Diabetes, Vol 37, Issue 5 499-506, Copyright © 1988 by American Diabetes Association
Minimal effects of phorbol esters on glucose transport and insulin sensitivity of rat skeletal muscle
MO Sowell, MK Treutelaar, CF Burant and MG Buse
Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
Protein kinase C (PKC) has been suggested as a mediator of insulin's effect
on glucose transport, and PKC-mediated modulation of tyrosine kinase
activity in the insulin receptor has been implicated in regulating the
insulin sensitivity of tissues. Because skeletal muscle is a major target
of insulin action, we examined the effects of
12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-rac-glycerol,
and dioctanoyl diacylglycerol, known activators of PKC, on glucose
metabolism in rat skeletal muscles. In contrast to results reported for
other tissues, incubation of muscles with PKC activators produced only
small increases in glucose transport and had minimal effects on the ability
of insulin to stimulate transport. However, TPA treatment of muscles
produced a significant decrease in basal glycogen synthesis. Incubation of
muscles with TPA did not affect insulin binding or the tyrosine kinase
activity of partially purified insulin receptors measured under basal
conditions or after stimulation by insulin in situ or in vitro. Our
findings do not support activation of PKC as a major mechanism for
regulating glucose uptake or insulin receptor activity in skeletal muscle.
However, the data do not rule out the possibility that glucose transport in
skeletal muscle may respond to physiological activators of PKC.