism was assessed by hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and oral glucose tolerance test. Insulin sensitivity declined with age for both groups. However, the decline in the PPARγ+/− animals was substantially less than that of the WT animals, such that, by 8 mo of age, the PPARγ+/− mice were markedly more insulin sensitive than the WT mice. This greater sensitivity in PPARγ+/− mice was lost with TZD treatment. HF feeding led to marked adipocyte hypertrophy and peripheral tissue and hepatic insulin resistance in WT mice but also in PPARγ+/− mice. Treatment of these mice with troglitazone completely prevented the adipocyte hypertrophy and normalized insulin action. In conclusion, PPARγ deficiency partially protects against age-related insulin resistance but does not protect against HF diet-induced insulin resistance.


2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. K. K. Chatterjee

Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) is usually inherited in a dominant fashion, and is characterized by elevated serum thyroid hormone levels and failure to suppress pituitary secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone, with variable refractoriness to hormone action in peripheral tissues. Two major forms of the disorder are recognized: asymptomatic individuals with generalized resistance (GRTH) and patients with thyrotoxic features suggesting predominant pituitary resistance (PRTH). In over 100 families with GRTH or PRTH, we have identified heterozygous mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor β isoform (TRβ), which localize to three regions (amino acids 234–282, 310–353 and 429–461) of the hormone-binding domain of the receptor. The mutant receptors are transcriptionally impaired, due either to reduced ligand binding or to attenuated interaction with co-activators, and inhibit wild-type TR action in a dominant-negative manner. In the TRβ crystal structure, most RTH mutations cluster around the hormone-binding pocket, with receptor regions that mediate functions (DNA binding, dimerization, corepressor recruitment) required for dominant-negative activity being devoid of natural mutations. The pathogenesis of variable tissue resistance is not fully understood, but may be related to the differing tissue distributions of TRα and TRβ, and to variable dominant-negative activity of mutant receptors on different target genes. The nuclear receptor peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) regulates adipogenesis and mediates the action of thiazolidinediones - novel antidiabetic agents which enhance tissue insulin sensitivity. The PPARγ gene was screened in 85 subjects with severe insulin resistance, and two different heterozygous receptor mutations (P467L and V290M) were identified in three affected individuals. The PPARγ mutants are markedly transcriptionally impaired due to altered ligand binding and co-activator recruitment. Analogous to RTH, they inhibit the function of wild-type PPARγ when co-expressed, and such dominant-negative inhibition is linked to their ability to silence basal gene transcription via aberrant interaction with co-repressors. In addition to insulin resistance, all three affected subjects developed Type II diabetes mellitus and hypertension at an unusually early age. Our findings provide compelling evidence that PPARγ is important in the control of insulin sensitivity, glucose homoeostasis and blood pressure in humans. Future studies aim to elucidate the mechanism by which this receptor regulates insulin action and vascular tone.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 388-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsien-Yin Liao ◽  
Mao-Feng Sun ◽  
Jaung-Geng Lin ◽  
Shih-Liang Chang ◽  
Yu-Chen Lee

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the predominant form of diabetes. Although metformin is the preferred first-line drug for treatment of the disease, it is associated with a risk of secondary failure. Electroacupuncture (EA) can enhance insulin sensitivity and reduce blood glucose levels. Objectives To examine, in an animal study, whether EA combined with metformin (EA–metformin) results in a better glucose-lowering effect and greater insulin sensitivity than metformin alone in steroid-induced insulin-resistant rats. Methods Adult Wistar rats were injected with dexamethasone to induce diabetes and subsequently treated with EA plus metformin or metformin alone. Variations in plasma glucose, plasma insulin, and plasma free fatty acid levels were studied at the midpoint and end of the experimental course. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ), which are associated with glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) translocation, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which is related to GLUT4 activation, were measured after EA treatment. Results We found that EA–metformin resulted in a better glucose-lowering effect, greater insulin sensitivity, lower plasma free fatty acid levels and higher levels of MAPK than metformin alone (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between treatment groups in expression of IRS-1 or PPAR-γ. Conclusions The glucose-lowering effect and increased insulin sensitivity associated with EA–metformin administration is governed, at least in part, by its ability to stimulate the activation of GLUT4 via upregulation of MAPK expression.


2002 ◽  
pp. 495-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Gonzalez Sanchez ◽  
M Serrano Rios ◽  
C Fernandez Perez ◽  
M Laakso ◽  
MT Martinez Larrad

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of the Pro12Ala peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma-2 polymorphism in the susceptibility to the insulin resistance syndrome and its metabolic complications in a population-based nationwide multicenter study in Spain. DESIGN: 464 unrelated adults (45.3% men and 54.7% women) aged between 35 and 64 years were randomly chosen from a nationwide population-based survey of obesity and related conditions including insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: Anthropometric determinations included: body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, sagittal abdominal diameter; biochemical determinations included: fasting plasma glucose concentration and concentration 2 h after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), total cholesterol, high and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, leptin and insulin. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were also measured. Genotyping of the PPARgamma-2 Pro12Ala polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: The Ala12 allele frequency was higher in obese men than in lean men (0.15 vs 0.08, P=0.03). Men carriers of the Ala12 allele had a higher BMI than non-carriers (38.9% vs 21.3%; adjusted odds ratio 2.36, 95% confidence interval 1.10-5.05, P=0.03). However, despite higher BMI obese men carriers of the Ala12 allele had lower sagittal abdominal diameter than Pro12 homozygotes (24.1+/-3.2 vs 26.3+/-2.5 cm, P=0.01). The Ala12 allele was associated with lower total triglycerides levels in the overall population and it was also associated with lower fasting insulin levels and a higher insulin sensitivity by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) in women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the PPARgamma-2 gene promotes peripheral deposition of adipose tissue and increased insulin sensitivity for a given BMI. The results in women might be due to their different adipose tissue distribution.


2008 ◽  
Vol 416 (2) ◽  
pp. e7-e9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Davis ◽  
Philipp E. Scherer

Adiponectin is one of the most effective adipokines in the context of correcting obesity-induced insulin resistance. However, adiponectin-deficient animal models show a relatively modest phenotype unless metabolically challenged. This suggests that potent compensatory mechanisms are in place. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Wong et al. characterize new members of the CTRPs [C1q-TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α)-related proteins]. They establish that some CTRPs are produced primarily in the stromal vascular fraction of adipose tissue, and that expression of CRTP1, in particular (like adiponectin), is induced by PPARγ (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ) agonists. Moreover, injection of recombinant CTRP1 displays glucose-lowering effects. These observations suggest that CTRP1 may have partially overlapping functions and, along with other paralogues, may effectively compensate for the chronic loss of adiponectin function.


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