A Novel Method to Measure Glucose Uptake and Myosin Heavy Chain Isoform Expression of Single Fibers From Rat Skeletal Muscle
- 1Muscle Biology Laboratory, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 2Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 3Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Corresponding author: Gregory D. Cartee, gcartee{at}umich.edu.
Abstract
Skeletal muscle includes many individual fibers with diverse phenotypes. A barrier to understanding muscle glucose uptake at the cellular level has been the absence of a method to measure glucose uptake by single fibers from mammalian skeletal muscle. This study’s primary objective was to develop a procedure to measure glucose uptake by single fibers from rat skeletal muscle. Rat epitrochlearis muscles were incubated ex vivo with [3H]-2-deoxy-d-glucose, with or without insulin or AICAR, before isolation of ~10–30 single fibers from each muscle. Fiber type (myosin heavy chain [MHC] isoform) and glucose uptake were determined for each single fiber. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (which was cytochalasin B inhibitable) varied according to MHC isoform expression, with ~2-fold greater values for IIA versus IIB or IIX fibers and ~1.3-fold greater for hybrid (IIB/X) versus IIB fibers. In contrast, AICAR-stimulated glucose uptake was ~1.5-fold greater for IIB versus IIA fibers. A secondary objective was to assess insulin resistance of single fibers from obese versus lean Zucker rats. Genotype differences were observed for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and inhibitor κB (IκB)-β abundance in single fibers (obese less than lean), with decrements for glucose uptake (44–58%) and IκB-β (25–32%) in each fiber type. This novel method creates a unique opportunity for future research focused on understanding muscle glucose uptake at the cellular level.
- Received September 14, 2011.
- Accepted January 8, 2012.
- © 2012 by the American Diabetes Association.
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