Translocation of glucose transporters in response to anoxia in heart

We tested whether translocation of glucose transporters between subcellular membrane fractions is involved in the stimulation of glucose transport by anoxia by perfusing rat hearts in the presence or absence of oxygen. The hearts were then fractionated by a modification of the procedures of Watanabe, et al. (Watanabe, T., Smith, M. M., Robinson, F. W., and Kono, T. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 13117-13122), who previously demonstrated translocation in response to insulin in heart, to give plasma membrane and high-speed pellet fractions. The contents of glucose transporters in the two fractions were determined by reconstitution of transport activity, D-glucose-reversible binding of cytochalasin B, and labeling with antibodies against the erythrocyte transporter. The heart transporter was also recognized by antibodies against the COOH-terminal peptide of the glucose transporter. All three types of assays revealed a decrease (20-30%) in the high-speed pellet fraction and an increase (20-70%) in the plasma membranes in response to anoxia. Treatment of hearts with insulin produced a similar extent of translocation and a similar stimulation (about 2-fold) of glucose uptake, indicating that translocation plays a role of similar importance in the stimulation of transport by both of these effectors.     

Recycling of the glucose transporter, the insulin receptor, and insulin in rat adipocytes. Effect of acidtropic agents

The notion of an insulin-dependent translocation of the glucose transporter in rat adipocytes was confirmed by immunoblotting and reconstitution of glucose transport activity of subcellular fractions. Quantitatively, however, significantly different results were obtained with these two techniques; when compared with reconstitution, immunoblotting detected translocation of a larger amount of the transporter from a low density microsome fraction to a plasma membrane fraction. The acidtropic agents chloroquine and dibucaine, which have been reported to inhibit the recycling of various receptors, were utilized to study the detailed translocation mechanism of the glucose transporter and the insulin receptor. These acidtropic agents caused accumulation of 125I-insulin in a subcellular fraction probably corresponding to lysosomes. They did not, however, significantly affect either the insulin-induced activation of glucose transport or the recycling of the transporter and the insulin receptor as detected by immunoblotting. About 50% of radioactivity released from adipocytes which were allowed to internalize insulin was due to intact insulin, and chloroquine did not change the release rate of intact insulin, raising the possibility of receptor-mediated exocytosis of insulin. The release of degraded insulin decreased with chloroquine treatment. The results are consistent with the idea that these acidtropic agents mainly act to inhibit degradation of insulin in lysosomes, and their effect on the recycling of the glucose transporter and the insulin receptor is minimal, indicating that the recycling of these membrane proteins proceeds irrespective of organelle acidification. Electron micrographs showed vesicles underneath the plasma membranes, with sizes similar to those of the low density microsome fraction where the internalized glucose transporter and the insulin receptor were located.     

Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) protects the insulin sensitivity in rat L6 muscle cells exposed to dexamethasone condition

The tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) displays some antidiabetic effects; however the mechanisms are incompletely understood. In the present study, the investigation of the effects of EGCG on insulin resistance was performed in rat L6 cells treated with dexamethasone. We found that dexamethasone increased Ser307 phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and reduced phosphorylation of AMPK and Akt. Furthermore, glucose uptake and glucose transporter (GLUT4) translocation were inhibited by dexamethasone. However, the treatment of EGCG improved insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by increasing GLUT4 translocation to plasma membrane. Furthermore, we also demonstrated these EGCG effects essentially depended on the AMPK and Akt activation. Together, our data suggested that EGCG inhibited dexamethasone-induced insulin resistance through AMPK and PI3K/Akt pathway.     

