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Increased sarcolemmal glucose transporter abundance in myocardial ischemia.

Many clinical and laboratory studies suggest that an increase in glucose uptake and metabolism by ischemic myocardium helps protect myocardial cells from irreversible injury. We have examined whether increased sarcolemmal abundance of cardiomyocyte glucose transporters plays a role in this adaptive response. We have shown that acute myocardial ischemia in perfused rat hearts results in increased sarcolemmal abundance of the major glucose transporter, GLUT4, by causing translocation of GLUT4 molecules from an intracellular compartment to the sarcolemma. In nonischemic control hearts only 18 +/- 2.8% of GLUT4 molecules were on the sarcolemma whereas in ischemic hearts this increased to 41 +/- 9.3%. Insulin also caused translocation of GLUT4 molecules to the sarcolemma, and resulted in 61 +/- 2.6% of GLUT4 molecules on the sarcolemma. The combination of ischemia and insulin did not result in additive increases in sarcolemmal GLUT4 abundance. In more persistent or chronic ischemia, the other major myocardial glucose transporter, GLUT1, appears to play an important role. The mRNA for this transporter, which is constitutively expressed on cardiomyocyte sarcolemma, was increased 2.0-fold in regions of hibernating myocardium in humans with coronary heart disease as well as in persistently hypoxic rat neonatal cardiomyocytes in primary culture. In neither of these conditions was GLUT4 mRNA expression increased. Thus, acute myocardial ischemia increases sarcolemmal glucose transporter abundance mainly by translocating previously synthesized GLUT4 molecules from an intracellular compartment, whereas more chronic ischemia also increases GLUT1 abundance via enhanced mRNA expression. Increased GLUT1 and GLUT4 abundance may participate in the augmented glucose uptake of ischemic myocardium and therefore may help protect ischemic myocardium from irreversible injury.

Animals↗

Quantitative genetic analysis of glucose transporter 4 mRNA levels in baboon adipose.

OBJECTIVE: Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) is an insulin-responsive glucose transporter expressed in adipose tissue. A decrease of the mRNA abundance of GLUT4 in adipose tissue has been observed in conditions of insulin resistance. The objective was to conduct quantitative genetic analyses using GLUT4 mRNA levels in omental adipose tissue of baboons as a novel phenotype. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A blood sample and a biopsy of omental adipose tissue were collected from 418 adult, pedigreed baboons. Total RNA was isolated from adipose tissue biopsies, and GLUT4 mRNA abundance was assayed by quantitative, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Insulin and glucose were determined in fasting plasma by standard methods. Quantitative genetic analyses were conducted using GLUT4 mRNA, insulin, and glucose as quantitative traits. RESULTS: GLUT4 mRNA expression in omental adipose tissue was heritable (h(2) = 0.23, p = 0.001). Bivariate genetic analyses revealed a significant genetic correlation (rho(G)) between GLUT4 mRNA abundance and both body weight (rho(G) = 0.63, p = 0.007), BMI (rho(G) = 0.59, p = 0.02) and insulin (rho(G) = 0.72, p = 0.04). A genome scan was conducted, and a quantitative trait locus was detected on chromosome 10p12 with a logarithm of the odds ratio score of 1.1. DISCUSSION: GLUT4 mRNA abundance in omental adipose tissue has a significant genetic component. These findings suggest that expression of GLUT4 mRNA, plasma insulin levels, and body weight may be regulated by common genes.

Adipose Tissue↗

Ligand-induced conformational changes modify proteolytic cleavage of the adipocyte insulin-sensitive glucose transporter.

