Reduction of oxidative stress improves insulin signaling in cardiac tissue of obese mice

Antioxidants Supplementation Reduces Ceramide Synthesis Improving the Cardiac Insulin Transduction Pathway in a Rodent Model of Obesity

“…The precise mechanism of the NAC action is still unclear, but it is known that the development of inflammation during obesity induced by an HFD is associated with increased oxidative stress, which also worsens insulin signaling and accelerates myocardial damage. Thus, in our research, NAC probably resulted in reduced ROS generation that interfere with cellular processes, i.e., the degradation of membrane lipids (lipid peroxidation) and thereby increasing the metabolic activity of the tissue and reducing cellular apoptosis [36,37]. Similarly, we also observed that ALA reversed HFD-induced insulin resistance.…”

“…Interestingly, in our study, intragastrical supplementation of antioxidants attenuated the alterations caused by IR development (following high-fat feeding of rats). Rodrigues et al, in their study on obese mice, showed that NAC raised the protein level of phosphorylated Akt in the cardiac tissue, and thus the pAkt level was restored to values close to that of the control mice [36]. A study conducted by Johnson et al revealed that cardiomyocytes exposed to a high-glucose concentration with n-acetylcysteine showed improved glucose utilization caused by enhanced GLUT4 redistribution to the membrane allowing regulation and maintained proper glucose homeostasis [37].…”

“…Several studies conducted on animal models demonstrated that metabolites of fatty acids interfere in decreasing insulin transduction at multiple levels, especially the decline in phosphorylation of Akt as a consequence of the development of obesity in heart tissue in rodents [35][36][37]. In our study, we evaluated the Akt pathway as a pivotal marker of insulin signaling, which is regulated by not only insulin but also nutrition and redox status.…”