Effect of glucocorticoids on hexose transport in rat adipocytes. Evidence for decreased transporters in the plasma membrane

Glucocorticoids are known to rapidly inhibit glucose transport when added to isolated rat adipocytes. To determine whether this inhibition of transport persists following isolation of the plasma membranes, adipocytes were incubated in the absence or presence of a maximally inhibitory concentration of dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, and plasma membrane vesicles were prepared. D-Glucose uptake into vesicles from steroid-treated cells was inhibited by an average of 40%. The ability of dexamethasone to inhibit transport depended upon pretreatment of cells with hormone prior to membrane isolation. Furthermore, the decreased rate of transport was prevented by the simultaneous addition to the cell of actinomycin D or cycloheximide with dexamethasone, indicating a requirement for RNA and protein synthesis. The effect of dexamethasone on glucose transport was further investigated using our recently developed cytochalasin B affinity-labeling protocol to identify the transporter on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. A peak of radioactivity having Mr = 54,000 was identified which exhibited the properties expected for the glucose transporter, in that label incorporation was prevented by D-glucose and unlabeled cytochalasin B, but not by D-sorbitol or unlabeled cytochalasins A, D, or E. Dexamethasone was found to cause a significant (average 33%) decrease in the amount of labeled transporter in the plasma membrane which was prevented by the simultaneous addition of actinomycin D with dexamethasone to the cells. A similar percentage decrease was not found in a microsomal membrane fraction nor in a total cellular membrane fraction. These results suggest that glucocorticoids may decrease glucose transport in rat adipocytes by selectively decreasing the number of transporters in the plasma membrane.     

Insulin-stimulated translocation of glucose transporters in the isolated rat adipose cells: characterization of subcellular fractions

Insulin stimulates glucose transport in rat adipose cells through the translocation of glucose transporters from an intracellular pool to the plasma membrane. A detailed characterization of the morphology, protein composition and marker enzyme content of subcellular fractions of these cells, prepared by differential ultracentrifugation, and of the distribution of glucose transporters among these fractions is now described. Glucose transporters were measured using specific D-glucose-inhibitable [3H]cytochalasin B binding. In the basal state, roughly 90% of the cells' glucose transporters are associated with a low-density microsomal, Golgi marker enzyme-enriched membrane fraction. However, the distributions of glucose transporters and Golgi marker enzyme activities over all fractions are clearly distinct. Incubation of intact cells with insulin increases the number of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane fraction 4-5 fold and correspondingly decreases the intracellular pool, without influencing any other characteristics of the subcellular fractions examined or the estimated total number of glucose transporters (3.7 X 10(6)/cell). Insulin does not influence the Kd of the glucose transporters in the plasma membrane fraction for cytochalasin B binding (98 nM), but lowers that in the intracellular pool (from 141 to 93 nM). The calculated turnover numbers of the glucose transporters in the plasma membrane vesicles from basal and insulin-stimulated cells are similar (15 X 10(3) mol of glucose/min per mol of transporters at 37 degrees C), whereas insulin appears to increase the turnover number in the plasma membrane of intact cells roughly 4-fold. These results suggest that (1) the intracellular pool of glucose transporters may comprise a specialized membrane species, (2) intracellular glucose transporters may undergo conformational changes during their cycling to the plasma membrane in response to insulin, and (3) the translocation of glucose transporters may represent only one component in the mechanism through which insulin regulates glucose transport in the intact cell.     

Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake involves the transition of glucose transporters to a caveolae-rich fraction within the plasma membrane: implications for type II diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Adipose and muscle tissues express an insulin-sensitive glucose transporter (GLUT4). This transporter has been shown to translocate from intracellular stores to the plasma membrane following insulin stimulation. The molecular mechanisms signalling this event and the details of the translocation pathway remain unknown. In type II diabetes, the cellular transport of glucose in response to insulin is impaired, partly explaining why blood-glucose levels in patients are not lowered by insulin as in normal individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Isolated rat epididymal adipocytes were stimulated with insulin and subjected to subcellular fractionation and to measurement of glucose uptake. A caveolae-rich fraction was isolated from the plasma membranes after detergent solubilization and ultracentrifugal floatation in a sucrose gradient. Presence of GLUT4 and caveolin was determined by immunoblotting after SDS-PAGE. RESULTS: In freshly isolated adipocytes, insulin induced a rapid translocation of GLUT4 to the plasma membrane fraction, which was followed by a slower transition of the transporter into a detergent resistant caveolae-rich region of the plasma membrane. The insulin-stimulated appearance of transporters in the caveolae-rich fraction occurred in parallel with enhanced glucose uptake by cells. Treatment with isoproterenol plus adenosine deaminase rapidly inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport by 40%, and at the same time GLUT4 disappeared from the caveolae-rich fraction and from plasma membranes as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin stimulates glucose uptake in adipocytes by rapidly translocating GLUT4 from intracellular stores to the plasma membrane. This is followed by a slower transition of GLUT4 to the caveolae-rich regions of the plasma membrane, where glucose transport appears to take place. These results have implications for an understanding of the defect in glucose transport involved in type II diabetes.     