The transport conformation of the human erythrocyte glucose transporter (GLUT1) modifies rates of proteolytic cleavage of this protein by a variety of enzymes. We investigated the effects of ligand-induced conformational change on the susceptibility to enzymic cleavage of the insulin-sensitive rat adipocyte glucose transporter (GLUT4). A GLUT4-enriched slow sedimenting microsomal fraction was prepared from basal adipocytes and subjected to PAGE and immunoblotting. The GLUT4 protein was detected in these immunoblots with a C-terminal-specific antiserum as an M(r)-46,000-50,000 doublet. GLUT1 protein was not detected by a GLUT1-specific antiserum in these membranes. Tryptic digestion caused loss of the GLUT4 signal in immunoblots in a time- and concentration-dependent fashion. Low-M(r) membrane-bound fragments were not observed in electrophoretic gels, whether detection was attempted by immunoblotting or by counting radioactivity in gel slices following photolabelling with [3H]cytochalasin B. Transport-specific ligands known to induce an outward-facing conformation in the human erythrocyte GLUT1 protein retarded cleavage of the GLUT4 protein by submaximal concentrations of trypsin, whereas ligands known to induce an inward-facing conformation increased the extent of cleavage. The transported substrate D-glucose retarded tryptic cleavage of GLUT4. This result contrasts with the known behaviour of GLUT1, in which D-glucose accelerates cleavage. Cleavage of GLUT4 by thermolysin was also retarded by the outward-binding analogue 4,6-O-ethylidene glucose. These results show that the conformational sensitivity to proteolysis of GLUT4 mirrors that of GLUT1, except that the glucose-loaded GLUT4 has a different steady-state configuration, which may reflect underlying kinetic differences between the two proteins.

Adipocytes↗

Chloroquine inhibits glucose-transporter recruitment induced by insulin in rat adipocytes independently of its action on endomembrane pH.

In adipocytes, stimulation of glucose transport by insulin is mediated largely by translocation of the GLUT4 isoform of glucose transporters from an intracellular store to the plasma membrane. Most endomembrane compartments are endowed with H(+)-pumping ATPases, and the resulting luminal acidification is thought to play a role in vesicular traffic. Chloroquine (Clq), a permeant weak base, was used to test whether endomembrane pH is an important factor in GLUT4 translocation. Under conditions chosen to optimize Clq uptake, the weak base precluded insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation and the associated stimulation of glucose transport. Clq also effectively dissipated the delta pH of acidic endomembrane compartments, assessed fluorimetrically. To define whether the intracellular GLUT4 storage compartment is acidic, immunoadsorption and immunoblotting experiments were performed to determine whether glucose transporters and vacuolar-type H+ pumps coexist in the same membranes. Unexpectedly, H+ pumps were not detectable in vesicles bearing GLUT4. Moreover, dissipation of endomembrane delta pH by monensin failed to inhibit insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation and hexose transport. Finally, the inhibitory effect of Clq persisted in the presence of monensin. We conclude that GLUT4 resides in an intracellular compartment devoid of H+ pumps. The insertion of this compartment into the plasmalemma is not regulated by transmembrane pH gradients. Clq impairs the stimulation of glucose transport by blocking translocation of GLUT4 by a pH-independent mechanism. Clq may provide a useful tool to elucidate the signalling or fusion steps involved in insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation.

Adipocytes↗

Subcellular trafficking kinetics of GLU4 mutated at the N- and C-terminal.

