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Protein kinase D (PKD) is emerging as an important kinase regulating energy balance and glucose metabolism; however, whether hepatic PKD activity can be targeted to regulate these processes is currently unclear. In this study, hepatic PKD activity was reduced using adeno-associated virus vectors to express a dominant-negative (DN) version of PKD1, which impairs the action of all three PKD isoforms. In chow-fed mice, hepatic DN PKD expression increased whole-body glucose oxidation, but had only mild effects on glucose and insulin tolerance and no effects on glucose homeostasis following fasting and refeeding. However, circulating VLDL cholesterol was reduced under these conditions and was associated with hepatic fatty acid accumulation, but not lipids involved in lipoprotein synthesis. The limited effects on glucose homeostasis in DN PKD mice was despite reduced expression of gluconeogenic genes under both fasted and refed conditions, and enhanced pyruvate tolerance. The requirement for PKD for gluconeogenic capacity was supported by in vitro studies in cultured FAO hepatoma cells expressing DN PKD, which produced less glucose under basal conditions. Although these pathways are increased in obesity, the expression of DN PKD in the liver of mice fed a high-fat diet had no impact on glucose tolerance, insulin action, pyruvate tolerance or plasma VLDL. Together, these data suggest that PKD signalling in the liver regulates metabolic pathways involved in substrate redistribution under conditions of normal nutrient availability, but not under conditions of overnutrition such as in obesity.

There is a persistent, aberrant accumulation of V0/V1 versican in skeletal muscles from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and in diaphragm muscles from mdx mice. Versican is a provisional matrix protein implicated in fibrosis and inflammation in various disease states, yet its role in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy is not known. Here, female mdx and male hdf mice (haploinsufficient for the versican allele) were bred. In the resulting F1 mdx-hdf male pups, V0/V1 versican expression in diaphragm muscles was decreased by 50% compared to mdx littermates at 20–26 weeks of age. In mdx-hdf mice, spontaneous physical activity increased by 17% and there was a concomitant decrease in total energy expenditure and whole-body glucose oxidation. Versican reduction improved the ex vivo strength and endurance of diaphragm muscle strips. These changes in diaphragm contractile properties in mdx-hdf mice were associated with decreased monocyte and macrophage infiltration and a reduction in the proportion of fibres expressing the slow type I myosin heavy chain isoform. Given the high metabolic cost of inflammation in dystrophy, an attenuated inflammatory response may contribute to the effects of versican reduction on whole-body metabolism. Altogether, versican reduction ameliorates the dystrophic pathology of mdx-hdf mice as evidenced by improved diaphragm contractile function and increased physical activity.

Vitamin D has been suggested to play a role in glucose metabolism. However, previous findings are contradictory and mechanistic pathways remain unclear. We examined the relationship between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), insulin sensitivity, and insulin signaling in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Seventeen healthy adults (Body mass index: 26 ± 4; Age: 30 ± 12 years) underwent a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, and resting skeletal muscle and adipose tissue biopsies. In this cohort, the plasma 25(OH)D concentration was not associated with insulin sensitivity (r = 0.19, p = 0.56). However, higher plasma 25(OH)D concentrations correlated with lower phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) αSer21 and βSer9 in skeletal muscle (r = −0.66, p = 0.015 and r = −0.53, p = 0.06, respectively) and higher GSK-3 αSer21 and βSer9 phosphorylation in adipose tissue (r = 0.82, p < 0.01 and r = 0.62, p = 0.042, respectively). Furthermore, higher plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with greater phosphorylation of both protein kinase-B (AktSer473) (r = 0.78, p < 0.001) and insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1Ser312) (r = 0.71, p = 0.01) in adipose tissue. No associations were found between plasma 25(OH)D concentration and IRS-1Tyr612 phosphorylation in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. The divergent findings between muscle and adipose tissue with regard to the association between 25(OH)D and insulin signaling proteins may suggest a tissue-specific interaction with varying effects on glucose homeostasis. Further research is required to elucidate the physiological relevance of 25(OH)D in each tissue.