The phorbol ester TPA induces a translocation of the insulin sensitive glucose carrier (GLUT4) in fat cells

Insulin activates the glucose transport in isolated fat cells through a translocation of the insulin sensitive glucose carrier subtype (GLUT4) and by activation of glucose carriers in the plasma membrane. Protein kinase C stimulating phorbol esters are able to mimick partially the insulin effect on glucose transport. In order to determine whether this phorbol ester effect occurs through a translocation of the insulin sensitive glucose carrier (GLUT4) we used a monoclonal antibody against GLUT4 to determine its distribution in subcellular fractions of rat adipocytes. We found that the phorbol ester TPA is able to increase the amount of GLUT4 in the plasma membrane fraction about two-fold.     

Insulin and noradrenaline independently stimulate the translocation of glucose transporters from intracellular stores to the plasma membrane in mouse brown adipocytes.

The mechanism of the effect of noradrenaline on the transport of 3-O-methyl-D-[14C]glucose ([14C]-MG) was studied in mouse brown adipocytes. When cells were exposed to low concentrations (< 10(-8) M) of insulin, the [14C]-MG uptake by cells was enhanced by noradrenaline additively. The action of noradrenaline was mimicked by isoproterenol, and was completely blocked by propranolol. Exposing cells to noradrenaline induced both an increase in the transport activity of plasma membrane fractions and a decrease in that of microsomal fractions similar to insulin exposure, indicating that noradrenaline also induces the translocation of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane. The ratio of an increase in the transport activity of plasma membrane fraction to a decrease in the activity of microsomal fraction was lower in cells exposed to noradrenaline than in cells exposed to insulin. This quantitative disagreement suggests that there are at least two different modes involved in the regulation of the translocation of glucose transporters in mouse brown adipocytes.     

Insulin-stimulated translocation of glucose transporters in the isolated rat adipose cells: Characterization of subcellular fractions

Insulin stimulates glucose transport in rat adipose cells through the translocation of glucose transporters from an intracellular pool to the plasma membrane. A detailed characterization of the morphology, protein composition and marker enzyme content of subcellular fractions of these cells, prepared by differential ultracentrifugation, and of the distribution of glucose transporters among these fractions is now described. Glucose transporters were measured using specific d-glucose-inhibitable [³H]cytochalasin B binding. In the basal state, roughly 90% of the cells' glucose transporters are associated with a low-density microsomal, Golgi marker enzyme-enriched membrane fraction. However, the distributions of glucose transporters and Golgi marker enzyme activities over all fractions are clearly distinct. Incubation of intact cells with insulin increases the number of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane fraction 4–5-fold and correspondingly decreases the intracellular pool, without influencing any other characteristics of the subcellular fractions examined or the estimated total number of glucose transporters (3.7·10⁶/cell). Insulin does not influence the K_d of the glucose transporters in the plasma membrane fraction for cytochalasin B binding (98 nM), but lowers that in the intracellular pool (from 141 to 93 nM). The calculated turnover numbers of the glucose transporters in the plasma membrane vesicles from basal and insulin-stimulated cells are similar (15·10³ mol of glucose/min per mol of transporters at 37°C), whereas insulin appears to increase the turnover number in the plasma membrane of intact cells roughly 4-fold. These results suggest that (1) the intracellular pool of glucose transporters may comprise a specialized membrane species, (2) intracellular glucose transporters may undergo conformational changes during their cycling to the plasma membrane in response to insulin, and (3) the translocation of glucose transporters may represent only one component in the mechanism through which insulin regulates glucose transport in the intact cell.     