The glucose transporter isoform, GLUT4, has been expressed in Chinese hamster clones and its subcellular trafficking has been determined following labelling at the cell surface with the impermeant bis-mannose photolabel, 2-N-(1-azi-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)benzoyl-1,3-bis(D-mannos -4-yloxy)-2-propylamine (ATM-BMPA). ATM-BMPA-tagged GLUT4 leaves the cell surface rapidly and equilibrates to give an internal/surface distribution ratio of approx. 3.5 after 60 min. GLUT4 in which the N-terminal phenylalanine-5 and glutamine-6 are mutated to alanine-N-(FQ-AA) and in which the C-terminal leucine-489 and -490 are mutated to alanine C-(LL-AA) have low internal/surface ratios of 0.64 and 1.24 respectively. If all cell-surface transporters are able to recycle, as would be the case for a two-pool recycling model with a single intracellular pool, then analysis suggests that the wild-type GLUT4 distribution ratio is dependent on endocytosis and exocytosis rate constants of 0.074 and 0.023 min(-1). These values are similar, but not identical, to those found for GLUT4 trafficking in adipocytes. The distribution of the N-(FQ-AA) transporter appears to be due to a decrease in endocytosis with reduced intracellular retention, while the distribution of the C-(LL_AA) transporter appears to be mainly due to poor intracellular retention. These results are also considered in terms of a consecutive intracellular pool model in which GLUT4 targeting domains alter the distribution between recycling endosomes and a slowly recycling compartment. In this case the more rapid apparent exocytosis of the mutated GLUT4 is due to their failure to reach a slowly recycling compartment with a consequent return to the plasma membrane by default. It is suggested that overexpression of transporters increases the proportion that are recycled in this way. Wortmannin is shown to decrease glucose transport activity and cell-surface photolabelled transporters in a manner consistent with an inhibition of transporter recycling. Studies on the rate of loss of transport activity and ATB-BMPA-tagged transporter in wortmannin-treated cells confirm that the N-(FQ-AA) mutant is endocytosed more slowly than the wild-type GLUT4. Taken together, these results suggest that the mutation at either the N- or the C-terminal domain can reduce movement to a slowly recycling intracellular compartment but that neither domain alone is entirely sufficient to produce wild-type GLUT4 trafficking behaviour.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Multiple endosomal recycling pathways in rat adipose cells.

Adipose and skeletal-muscle cells can translocate several membrane proteins from intracellular compartment(s) to the cell surface in an insulin-dependent fashion. Among these proteins is Glut4, a physiologically important glucose transporter which mediates insulin's effect on blood glucose clearance. Under basal conditions, Glut4 is localized in uniform, intracellular membrane vesicles with an average diameter of 50-70 nm and a sedimentation coefficient of 100-120 S. The nature of this compartment and its trafficking pathway to the plasma membrane is still unresolved. We show here that, in addition to Glut4, the aminopeptidase gp160 or insulin-responsive aminopeptidase ('IRAP'), sortilin, and an acutely recycling population of the insulin-like growth factor-II/mannose 6-phosphate receptor, this compartment includes 60% of the intracellular population of the transferrin receptor. We used subcellular fractionation, cell-surface biotinylation, and radioactive-ligand (125I-transferrin) uptake to demonstrate that the transferrin receptor recycles between this compartment and the plasma membrane in response to insulin along with Glut4 and other protein components of these vesicles. The co-localization of Glut4 and several endosomal markers in the terminally differentiated fat-cells during several stages of their cycling pathways suggests that the 'Glut4 pathway' may derive from the hormone-insensitive endosomes of undifferentiated preadipocytes. The insulin receptor is excluded from Glut4-containing vesicles in both insulin-stimulated and unstimulated adipocytes, and thus it is likely to traffic independently from Glut4 through different intracellular compartments. Our data show that, in adipose cells, the ligand-dependent recycling pathway of the insulin receptor is structurally separated from the ligand-independent pathway of the transferrin receptor, and that Glut4 is specifically targetted to the latter.

Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport↗

Identification and characterization of an exercise-sensitive pool of glucose transporters in skeletal muscle.

Augmentation of glucose transport into skeletal muscle by GLUT4 translocation to the plasma and T-tubule membranes can be mediated independently by insulin and by contraction/exercise. Available data suggest that separable pools of intracellular GLUT4 respond to these two stimuli. To identify and characterize these pools, we fractionated skeletal muscle membranes in a discontinuous sucrose density gradient. Fractions of 32 and 36% sucrose exhibited the highest enrichment of GLUT4 and were independently responsive to insulin and exercise, respectively. The combination of the two stimuli depleted both GLUT4 fractions simultaneously. Both vesicle populations contained the gp160 aminopeptidase, whose expression had previously been shown to be specific to muscle and fat and restricted to GLUT4 vesicles in the latter tissue. In muscle, gp160 translocates exactly as does GLUT4 in response to insulin and exercise. The contraction- and insulin-sensitive GLUT4 pools also contained secretory component-associated membrane protein/glucose transporter vesicle triplet but not GLUT1 and caveolin. Immunoadsorption of the two pools followed by silver staining did not reveal any obvious difference in their major protein components. On the other hand, sedimentational analysis in sucrose velocity gradients revealed that the insulin-sensitive GLUT4 vesicles had a larger sedimentation coefficient than the exercise-sensitive vesicles. Thus, the separation of the two intracellular GLUT4 pools should be useful in dissecting what are likely to be different signal transduction pathways that mediate their translocation to the cell surface.