Post translational modifications to metabolic enzymes regulate metabolism

To investigate the importance of the glucose transporter GLUT-4 for muscle glucose uptake during exercise, transgenic mice with skeletal muscle GLUT-4 expression approximately 30–60% of normal (CON) and approximately 5–10% of normal (KO) were generated using the Cre/Lox system and compared with wild-type (WT) mice during approximately 40 min of treadmill running (KO: 37.7 ± 1.3 min; WT: 40 min; CON: 40 min, P = 0.18). In WT and CON animals, exercise resulted in an overall increase in muscle glucose uptake. More specifically, glucose uptake was increased in red gastrocnemius of WT mice and in the soleus and red gastrocnemius of CON mice. In contrast, the exercise-induced increase in muscle glucose uptake in all muscles was completely abolished in KO mice. Muscle glucose uptake increased during exercise in both red and white quadriceps of WT mice, while the small increases in CON mice were not statistically significant. In KO mice, there was no change at all in quadriceps muscle glucose uptake. No differences in muscle glycogen use during exercise were observed between any of the groups. However, there was a significant increase in plasma glucose levels after exercise in KO mice. The results of this study demonstrated that a reduction in skeletal muscle GLUT-4 expression to approximately 10% of normal levels completely abolished the exercise-induced increase in muscle glucose uptake.

Aims: This study investigated the association between the basal (rest) insulin-signaling proteins, Akt, and the Akt substrate AS160, metabolic risk factors, inflammatory markers and aerobic fitness, in middle-aged women with varying numbers of metabolic risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Methods: Sixteen women (n = 16) aged 51.3+/-5.1 (mean +/-SD) years provided muscle biopsies and blood samples at rest. In addition, anthropometric characteristics and aerobic power were assessed and the number of metabolic risk factors for each participant was determined (IDF criteria). Results: The mean number of metabolic risk factors was 1.6+/-1.2. Total Akt was negatively correlated with IL-1 beta (r = -0.45, p = 0.046), IL-6 (r = -0.44, p = 0.052) and TNF-alpha (r = -0.51, p = 0.025). Phosphorylated AS160 was positively correlated with HDL (r = 0.58, p = 0.024) and aerobic fitness (r = 0.51, p = 0.047). Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis revealed that both HDL (t = 2.5, p = 0.032) and VO(2peak) (t = 2.4, p = 0.037) were better predictors for phosphorylated AS160 than TNF-alpha or IL-6 (p>0.05). Conclusions: Elevated inflammatory markers and increased metabolic risk factors may inhibit insulin-signaling protein phosphorylation in middle-aged women, thereby increasing insulin resistance under basal conditions. Furthermore, higher HDL and fitness levels are associated with an increased AS160 phosphorylation, which may in turn reduce insulin resistance.

A single bout of aerobic exercise can enhance insulin action, but whether a similar effect occurs after resistance exercise is unknown. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps were performed on eight male subjects at rest and after a single bout and three repeated bouts of resistance exercise over 7 days. Skeletal muscle biopsies were taken before and after the clamp and immediately after a single exercise bout. Whole-body insulin action measured by glucose infusion rate decreased (P < 0.05) after a single exercise bout, whereas in response to repeated bouts of resistance exercise, the glucose infusion rate was similar to the rest trial. In skeletal muscle, Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) phosphorylation, an Akt substrate implicated in the regulation of GLUT4 translocation, and its interaction with 14-3-3 was decreased (P < 0.05) only after a single exercise bout. Insulin increased (P < 0.05) phosphorylation of AS160 and its interaction with 14-3-3, but the insulin response was not influenced by resistance exercise. Phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 and Akt were similar to changes in AS160 phosphorylation after exercise and/or insulin. In conclusion, a single bout of resistance exercise impairs whole-body insulin action. Regulation of AS160 and interaction with 14-3-3 in skeletal muscle are influenced by resistance exercise and insulin but do not fully explain the effect of resistance exercise on whole-body insulin action.

