Tight control of glucose uptake in skeletal muscles and adipocytes is crucial to glucose homeostasis and is mediated by regulating glucose transporter GLUT4 subcellular distribution. In cultured cells, Rab GAP AS160 controls GLUT4 intracellular retention and release to the cell surface and consequently regulates glucose uptake into cells. To determine AS160 function in GLUT4 trafficking in primary skeletal muscles and adipocytes and investigate its role in glucose homeostasis, we characterized AS160 knockout (AS160(-/-)) mice. We observed increased and normal basal glucose uptake in isolated AS160(-/-) adipocytes and soleus, respectively, while insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was impaired and GLUT4 expression decreased in both. No such abnormalities were found in isolated AS160(-/-) extensor digitorum longus muscles. In plasma membranes isolated from AS160(-/-) adipose tissue and gastrocnemius/quadriceps, relative GLUT4 levels were increased under basal conditions and remained the same after insulin treatment. Concomitantly, relative levels of cell surface-exposed GLUT4, determined with a glucose transporter photoaffinity label, were increased in AS160(-/-) adipocytes and normal in AS160(-/-) soleus under basal conditions. Insulin augmented cell surface-exposed GLUT4 in both. These observations suggest that AS160 is essential for GLUT4 intracellular retention and regulation of glucose uptake in adipocytes and skeletal muscles in which it is normally expressed. In vivo studies revealed impaired insulin tolerance in the presence of normal (male) and impaired (female) glucose tolerance. Concurrently, insulin-elicited increases in glucose disposal were abolished in all AS160(-/-) skeletal muscles and liver but not in AS160(-/-) adipose tissues. This suggests AS160 as a target for differential manipulation of glucose homeostasis.

ObjectiveDefective glucose uptake in adipocytes leads to impaired metabolic homeostasis and insulin resistance, hallmarks of type 2 diabetes. Extracellular ATP-derived nucleotides and nucleosides are important regulators of adipocyte function, but the pathway for controlled ATP release from adipocytes is unknown. Here, we investigated whether Pannexin 1 (Panx1) channels control ATP release from adipocytes and contribute to metabolic homeostasis.MethodsWe assessed Panx1 functionality in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes and in adipocytes isolated from murine white adipose tissue by measuring ATP release in response to known activators of Panx1 channels. Glucose uptake in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes was measured in the presence of Panx1 pharmacologic inhibitors and in adipocytes isolated from white adipose tissue from wildtype (WT) or adipocyte-specific Panx1 knockout (AdipPanx1 KO) mice generated in our laboratory. We performed in vivo glucose uptake studies in chow fed WT and AdipPanx1 KO mice and assessed insulin resistance in WT and AdipPanx1 KO mice fed a high fat diet for 12 weeks. Panx1 channel function was assessed in response to insulin by performing electrophysiologic recordings in a heterologous expression system. Finally, we measured Panx1 mRNA in human visceral adipose tissue samples by qRT-PCR and compared expression levels with glucose levels and HOMA-IR measurements in patients.ResultsOur data show that adipocytes express functional Pannexin 1 (Panx1) channels that can be activated to release ATP. Pharmacologic inhibition or selective genetic deletion of Panx1 from adipocytes decreased insulin-induced glucose uptake in vitro and in vivo and exacerbated diet-induced insulin resistance in mice. Further, we identify insulin as a novel activator of Panx1 channels. In obese humans Panx1 expression in adipose tissue is increased and correlates with the degree of insulin resistance.ConclusionsWe show that Panx1 channel activity regulates insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in adipocytes and thus contributes to control of metabolic homeostasis.

Tbc1d1 is a Rab GTPase-activating protein (GAP) implicated in regulating intracellular retention and cell surface localization of the glucose transporter GLUT4 and thus glucose uptake in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Tbc1d1 is most abundant in skeletal muscle but is expressed at varying levels among different skeletal muscles. Previous studies with male Tbc1d1-deficient (Tbc1d1(-/-)) mice on standard and high-fat diets established a role for Tbc1d1 in glucose, lipid, and energy homeostasis. Here we describe similar, but also additional abnormalities in male and female Tbc1d1(-/-) mice. We corroborate that Tbc1d1 loss leads to skeletal muscle-specific and skeletal muscle type-dependent abnormalities in GLUT4 expression and glucose uptake in female and male mice. Using subcellular fractionation, we show that Tbc1d1 controls basal intracellular GLUT4 retention in large skeletal muscles. However, cell surface labeling of extensor digitorum longus muscle indicates that Tbc1d1 does not regulate basal GLUT4 cell surface exposure as previously suggested. Consistent with earlier observations, female and male Tbc1d1(-/-) mice demonstrate increased energy expenditure and skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation. Interestingly, we observe sex-dependent differences in in vivo phenotypes. Female, but not male, Tbc1d1(-/-) mice have decreased body weight and impaired glucose and insulin tolerance, but only male Tbc1d1(-/-) mice show increased lipid clearance after oil gavage. We surmise that similar changes at the tissue level cause differences in whole-body metabolism between male and female Tbc1d1(-/-) mice and between male Tbc1d1(-/-) mice in different studies due to variations in body composition and nutrient handling.