Aminopeptidases↗

Translocation of small preformed vesicles is responsible for the insulin activation of glucose transport in adipose cells. Evidence from the in vitro reconstitution assay.

Insulin stimulates translocation of the glucose transporter isoform 4 (Glut4) from an intracellular storage compartment to the plasma membrane in fat and skeletal muscle cells. At present, the nature of the Glut4 storage compartment is unclear. According to one model, this compartment represents a population of preformed small vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane in response to insulin stimulation. Alternatively, Glut4 may be retained in large donor membranes, and insulin stimulates the formation of transport vesicles that deliver Glut4 to the cell surface. Finally, insulin can induce plasma membrane fusion of the preformed vesicles and, also, stimulate the formation of new vesicles. In extracts of fat and skeletal muscle cells, Glut4 is predominantly found in small insulin-sensitive 60-70 S membrane vesicles that may or may not artificially derive from large donor membranes during cell homogenization. Here, we use a cell-free reconstitution assay to demonstrate that small Glut4-containing vesicles are formed from large rapidly sedimenting donor membranes in a cytosol-, ATP-, time-, and temperature-dependent fashion and, therefore, do not represent an artifact of homogenization. Thus, small insulin-responsive vesicles represent the major form of Glut4 storage in the living adipose cell. Fusion of these vesicles with the plasma membrane may be largely responsible for the primary effect of insulin on glucose transport in fat tissue. In addition, our results suggest that insulin may also stimulate the formation of Glut4 vesicles and accelerate Glut4 recycling to the plasma membrane.

3T3 Cells↗

Differentiated 3T3L1 adipocytes are composed of heterogenous cell populations with distinct receptor tyrosine kinase signaling properties.

Various studies have demonstrated that the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor in adipocytes can activate PI 3-kinase activity without affecting insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4) translocation. To investigate this phenomenon of receptor signaling specificity, we utilized single cell analysis to determine the cellular distribution and signaling properties of PDGF and insulin in differentiated 3T3L1 adipocytes. The insulin receptor was highly expressed in a large percentage of the cell population (>95%) that also expressed caveolin 2 and GLUT4 with very low levels of the PDGF receptor. In contrast, the PDGF receptor was only expressed in approximately 10% of the differentiated 3T3L1 cell population with relatively low levels of the insulin receptor, caveolin 2, and GLUT4. Consistent with this observation, insulin stimulated the phosphorylation of Akt in the caveolin 2- and GLUT4-positive cells, whereas PDGF primarily stimulated Akt phosphorylation in the caveolin 2- and GLUT4-negative cell population. Furthermore, transfection of the PDGF receptor in the insulin receptor-, GLUT4-, and caveolin 2-positive cells resulted in the ability of PDGF to stimulate GLUT4 translocation. These data demonstrate that differentiated 3T3L1 adipocytes are not a homogeneous population of cells, and the lack of PDGF receptor expression in the GLUT4-positive cell population accounts for the inability of the endogenous PDGF receptor to activate GLUT4 translocation.

3T3 Cells↗

Insulin-regulated release from the endosomal recycling compartment is regulated by budding of specialized vesicles.