Aims/hypothesis: Recruitment of the protein c-Cbl to the insulin receptor (IR) and its tyrosine phosphorylation via a pathway that is independent from phosphatidylinositol 3prime-kinase is necessary for insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The activation of this pathway by insulin or exercise has yet to be reported in skeletal muscle. Methods: Lean and obese Zucker rats were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (i) control, (ii) insulin-stimulated or (iii) acute, exhaustive exercise. Hind limb skeletal muscle was removed and the phosphorylation state of IR, Akt and c-Cbl measured.  Results:   Insulin receptor phosphorylation was increased 12-fold after insulin stimulation (p<0.0001) in lean rats and threefold in obese rats. Acute exercise had no effect on IR tyrosine phosphorylation. Similar results were found for serine phosphorylation of Akt. Exercise did not alter c-Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation in skeletal muscle of lean or obese rats. However, in contrast to previous studies in adipocytes, c-Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation was reduced after insulin treatment (p<0.001). Conclusions/interpretation: We also found that c-Cbl associating protein expression is relatively low in skeletal muscle of Zucker rats compared to 3T3-L1 adipocytes and this could account for the reduced c-Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation after insulin treatment. Interestingly, basal levels of c-Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation were higher in skeletal muscle from insulin-resistant Zucker rats (p<0.05), but the physiological relevance is not clear. We conclude that the regulation of c-Cbl phosphorylation in skeletal muscle differs from that previously reported in adipocytes.

Aims/hypothesis: To study the secondary consequences of impaired suppression of endogenous glucose production (EGP) we have created a transgenic rat overexpressing the gluconeogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) in the kidney. The aim of this study was to determine whether peripheral insulin resistance develops in these transgenic rats. Methods: Whole body rate of glucose disappearance (Rd) and endogenous glucose production were measured basally and during a euglycaemic/hyperinsulinaemic clamp in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase transgenic and control rats using [6-3H]-glucose. Glucose uptake into individual tissues was measured in vivo using 2-[1-14C]-deoxyglucose. Results: Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase transgenic rats were heavier and had increased gonadal and infrarenal fat pad weights. Under basal conditions, endogenous glucose production was similar in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase transgenic and control rats (37.4±1.1 vs 34.6±2.6 µmol/kg/min). Moderate hyperinsulinaemia (810 pmol/l) completely suppressed EGP in control rats (–0.6±5.5 µmol/kg/min, p<0.05) while there was no suppression in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase rats (45.2±7.9 µmol/kg/min). Basal Rd was comparable between PEPCK transgenic and control rats (37.4±1.1 vs 34.6±2.6 µmol/kg/min) but under insulin-stimulated conditions the increase in Rd was greater in control compared to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase transgenic rats indicative of insulin resistance (73.4±11.2 vs 112.0±8.0 µmol/kg/min, p<0.05). Basal glucose uptake was reduced in white and brown adipose tissue, heart and soleus while insulin-stimulated transport was reduced in white and brown adipose tissue, white quadriceps, white gastrocnemius and soleus in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase transgenic compared to control rats. The impairment in both white and brown adipose tissue

# 1. To evaluate the role of adrenaline in regulating carbohydrate metabolism during moderate exercise, 10 moderately trained men completed two 20 min exercise bouts at 58 ± 2 % peak pulmonary oxygen uptake (̇Vo2,peak). On one occasion saline was infused (CON), and on the other adrenaline was infused intravenously for 5 min prior to and throughout exercise (ADR). Glucose kinetics were measured by a primed, continuous infusion of 6,6-[2H]glucose and muscle samples were obtained prior to and at 1 and 20 min of exercise. # 2. The infusion of adrenaline elevated (P < 0.01) plasma adrenaline concentrations at rest (pre-infusion, 0.28 ± 0.09; post-infusion, 1.70 ± 0.45 nmol l−1; means ±s.e.m.) and this effect was maintained throughout exercise. Total carbohydrate oxidation increased by 18 % and this effect was due to greater skeletal muscle glycogenolysis (P < 0.05) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activation (P < 0.05, treatment effect). Glucose rate of appearance was not different between trials, but the infusion of adrenaline decreased (P < 0.05, treatment effect) skeletal muscle glucose uptake in ADR. # 3. During exercise muscle glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P) (P = 0.055, treatment effect) and lactate (P < 0.05) were elevated in ADR compared with CON and no changes were observed for pyruvate, creatine, phosphocreatine, ATP and the calculated free concentrations of ADP and AMP. # 4. The data demonstrate that elevated plasma adrenaline levels during moderate exercise in untrained men increase skeletal muscle glycogen breakdown and PDH activation, which results in greater carbohydrate oxidation. The greater muscle glycogenolysis appears to be due to increased glycogen phosphorylase transformation whilst the increased PDH activity cannot be readily explained. Finally, the decreased glucose uptake observed during exercise in ADR is likely to be due to the increa