Hargett SR, Walker NN, Keller SR. Rab GAPs AS160 and Tbc1d1 play nonredundant roles in the regulation of glucose and energy homeostasis in mice. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 310: E276 -E288, 2016. First published December 1, 2015; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00342.2015.-The related Rab GTPase-activating proteins (Rab GAPs) AS160 and Tbc1d1 regulate the trafficking of the glucose transporter GLUT4 that controls glucose uptake in muscle and fat cells and glucose homeostasis. AS160-and Tbc1d1-deficient mice exhibit different adipocyte-and skeletal muscle-specific defects in glucose uptake, GLUT4 expression and trafficking, and glucose homeostasis. A recent study analyzed male mice with simultaneous deletion of AS160 and Tbc1d1 (AS160Ϫ/Ϫ mice). Herein, we describe abnormalities in male and female AS160Ϫ/Ϫ /Tbc1d1 Ϫ/Ϫ mice on another strain background. We confirm the earlier observation that GLUT4 expression and glucose uptake defects of single-knockout mice join in AS160 Ϫ/Ϫ /Tbc1d1mice to affect all skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. In large mixed fiber-type skeletal muscles, changes in relative basal GLUT4 plasma membrane association in AS160 Ϫ/Ϫ and Tbc1d1 Ϫ/Ϫ mice also combine in AS160Ϫ/Ϫ /Tbc1d1 Ϫ/Ϫ mice. However, we found different glucose uptake abnormalities in isolated skeletal muscles and adipocytes than reported previously, resulting in different interpretations of how AS160 and Tbc1d1 regulate GLUT4 translocation to the cell surface. In support of a larger role for AS160 in glucose homeostasis, in contrast with the previous study, we find similarly impaired glucose and insulin tolerance in AS160 Ϫ/Ϫ /Tbc1d1 Ϫ/Ϫ and AS160 Ϫ/Ϫ mice. However, in vivo glucose uptake abnormalities in AS160 Ϫ/Ϫ / Tbc1d1 Ϫ/Ϫ skeletal muscles differ from those observed previously in AS160 Ϫ/Ϫ mice, indicating additional defects due to Tbc1d1 deletion. Similar to AS160-and Tbc1d1-deficient mice, AS160mice show sex-specific abnormalities in glucose and energy homeostasis. In conclusion, our study supports nonredundant functions for AS160 and Tbc1d1.Rab GTPase-activating proteins; Akt substrate of 160 kDa; glucose uptake; glucose transporter 4; adipocytes; skeletal muscle AKT SUBSTRATE OF 160 KDA (AS160, also named Tbc1d4) and Tbc1d1 are closely related Rab GTPase-activating proteins (Rab GAPs) (13,24,26). They each have two NH 2 -terminal PTB domains, a calmodulin-binding domain, and a COOHterminal Rab GAP domain. Although over their entire length AS160 and Tbc1d1 are only 61% similar (24), their Rab GAP domains are 91% similar and display the same Rab substrate specificity in vitro (21, 24). Rab proteins regulate membrane trafficking (35), and Rab GAPs regulate the activity of their Rab substrates by catalyzing the hydrolysis of Rab-bound GTP to GDP (13). AS160 was discovered originally for its role in the regulation of the trafficking of the glucose transporter GLUT4 (28) before a similar role was also described for Tbc1d1 (24). GLUT4 is the predominant transporter mediating glucose uptake in muscle and fat cells and thus plays a ke...

The goal of this study was to establish a quantitative method for measuring FA metabolism with partial volume (PV) and spill-over (SP) corrections using dynamic 11C-palmitate PET images of mouse heart in vivo. Methods Twenty-minute dynamic 11C-palmitate PET scans of four 18–20 week old male C57BL/6 mice under isoflurane anesthesia were performed using a Focus 120 PET scanner. A model corrected blood input function (MCIF), by which the input function with SP and PV corrections and the metabolic rate constants (k1−k5) are simultaneously estimated from the dynamic 11C-palmitate PET images of mouse hearts in a 4-compartment tracer kinetic model, was used to determine rates of myocardial FA oxidation (MFAO), myocardial FA esterification (MFAE), myocardial FA utilization (MFAU) and myocardial FA uptake (MFAUp). Results The MFAO thus measured in C57BL/6 mice was 375.03±43.83 nmoles/min/g. This compares well with the MFAO measured in perfused working C57BL/6 mouse hearts ex vivo of about 350 nmoles/g/min and 400 nmoles/min/g. Conclusions FA metabolism was measured for the first time in mouse heart in vivo using dynamic 11C-palmitate PET in a 4-compartment tracer kinetic model. MFAO obtained with this model were validated by results previously obtained with mouse hearts ex vivo.

One of the biggest challenges in analyzing high throughput omics data in biological studies is extracting information that is relevant to specific biological mechanisms of interest while simultaneously restricting the number of false positive findings. Due to random chances with numerous candidate targets and mechanisms, computational approaches often yield a large number of false positives that cannot easily be discerned from relevant biological findings without costly, and often infeasible, biological experiments. We here introduce and apply an integrative bioinformatics approach, Biologically Anchored Knowledge Expansion (BAKE), which uses sequential statistical analysis and literature mining to identify highly relevant network genes and effectively removes false positive findings. Applying BAKE to genomic expression data collected from mouse (Mus musculus) adipocytes during insulin resistance progression, we uncovered the transcription factor Krueppel-like Factor 4 (KLF4) as a regulator of early insulin signaling. We experimentally confirmed that KLF4 controls the expression of two key insulin signaling molecules, the Insulin Receptor Substrate 2 (IRS2) and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 (TSC2).

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