Decreased thioredoxin-1 and increased HSP90 expression in skeletal muscle in subjects with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.

In diabetes, the endogenous defence systems are overwhelmed, causing various types of stress in tissues. In this study, newly diagnosed or diet-treated type 2 diabetics (T2D) (n = 10) were compared with subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (n = 8). In both groups, at resting conditions, blood samples were drawn for assessing metabolic indices and skeletal muscle samples (m. vastus lateralis) were taken for the measurements of cellular defence markers: thioredoxin-1 (TRX-1) and stress proteins HSP72, HSP90. The protein level of TRX-1 was 36.1% lower (P = 0.031) and HSP90 was 380% higher (P < 0.001) in the T2D than in the IGT subjects, with no significant changes in HSP72. However, after the adjustment of both analyses with HOMA-IR only HSP90 difference remained significant. In conclusion, level of TRX-1 in skeletal muscle tissue was lower while that of HSP90 was higher in T2D than in IGT subjects. This may impair antioxidant defence and lead to disruptions of protein homoeostasis and redox regulation of cellular defences. Because HSP90 may be involved in sustaining functional insulin signalling pathway in type 2 diabetic muscles and higher HSP90 levels can be a consequence of type 2 diabetes, our results are potentially important for the diabetes research.

Exercise restores skeletal muscle glucose delivery but not insulin-mediated glucose transport and phosphorylation in obese subjects.

CONTEXT/OBJECTIVE: Insulin resistance in obese subjects results in the impaired disposal of glucose by skeletal muscle. The current study examined the effects of insulin and/or exercise on glucose transport and phosphorylation in skeletal muscle and the influence of obesity on these processes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Seven obese and 12 lean men underwent positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-d-glucose in resting and isometrically exercising skeletal muscle during normoglycemic hyperinsulinemia. Data were analyzed by two-tissue compartmental modeling. Perfusion and oxidative capacity were measured during insulin stimulation by [15O]H2O and [15O]O2. RESULTS: Exercise increased glucose fractional uptake (K), inward transport rate (K(1)), and the k(3) parameter, combining transport and intracellular phosphorylation, in lean and obese subjects. In each group, there was no statistically significant difference between plasma flow and K(1). At rest, a significant defect in K(1) (P = 0.0016), k(3) (P = 0.016), and K (P = 0.022) was found in obese subjects. Exercise restored K(1), improved but did not normalize K (P = 0.03 vs. lean), and did not ameliorate the more than 60% relative impairment in k(3) in obese individuals (P = 0.002 vs. lean). The glucose oxidative potential tended to be reduced by obesity. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The study indicates that exercise restores the impairment in insulin-mediated skeletal muscle perfusion and glucose delivery associated with obesity but does not normalize the defect involving the proximal steps regulating glucose disposal in obese individuals. Our data support the use of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose-positron emission tomography in the dissection between substrate supply and intrinsic tissue metabolism.

Enhancement of insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose uptake in patients with Type 2 diabetes treated with rosiglitazone.

AIMS: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) activators have recently been identified as regulators of cellular proliferation, inflammatory responses and lipid and glucose metabolism. These agents prevent coronary arteriosclerosis and improve left ventricular remodelling and function in heart failure after myocardial infarction. Improvement in myocardial metabolic state may be one of the mechanisms behind these findings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rosiglitazone on myocardial glucose uptake in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Placebo and metformin were used as control treatments. METHODS: Forty-four patients were randomized to treatment with rosiglitazone (4 mg b.i.d.), metformin (1 g b.i.d.) or placebo in a 26-week double-blinded trial. Myocardial glucose uptake was measured using [(18)F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ([(18)F]FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET) during euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemia before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Rosiglitazone increased insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose uptake by 38% (from 38.7 +/- 3.4 to 53.3 +/- 3.6 micromol 100 g(-1) min(-1), P = 0.004) and whole body glucose uptake by 36% (P = 0.01), while metformin treatment had no significant effect on myocardial (40.5 +/- 3.5 vs. 36.6 +/- 5.2, NS) or whole body glucose uptake. Myocardial work as determined by the rate-pressure-product was similar between the groups. Neither treatment had any significant effect on fasting serum free fatty acids (FFA) but the FFA levels during hyperinsulinaemia were more suppressed in the rosiglitazone group (-47%, P = 0.02). Myocardial glucose uptake correlated inversely to FFA concentrations both before (r =-0.54, P = 0.002) and after (r = -0.43, P = 0.01) the treatment period in the pooled data. Furthermore, the increase in myocardial glucose uptake correlated inversely with interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations (r = -0.58, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to the improvement in whole body insulin sensitivity, rosiglitazone treatment enhances insulin stimulated myocardial glucose uptake in patients with Type 2 diabetes, most probably due to its suppression of the serum FFAs.