extracellular-glucose-depletion-as-an-indirect-measure-glucose-uptake

Extracellular Glucose Depletion as an Indirect Measure of Glucose Uptake in Cells and Tissues <em>Ex Vivo</em>

The ongoing worldwide epidemic of diabetes increases the demand for the identification of environmental, nutritional, endocrine, genetic, and epigenetic ...

The Ohio State University

Diabetes poses a high risk for debilitating complications in neural tissues, regulating glucose uptake through insulin-dependent and predominantly insulin-independent pathways. Supramolecular nanostructures provide a flexible strategy for combinatorial regulation of glycemia. Here, we compare the effects of free insulin to insulin bound to positively charged nanofibers comprised of self-assembling amino acid compounds (AACs) with an antioxidant-modified side chain moiety (AAC2) in both in vitro and in vivo models of type 1 diabetes. Free AAC2, free human insulin (hINS) and AAC2-bound-human insulin (AAC2-hINS) were tested in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced mouse model of type 1 diabetes. AAC2-hINS acted as a complex and exhibited different properties compared to free AAC2 or hINS. Mice treated with the AAC2-hINS complex were devoid of hypoglycemic episodes, had improved levels of insulin in circulation and in the brain, and increased expression of neurotransmitter taurine transporter, . Consequently, treatment with AAC2-hINS markedly advanced both physical and cognitive performance in mice with STZ-induced and genetic type 1 diabetes compared to treatments with free AAC2 or hINS. This study demonstrates that the flexible nanofiber AAC2 can serve as a therapeutic platform for the combinatorial treatment of diabetes and its complications.

Amino Acid Nanofibers Improve Glycemia and Confer Cognitive Therapeutic Efficacy to Bound Insulin.

The leptin receptor (LepR) acts as a signaling nexus for the regulation of glucose uptake and obesity, among other metabolic responses. The functional role of LepR under leptin-deficient conditions remains unclear. This study reports that epiregulin (EREG) governed glucose uptake in vitro and in vivo in  mice by activating LepR under leptin-deficient conditions. Single and long-term treatment with EREG effectively rescued glucose intolerance in comparative insulin and EREG tolerance tests in  mice. The immunoprecipitation study revealed binding between EREG and LepR in adipose tissue of  mice. EREG/LepR regulated glucose uptake without changes in obesity in  mice via mechanisms, including ERK activation and translocation of GLUT4 to the cell surface. EREG-dependent glucose uptake was abolished in  mice which supports a key role of LepR in this process. In contrast, inhibition of the canonical epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway implicated in other EREG responses, increased glucose uptake. Our data provide a basis for understanding glycemic responses of EREG that are dependent on LepR unlike functions mediated by EGFR, including leptin secretion, thermogenesis, pain, growth, and other responses. The computational analysis identified a conserved amino acid sequence, supporting an evolutionary role of EREG as an alternative LepR ligand.

Shashi Bhushan Kumar

Department of Human Sciences

The Ohio State University

Extracellular Glucose Depletion as an Indirect Measure of Glucose Uptake in Cells and Tissues Ex Vivo

Shashi Bhushan Kumar

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Human Sciences

The Ohio State University

Extracellular Glucose Depletion as an Indirect Measure of Glucose Uptake in Cells and Tissues Ex Vivo

Department of Human Sciences