High dietary fat intake leads to insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, and this represents a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have been implicated in the disease process, but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Here we show that in skeletal muscle of both rodents and humans, a diet high in fat increases the H(2)O(2)-emitting potential of mitochondria, shifts the cellular redox environment to a more oxidized state, and decreases the redox-buffering capacity in the absence of any change in mitochondrial respiratory function. Furthermore, we show that attenuating mitochondrial H(2)O(2) emission, either by treating rats with a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant or by genetically engineering the overexpression of catalase in mitochondria of muscle in mice, completely preserves insulin sensitivity despite a high-fat diet. These findings place the etiology of insulin resistance in the context of mitochondrial bioenergetics by demonstrating that mitochondrial H(2)O(2) emission serves as both a gauge of energy balance and a regulator of cellular redox environment, linking intracellular metabolic balance to the control of insulin sensitivity.

Metformin is a widely prescribed drug for treatment of type 2 diabetes, although no cellular mechanism of action has been established. To determine whether in vivo metformin treatment alters mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle, respiratory O 2 flux and H 2 O 2 emission were measured in saponin-permeabilized myofibers from lean and obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats treated for 4 wks with metformin. Succinate-and palmitoyl-carnitine-supported respiration generated >2-fold higher rates of H 2 O 2 emission in myofibers from untreated obese versus lean rats, indicative of an obesity-associated increased mitochondrial oxidant emitting potential. In conjunction with improved glycemic control, metformin treatment reduced H 2 O 2 emission in muscle from obese rats to rates near or below those observed in lean rats during both succinate-and palmitoylcarnitine-supported respiration. Surprisingly, metformin treatment did not affect basal or maximal rates of O 2 consumption in muscle from obese or lean rats. Ex vivo dose-response experiments revealed that metformin inhibits complex I-linked H 2 O 2 emission at a concentration ∼2 orders of magnitude lower than that required to inhibit respiratory O 2 flux. These findings suggest that therapeutic concentrations of metformin normalize mitochondrial H 2 O 2 emission by blocking reverse electron flow without affecting forward electron flow or respiratory O 2 flux in skeletal muscle.

Metformin is a widely used insulin-sensitizing drug, though its mechanisms are not fully understood. Metformin has been shown to activate AMPK in skeletal muscle; however, its effects on the inhibitor of κB kinaseβ (IKKβ) in this same tissue are unknown. The aim of this study was to (1) determine the ability of metformin to attenuate IKKβ action, (2) determine whether changes in AMPK activity are associated with changes in IKKβ action in skeletal muscle, and (3) examine whether changes in AMPK and IKKβ function are consistent with improved insulin signaling. Lean and obese male Zuckers received either vehicle or metformin by oral gavage daily for four weeks (four groups of eight). Proteins were measured in white gastrocnemius (WG), red gastrocnemius (RG), and soleus. AMPK phosphorylation increased (P < .05) in WG in both lean (57%) and obese (106%), and this was supported by an increase in phospho-ACC in WG. Further, metformin increased IκBα levels in both WG (150%) and RG (67%) of obese rats, indicative of reduced IKKβ activity (P < .05), and was associated with reduced IRS1-pSer 307 (30%) in the WG of obese rats (P < .02). From these data we conclude that metformin treatment appears to exert an inhibitory influence on skeletal muscle IKKβ activity, as evidenced by elevated IκBα levels and reduced IRS1-Ser 307 phosphorylation in a fiber-type specific manner.

BACKGROUND Duodenal-jejunal bypass (DJB) has been shown to reverse type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Goto-Kakazaki (GK) rats, a rodent model of non-obese T2DM. Skeletal muscle insulin resistance is a hallmark decrement in T2DM. The aim of the current work was to investigate the effects of DJB on skeletal muscle insulin signal transduction and glucose disposal. It was hypothesized that DJB would increase skeletal muscle insulin signal transduction and glucose disposal in GK rats. METHODS DJB was performed in GK rats. Sham operations were performed in GK and non-diabetic Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. At two weeks post-DJB, oral glucose tolerance (OGTT) was measured. At three weeks post-DJB, insulin-induced signal transduction and glucose disposal were measured in skeletal muscle. RESULTS In GK rats and compared to Sham operation, DJB did not: 1) improve fasting glucose or insulin; 2) improve OGTT; or 3) increase skeletal muscle insulin signal transduction or glucose disposal. Interestingly, skeletal muscle glucose disposal was similar between WKY-Sham, GK-Sham, and GK-DJB. CONCLUSIONS Bypassing of the proximal small intestine does not increase skeletal muscle glucose disposal. The lack of skeletal muscle insulin resistance in GK rats questions whether this animal model is adequate to investigate the etiology and treatments for T2DM. Additionally, bypassing of the foregut may lead to different findings in other animal models of T2DM as well as in T2DM patients.

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