In several cell types, specific membrane proteins are retained intracellularly and rapidly redistributed to the surface in response to stimulation. In fat and muscle, the GLUT4 glucose transporter is dynamically retained because it is rapidly internalized and slowly recycled to the plasma membrane. Insulin increases the recycling of GLUT4, resulting in a net translocation to the surface. We have shown that fibroblasts also have an insulin-regulated recycling mechanism. Here we show that GLUT4 is retained within the transferrin receptor-containing general endosomal recycling compartment in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells rather than being segregated to a specialized, GLUT4-recycling compartment. With the use of total internal reflection microscopy, we demonstrate that the TR and GLUT4 are transported from the pericentriolar recycling compartment in separate vesicles. These data provide the first functional evidence for the formation of distinct classes of vesicles from the recycling compartment. We propose that GLUT4 is dynamically retained within the endosomal recycling compartment in CHO cells because it is concentrated in vesicles that form more slowly than those that transport TR. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, cells that naturally express GLUT4, we find that GLUT4 is partially segregated to a separate compartment that is inaccessible to the TR. We present a model for the formation of this specialized compartment in fat cells, based on the general mechanism described in CHO cells, which may explain the increased retention of GLUT4 and its insulin-induced translocation in fat cells.

3T3 Cells↗

Abundance, localization, and insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporters in red and white muscle.

D-Glucose protectable cytochalasin B (CB) binding to subcellular membrane fractions was used to determine glucose transporter number in red (quadriceps-gastrocnemius-soleus) and white (quadriceps-gastrocnemius) rat muscle. CB binding was twofold higher in isolated plasma membranes of red than of white muscle. In contrast, the number of transporters in an isolated insulin-sensitive intracellular membrane organelle was similar in the two muscle groups. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence microscopy with anti-GLUT4 and anti-GLUT1 antibodies indicated that both GLUT1 and GLUT4 transporter isoforms account for the higher abundance of CB binding sites in plasma membranes of red than of white muscle. Immunofluorescence localized GLUT4 to both the surface and the interior of the muscle cell and demonstrated that type I (slow twitch oxidative) and type IIa (fast twitch oxidative-glycolytic) fibers are enriched in GLUT4 protein compared with type IIb (fast twitch glycolytic) fibers. In contrast, GLUT1 reactivity was restricted to the surface of the muscle cell and was also highly enriched in the perineurial sheaths of peripheral nerves and the capsules of muscle spindles present in both red and white muscles. Insulin caused a twofold increase in CB binding in isolated plasma membranes of red or white muscles with a corresponding 40-50% decrease in CB binding in isolated intracellular membranes. These changes in CB binding were paralleled by similar changes in the membrane distribution of the GLUT4 glucose transporter isoform and in glucose transport activity measured after insulin perfusion of hindquarter muscles. In contrast, insulin did not change the distribution of either GLUT1 glucose transporters or Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase alpha 1-subunits. The molar ratio of GLUT4 to GLUT1 in red and white muscle plasma membranes was found to be 4:1 in the basal state and 7:1 in the insulin-stimulated state. These results indicate that red muscle contains a higher amount of GLUT1 and GLUT4 transporters at the plasma membrane than white muscle in the basal and insulin-stimulated states but that GLUT4 translocation does not differ between muscle types. In addition, GLUT4 expression correlates with the metabolic nature (oxidative vs. glycolytic) of skeletal muscle fibers, rather than with their contractile properties (slow twitch vs. fast twitch).

Animals↗

Regulation of insulin-stimulated muscle glucose uptake in the conscious mouse: role of glucose transport is dependent on glucose phosphorylation capacity.

