c-Jun NH2-Terminal Kinase Activity in Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue but Not Nuclear Factor-κB Activity in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Is an Independent Determinant of Insulin Resistance in Healthy Individuals

doi:10.2337/db08-1725

c-Jun NH₂-Terminal Kinase Activity in Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue but Not Nuclear Factor-κB Activity in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Is an Independent Determinant of Insulin Resistance in Healthy Individuals

¹Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
²School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
³Department of Cardiology, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Corresponding author: Barbora de Courten, barbora.decourten{at}bakeridi.edu.au.

K.C.S. and J.G.L. contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Chronic low-grade activation of the immune system (CLAIS) predicts type 2 diabetes via a decrease in insulin sensitivity. Our study investigated potential relationships between nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways—two pathways proposed as the link between CLAIS and insulin resistance.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Adiposity (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and insulin sensitivity (M, hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp) were measured in 22 healthy nondiabetic volunteers (aged 29 ± 11 years, body fat 28 ± 11%). NF-κB activity (DNA-binding assay) and JNK1/2 activity (phosphorylated JNK) were assessed in biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue and in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) lysates.

RESULTS NF-κB activities in PBMCs and muscle were positively associated with WHR after adjustment for age, sex, and percent body fat (both P < 0.05). NF-κB activity in PBMCs was inversely associated with M after adjustment for age, sex, percent body fat, and WHR (P = 0.02) and explained 16% of the variance of M. There were no significant relationships between NF-κB activity and M in muscle or adipose tissue (both NS). Adipose-derived JNK1/2 activity was not associated with obesity (all P> 0.1), although it was inversely related to M (r = −0.54, P < 0.05) and explained 29% of its variance. When both NF-κB and JNK1/2 were examined statistically, only JNK1/2 activity in adipose tissue was a significant determinant of insulin resistance (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS JNK1/2 activity in adipose tissue but not NF-κB activity in PBMCs is an independent determinant of insulin resistance in healthy individuals.

Footnotes

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- Received December 11, 2008.
- Accepted February 20, 2009.
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