Identification of the D-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding site as the glucose transporter in rat diaphragm plasma and microsomal membranes

[3H]Cytochalasin B binding and its competitive inhibition by D-glucose have been used to identify, the glucose transporter in plasma and microsomal membranes prepared from intact rat diaphragm. Scatchard plot analysis of [3H]cytochalasin B binding yields a binding site with a dissociation constant of roughly 110 nM. Since the inhibition constant of cytochalasin B for D-glucose uptake by diaphragm plasma membranes is similar to this value, this site is identified as the glucose transporter. Plasma membranes prepared from diaphragms bind approx. 17 pmol of cytochalasin B/mg of membrane protein to the D-glucose-inhibitable site. If 280 nM (40000 microunits/ml) insulin is present during incubation, cytochalasin B binding is increased roughly 2-fold without alteration in the dissociation constant of this site. In addition, membranes in the microsomal fraction contain 21 pmol of D-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding sites/mg of membrane protein. In the presence of insulin during incubation the number of these sites in the microsomal fraction is decreased to 9 pmol/mg of membrane protein. These results suggest that rat diaphragm contain glucose transporters with characteristics identical to those observed for the rat adipose cell glucose transporter. In addition, insulin stimulates glucose transport in rat diaphragm through a translocation of functionally identical glucose transporters from an intracellular membrane pool to the plasma membrane without an alteration in the characteristics of these sites.     

Long term regulation of glucose transporters by insulin in mature 3T3-F442A adipose cells. Differential effects on two glucose transporter subtypes

The question of a long term regulatory role of insulin on adipocyte glucose transporter content was addressed using the differentiating or fully mature 3T3-F442A adipocytes. Glucose transport was measured in intact cells. Glucose transporter content in plasma membranes and low density microsomes (LDM) was assessed by cytochalasin B binding and Western analysis. In insulin- versus spontaneously differentiated adipocytes, glucose transport and glucose transporters content of plasma membranes and LDM were increased 5-, 4-, and 2-fold, respectively. Insulin deprivation for 24 h induced a redistribution of glucose transporters in those cells which then displayed 2-fold higher glucose transport and glucose transporter content in plasma membranes than spontaneously differentiated cells and 3-fold more glucose transporters in LDM. When fully insulin-differentiated adipocytes were insulin-deprived for 4 days, there was a marked decrease in glucose transporters in both membrane fractions that was fully reversible by reexposing the cells to insulin for 4 days. Glucose uptake changes were closely proportionate to changes in glucose transporter content of plasma membranes as assessed by an antiserum to the C-terminal peptide of the erythrocyte/HepG2/brain-type glucose transporter. When Western blots were immunoblotted with 1F8 monoclonal antibody, specific for glucose transporter in insulin responsive tissues, an abundant immunoreactive protein was detected in both plasma membranes and LDM but the amount of this glucose transporter did not change with insulin exposure in any membrane fractions. In conclusion, insulin plays a long term regulatory role on cultured adipocyte glucose transporter content through a selective effect on the erythrocyte/HepG2/brain-type glucose transporter.     

Identification of the d-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding site as the glucose transporter in rat diaphragm plasma and microsomal membranes

[³H]Cytochalasin B binding and its competitive inhibition by d-glucose have been used to identify the glucose transporter in plasma and microsomal membranes prepared from intact rat diaphragm. Scatchard plot analysis of [³H]cytochalasin B binding yields a binding site with a dissociation constant of roughly 110 nM. Since the inhibition constant of cytochalasin B for d-glucose uptake by diaphragm plasma membranes is similar to this value, this site is identified as the glucose transporter. Plasma membranes prepared from diaphragms bind approx. 17 pmol of cytochalasin B/mg of membrane protein to the d-glucose-inhibitable site. If 280 nM (40 000 μunits/ml) insulin is present during incubation, cytochalasin B binding is increased roughly 2-fold without alteration in the dissociation constant of this site. In addition, membranes in the microsomal fraction contain 21 pmol of d-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding sites/mg of membrane protein. In the presence of insulin during incubation the number of these sites in the microsomal fraction is decreased to 9 pmol/mg of membrane protein. These results suggest that rat diaphragm contain glucose transporters with characteristics identical to those observed for the rat adipose cell glucose transporter. In addition, insulin stimulates glucose transport in rat diaphragm through a translocation of functionally identical glucose transporters from an intracellular membrane pool to the plasma membrane without an alteration in the characteristics of these sites.     