Previous work suggests that normal GLUT4 content is sufficient for increases in muscle glucose uptake (MGU) during hyperinsulinemia, because glucose phosphorylation is the more formidable barrier to insulin-stimulated MGU. It was hypothesized that a partial ablation of GLUT4 would not impair insulin-stimulated MGU when glucose phosphorylation capacity is normal but would do so when glucose phosphorylation capacity is increased. Thus, chow-fed C57BL/6J mice with a GLUT4 partial knockout (GLUT4(+/-)), hexokinase II overexpression (HK(Tg)), or both (HK(Tg) + GLUT4(+/-)) and wild-type littermates were studied. Carotid artery and jugular vein catheters were implanted for sampling and infusions at 4 months of age. After a 5-d recovery, 5-h fasted mice (n = 8-11/group) underwent a 120-min saline infusion or insulin clamp (4 mU/kg.min insulin with glucose maintained at 165 mg/dl) and received a 2-deoxy[(3)H]glucose bolus to provide an index of MGU (R(g)) for the soleus, gastrocnemius, and superficial vastus lateralis. Basal R(g) from all muscles studied from saline-infused mice were not changed by any of the genetic modifications. HK(Tg) mice had augmented insulin-stimulated R(g) in all muscles studied compared with remaining genotypes. Insulin-stimulated R(g) was not impaired in any of the muscles studied from GLUT4(+/-) mice. However, the enhanced insulin-stimulated R(g) created by HK overexpression was ablated in HK(Tg) + GLUT4(+/-) mice. Thus, a 50% reduction of normal GLUT4 content in the presence of normal HK activity does not impair insulin-stimulated MGU. However, when the glucose phosphorylation barrier is lowered by HK overexpression, GLUT4 availability becomes a limitation to insulin-stimulated MGU.

Animals↗

Minireview: recent developments in the regulation of glucose transporter-4 traffic: new signals, locations, and partners.

Glucose transporter (GLUT) 4 is the major glucose transporter of muscle and adipose cells, exquisitely regulated by insulin through posttranslational events. Twenty years after the seminal observations that GLUT4 levels rapidly rise at the plasma membrane (PM) and drop in endomembranes in response to an acute insulin challenge, we are still mapping the intracellular traffic of the transporter and the regulatory events that insulin unleashes. Newly synthesized GLUT4 enters an insulin-responsive compartment aided by GGA2 (an Arf-binding protein). In cultured adipocytes and myocytes, GLUT4 concentrates in a perinuclear pole through participation of microtubules and the EHD1 Eps15 homology domain-containing protein 1. In the absence of stimuli, GLUT4 distributes between recycling endosomes and the insulin-responsive compartment. A handful of proteins that bind to GLUT4 appear to regulate its half-life (e.g. Ubc9) and tethering within endomembranes (e.g. TUG). Insulin-derived signals promote not only GLUT4 mobilization toward the PM but also its traffic between endosomal compartments and internalization from the PM. Class IA phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase plays a pivotal role at several steps of GLUT4 mobilization. The PI 3-kinase --> atypical PKC and --> Akt/PKB --> AS160 signaling cascades are major regulators of GLUT4 exocytosis aided by small GTPases. At the cell periphery, GLUT4-containing vesicles tether, dock, and fuse with the PM assisted by the exocyst complex followed by engagement of a soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex [with vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)2 as the vesicular (v)-SNARE and soluble NSF-attachment protein (SNAP)23 and syntaxin4 as target (t)-SNAREs] regulated by the accessory proteins Munc18c, Synip and Tomosyn. Vesicle tethering and fusion are regulated by insulin through input from class IA PI 3-kinase.

Animals↗

Regulation of insulin-responsive aminopeptidase expression and targeting in the insulin-responsive vesicle compartment of glucose transporter isoform 4-deficient cardiomyocytes.

In adipocytes and cardiac or skeletal muscle, glucose transporter isoform 4 (GLUT4) is targeted to insulin-responsive intracellular membrane vesicles (IRVs) that contain several membrane proteins, including insulin-responsive aminopeptidase (IRAP) that completely colocalizes with GLUT4 in basal and insulin-treated cells. Cardiac GLUT4 content is reduced by 65-85% in IRAP knockout mice, suggesting that IRAP may regulate the targeting or degradation of GLUT4. To determine whether GLUT4 is required for maintenance of IRAP content within IRVs, we studied the expression and cellular localization of IRAP and other GLUT4 vesicle-associated proteins, in hearts of mice with cardiac-specific deletion of GLUT4 (G4H-/-). In G4H-/- hearts, IRAP content was reduced by 60%, but the expression of other vesicle-associated proteins, namely cellugyrin, IGF-II/mannose-6-phosphate, and transferrin receptors, secretory carrier-associated membrane proteins and vesicle-associated membrane protein were unchanged. Using sucrose gradient centrifugation and cell surface biotinylation, we found that IRAP content in 50-80S vesicles where GLUT4 vesicles normally sediment was markedly depleted in G4H-/- hearts, and the remaining IRAP was found in the heavy membrane fraction. Although insulin caused a discernible increase in cell surface IRAP content of G4H-/- cardiomyocytes, cell surface IRAP remained 70% lower than insulin-stimulated controls. Immunoabsorption of intracellular vesicles with anticellugyrin antibodies revealed that IRAP content was reduced by 70% in both cellugyrin-positive and cellugyrin-negative vesicles. Endosomal recycling, as measured by transferrin receptor recycling was normal. Thus, GLUT4 and IRAP content of early endosome-derived sorting vesicles and of IRVs are coordinately regulated, and both proteins are required for maintenance of key constituents of these compartments in cardiac muscle cells in vivo.

