scholarly journals Tissue and isoform-selective activation of protein kinase C in insulin-resistant obese Zucker rats - effects of feeding

1999 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Qu ◽  
JP Seale ◽  
R Donnelly

The mechanisms of insulin resistance in the obese Zucker rat have not been clearly established but increased diacylglycerol-protein kinase C (DAG-PKC) signalling has been associated with decreased glucose utilisation in states of insulin resistance and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to characterise tissue- and isoform-selective differences in DAG-PKC signalling in insulin-sensitive tissues from obese Zucker rats, and to assess the effects of feeding on DAG-PKC pathways. Groups of male obese (fa/fa, n=24) and lean (fa/-, n=24) Zucker rats were studied after baseline measurements of fasting serum glucose, triglycerides, insulin and oral glucose tolerance tests. Liver, epididymal fat and soleus muscle samples were obtained from fed and overnight-fasted rats for measurements of DAG, PKC activity and individual PKC isoforms in cytosol and membrane fractions. Obese rats were heavier (488+/-7 vs 315+/-9 g) with fasting hyperglycaemia (10.5+/-0.8 vs 7.7+/-0.1 mM) and hyperinsulinaemia (7167+/-363 vs 251+/-62 pM) relative to lean controls. In fasted rats, PKC activity in the membrane fraction of liver was significantly higher in the obese group (174+/-16 vs 108+/-12 pmol/min/mg protein, P<0.05) but there were no differences in muscle and fat. The fed state was associated with increased DAG levels and threefold higher PKC activity in muscle tissue of obese rats, and increased expression of the major muscle isoforms, PKC-theta and PKC-epsilon: e.g. PKC activity in the membrane fraction of muscle from obese animals was 283+/-42 (fed) vs 107+/-20 pmol/min/mg protein (fasting) compared with 197+/-27 (fed) and 154+/-21 pmol/min/mg protein (fasting) in lean rats. In conclusion, hepatic PKC activity is higher in obese rats under basal fasting conditions and feeding-induced activation of DAG-PKC signalling occurs selectively in muscle of obese (fa/fa) rats due to increased DAG-mediated activation and/or synthesis of PKC-theta and PKC-epsilon. These changes in PKC are likely to exacerbate the hyperglycaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia associated with obesity-induced diabetes.

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (06) ◽  
pp. 871-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianqin Qu ◽  
Lei Dang ◽  
J. Paul Seale

In this ex vivo study, the inhibitory activity of hypocrellin A (HA), a perylene quinonoid pigment isolated from the Chinese medicinal fungus Hypocrella bambuase, on protein kinase C (PKC) enzyme activity in insulin target tissues of obese Zucker rats was assessed. Pre-incubation with HA for 30 minutes significantly inhibited the activity of partially purified PKC enzyme from liver and soleus skeletal muscle in a dose-dependent manner ( IC 50=0.07 and 0.26 μg/ml, respectively). HA produced a greater inhibitory effect in enzyme prepared from the liver than enzyme prepared from soleus muscle. Since total PKC activity in these two insulin target tissues is the net result of several different isoforms of PKC, and PKC-θ is a major isoform expressed in the soleus skeletal muscle, the present data suggest that the naturally occurring compound, HA, may selectively inhibit certain PKC isoforms other than PKC-θ. Further investigations are required to determine which PKC isoforms are most susceptible to HA and whether changes in PKC signaling during treatment with HA can reverse abnormalities of glucose and lipid metabolism in insulin resistant and diabetic states.


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (1) ◽  
pp. E63-E70 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Morrissey

The influence of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), an activator of protein kinase c, on the secretion of parathyroid hormone from collagenase-dispersed bovine parathyroid cells was tested. The cells were incubated at low (0.5 mM) or high (2.0 mM) concentrations of calcium in the medium, and the hormone secreted into the medium was measured by a radioimmunoassay that recognizes both intact and C-terminal fragments of hormone. At low calcium, the secretory rate averaged 32 +/- 3.8 ng.h-1.(10(5) cells)-1. The addition of 1.6 microM PMA did not affect secretion. At high calcium there was a significant suppression of secretion by 38% to 19.8 +/- 3 ng.h-1.(10(5) cells)-1. The addition of 1.6 microM PMA significantly stimulated hormone secretion to 35.8 +/- 8 ng.h-1.(10(5) cells)-1, a rate indistinguishable from low calcium. This stimulatory effect of PMA at high calcium was seen at PMA concentrations as low as 1.6 nM, did not occur with a biologically inactive 4 alpha-isomer of phorbol ester, and was independent of changes in cellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate levels. Examination of 32P-labeled phosphoproteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed acidic proteins of approximately 20,000 and 100,000 Da that were phosphorylated at low and high calcium + 1.6 microM PMA but not at high calcium alone. The protein kinase c activity associated with the membrane fraction of parathyroid cells significantly decreased 40% when the cells were incubated at high vs. low calcium. The data suggest that calcium may regulate parathyroid hormone secretion through changes in protein kinase c activity of the membrane fraction of the cell and protein phosphorylation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuo Kajita ◽  
Tatsuo Ishizuka ◽  
Atsushi Miura ◽  
Yoshinori Kanoh ◽  
Masayoshi Ishizawa ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 153 (6) ◽  
pp. 963-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorte X Gram ◽  
Anker J Hansen ◽  
Michael Wilken ◽  
Torben Elm ◽  
Ove Svendsen ◽  
...  

Objective: It has earlier been demonstrated that capsaicin-induced desensitization improves insulin sensitivity in normal rats. However, whether increased capsaicin-sensitive nerve activity precedes the onset of insulin resistance in diet-induced obesity – and therefore might be involved in the pathophysiology – is not known. Further, it is of relevance to investigate whether capsaicin desensitization improves glycaemic control even in obese individuals and we therefore chose the obese Zucker rats to test this. Design and methods: Plasma levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP; a marker of sensory nerve activity) was assessed in 8-week-old Zucker rats. To investigate whether capsaicin desensitization (100 mg/kg at 9 weeks of age) would also ameliorate glycaemia in this non-diabetic model, we assessed oral glucose tolerance at 7 weeks after capsaicin. Results: It was found that plasma CGRP levels were elevated in obese Zucker rats prior to the onset of obesity (16.1±3.4 pmol/l in pre-obese Zucker rats vs 6.9±1.1 pmol/l in lean littermates; P = 0.015) despite similar body weights. Furthermore, capsaicin desensitization reduced both fasting blood glucose (4.3±0.2 mmol/l vs 5.1±0.2 mmol/l in controls; P = 0.050) as well as the mean blood glucose level during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (6.8±0.3 mmol/l vs 8.6±0.5 mmol/l in control obese rats; P = 0.024) whereas the plasma insulin levels during the OGTT were unchanged. However this did not lead to an improvement in insulin resistance or to a reduction of tissue triglyceride accumulation in muscle or liver. Conclusion: We concluded that capsaicin-induced sensory nerve desensitization improves glucose tolerance in Zucker rats. Since, in this study, plasma CGRP levels, a marker of sensory nerve activity, were increased in the pre-obese rats, our data support the hypothesis that increased activity of sensory nerves precedes the development of obesity and insulin resistance in Zucker rats.


Metabolism ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Jia Kong ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Dan-Qing Song ◽  
Rong Xue ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
...  

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