Aminopeptidases↗

Glucose intolerance in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats: enhanced gene expression and synthesis of skeletal muscle glucose transporter 4.

To clarify the relationship between blood pressure and insulin resistance, we studied the role of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle and the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor on insulin resistance. Blood pressure and plasma glucose and plasma insulin responses to glucose loading (2 g/kg, i.p.) were measured in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs), and Wistar rats at 8, 12, and 20 wk of age. GLUT4 gene expression and plasma membrane protein content were also determined in the gastrocnemius muscle. SHRs and WKYs at the age of 8 wk had significantly higher plasma glucose levels than did age-matched control Wistar rats. Insulin response also tended to be higher. Glucose intolerance was also present in 12-wk-old SHRs, but normalized at the age of 20 wk. In contrast, WKYs were glucose intolerant at 12 and 20 wk. Gene expression and plasma membrane content of GLUT4 were augmented in both 8-wk-old SHRs and WKYs, indicating a compensatory increase in these variables. Effects of captopril (20-30 mg/kg/d from 8 to 20 wk) on GLUT4 were also investigated in these three strains. Captopril improved steady state plasma glucose levels in association with 1.2- to 2.5-fold higher GLUT4 gene expression and a 1.4-fold increase in skeletal muscle GLUT4 protein in SHRs and WKYs. Our results suggest that (1) not only SHRs but also WKYs may have glucose intolerance and hence insulin resistance; (2) gene expression and protein synthesis of skeletal muscle GLUT4 are probably increased compensatorily, indicating that abnormalities in GLUT4 do not have a pivotal role in the development of insulin resistance in SHRs and WKYs; and (3) captopril stimulates skeletal muscle gene expression and synthesis of GLUT4, providing further evidence of its beneficial effect on glucose metabolism.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Expression and regulation of the human GLUT4/muscle-fat facilitative glucose transporter gene in transgenic mice.

To study the molecular basis of tissue-specific expression of the GLUT4/muscle-fat facilitative glucose transporter gene, we generated lines of transgenic mice carrying 2.4 kilobases of the 5'-flanking region of the human GLUT4 gene fused to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene (hGLUT4[2.4]-CAT). This reporter gene construct was specifically expressed in tissues that normally express GLUT4 mRNA, which include both brown and white adipose tissues as well as cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle. In contrast, CAT reporter activity was not detected in brain or liver, two tissues that do not express the GLUT4 gene. In addition, the relative levels of CAT mRNA driven by the human GLUT4 promoter in various tissues of these transgenic animals mirrored those of the endogenous mouse GLUT4 mRNA. Since previous studies have observed alterations in GLUT4 mRNA levels induced by fasting and refeeding (Sivitz, W. I., DeSautel, S. L., Kayano, T., Bell, G. I., and Pessin, J. E. (1989) Nature 340, 72-74), the regulated expression the hGLUT4[2.4]-CAT transgene was also assessed in these animals. Fasting was observed to decrease CAT activity in white adipose tissue which was super-induced upon refeeding. These alterations in CAT expression occurred in parallel to the changes in endogenous mouse GLUT4 mRNA levels. Although CAT expression in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue was unaffected, the endogenous mouse GLUT4 mRNA was also refractory to the effects of fasting/refeeding in these tissues. These data demonstrate that 2.4 kilobases of the 5'-flanking region of the human GLUT4 gene contain all the necessary sequence elements to confer tissue-specific expression and at least some of the sequence elements controlling the hormonal/metabolic regulation of this gene.

Adipose Tissue↗

Differential regulation of glucose transporter activity and expression in red and white skeletal muscle.

Insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity and GLUT4 glucose transporter protein expression in rat soleus, red-enriched, and white-enriched skeletal muscle were examined in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced insulin-deficient diabetes. Six days of STZ-diabetes resulted in a nearly complete inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity in perfused soleus, red, and white muscle which recovered following insulin therapy. A specific decrease in the GLUT4 glucose transporter protein was observed in soleus (3-fold) and red (2-fold) muscle which also recovered to control values with insulin therapy. Similarly, cardiac muscle displayed a marked STZ-induced decrease in GLUT4 protein that was normalized by insulin therapy. White muscle displayed a small but statistically significant decrease in GLUT4 protein (23%), but this could not account for the marked inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity observed in this tissue. In addition, GLUT4 mRNA was found to decrease in red muscle (2-fold) with no significant alteration in white muscle. The effect of STZ-induced diabetes was time-dependent with maximal inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity at 24 h in both red and white skeletal muscle and half-maximal inhibition at approximately 8 h. In contrast, GLUT4 protein in red and white muscle remained unchanged until 4 and 7 days following STZ treatment, respectively. These data demonstrate that red skeletal muscle displays a more rapid hormonal/metabolic-dependent regulation of GLUT4 glucose transporter protein and mRNA expression than white skeletal muscle. In addition, the inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity in both red and white muscle precedes the decrease in GLUT4 protein and mRNA levels. Thus, STZ treatment initially results in a rapid uncoupling of the insulin-mediated signaling of glucose transport activity which is independent of GLUT4 protein and mRNA levels.

Animals↗

Glucose transporter recycling in rat adipose cells. Effects of potassium depletion.

Depletion of intracellular potassium (K+) induced a 4-fold increase in basal and 1 microM phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose transport in rat adipose cells. K+ depletion had no effect on the maximum insulin (0.7 microM)-stimulated transport rate but enhanced the sensitivity to insulin 3-fold (EC50 = 0.05 versus 0.15 nM) by a mechanism that did not result from changes in the insulin receptor binding, autophosphorylation, or tyrosine kinase activity. Western blotting analysis revealed that K+ depletion induced a 2.2-fold increase in GLUT4 in plasma membranes from basal cells, enhanced the PMA-stimulated GLUT4 translocation by 4-fold, and increased the 5-fold insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation by 15%, indicating the presence of an inactive GLUT4 intermediate. The time course for insulin's stimulation of transport activity was accelerated by K+ depletion (t1/2 = 3 versus 1.5 min). Conversely, the reversal of transport activity, on removal of insulin, was delayed (t1/2 = 11 versus 22 min). The corresponding t1/2 values for the loss of GLUT4 were 22 min in control cells and 40 min in K(+)-depleted cells, again indicating the existence of an inactive intermediate. Photolabeling intact cells with the impermeant, exofacial photolabel 2-N-4-(1-azi-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)benzoyl-1,3-bis(D-mannos-4 - yloxy)-2-propylamine in the continuous presence of insulin revealed that K+ depletion had no effect on the GLUT4 externalization rate but halved the rate of internalization. K+ depletion elicited entirely analogous effects on the recycling of insulin-like growth factor II/mannose 6-phosphate receptor, strongly supporting the involvement of a coated pit mechanism in the recycling of GLUT4 transporters. An inactive conformation of GLUT4 has been detected in plasma membranes from insulin-stimulated cells, which is enhanced by K+ depletion, suggesting a limitation in the adipose cells' capacity to express active GLUT4 transporters.

3-O-Methylglucose↗