Hexose transport stimulation and membrane redistribution of glucose transporter isoforms in response to cholera toxin, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, and insulin in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Exposure of 3T3-L1 adipocytes to 100 ng/ml of cholera toxin or 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP caused a marked stimulation of deoxyglucose transport. A maximal increase of 10- to 15-fold was observed after 12-24 h of exposure, while 100 nM insulin elicited an increase of similar magnitude within 30 min. A short term exposure (4 h) of cells to cholera toxin or dibutyryl cyclic AMP resulted in a 3- to 4-fold increase in deoxyglucose transport which was associated with significant redistribution of both the HepG2/erythrocyte (GLUT1) and muscle/adipocyte (GLUT4) glucose transporters from low density microsomes to the plasma membrane fraction. Total cellular amounts of both transporter proteins remained constant. In contrast, cells exposed to cholera toxin or dibutyryl cyclic AMP for 12 h exhibited elevations in total cellular contents of GLUT1 (but not GLUT4) protein to about 1.5- and 2.5-fold above controls, respectively. Although such treatments of cells with cholera toxin (12 h) versus insulin (30 min) caused similar 10-fold enhancements of deoxyglucose transport, a striking discrepancy was observed with respect to the content of glucose transporter proteins in the plasma membrane fraction. While insulin elicited a 2.6-fold increase in the levels of GLUT4 protein in the plasma membrane fraction, cholera toxin increased the amount of this transporter by only 30%. Insulin or cholera toxin increased the levels of GLUT1 protein in the plasma membrane fraction equally (1.6-fold). Thus, a greater number of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane fraction is associated with transport stimulation by insulin compared to cholera toxin. We conclude that: 1) at early times (4 h) after the addition of cholera toxin or dibutyryl cyclic AMP to 3T3-L1 adipocytes, redistribution of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane appears to contribute to elevated deoxyglucose uptake rates, and 2) the stimulation of hexose uptake after prolonged treatment (12-18 h) of cells with cholera toxin may involve an additional increase in the intrinsic activity of one or both glucose transporter isoforms.     

Cycloheximide decreases glucose transporters in rat adipocyte plasma membranes without affecting insulin-stimulated glucose transport.

This study examines the relationship between insulin-stimulated glucose transport and insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporters in isolated rat adipocytes. Adipose cells were incubated with or without cycloheximide, a potent inhibitor of protein synthesis, for 60 min and then for an additional 30 min with or without insulin. After the incubation we measured 3-O-methylglucose transport in the adipose cells, and subcellular membrane fractions were prepared. The numbers of glucose transporters in the various membrane fractions were determined by the cytochalasin B binding assay. Basal and insulin-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose uptakes were not affected by cycloheximide. Furthermore, cycloheximide affected neither Vmax. nor Km of insulin-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose transport. In contrast, the number of glucose transporters in plasma membranes derived from cells preincubated with cycloheximide and insulin was markedly decreased compared with those from cells incubated with insulin alone (10.5 +/- 0.8 and 22.2 +/- 1.8 pmol/mg of protein respectively; P less than 0.005). The number of glucose transporters in cells incubated with cycloheximide alone was not significantly different compared with control cells. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoretic analysis of [3H]cytochalasin-B-photolabelled plasma-membrane fractions revealed that cycloheximide decreases the amount of labelled glucose transporters in insulin-stimulated membranes. However, the apparent molecular mass of the protein was not changed by cycloheximide treatment. The effect of cycloheximide on the two-dimensional electrophoretic profile of the glucose transporter in insulin-stimulated low-density microsomal membranes revealed a decrease in the pI-6.4 glucose-transporter isoform, whereas the insulin-translocatable isoform (pI 5.6) was decreased. Thus the observed discrepancy between insulin-stimulated glucose transport and insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporters strongly suggests that a still unknown protein-synthesis-dependent mechanism is involved in insulin activation of glucose transport.     

Subcellular distribution and phosphorylation state of insulin receptors from insulin- and isoproterenol-treated rat adipose cells

Rat adipose cells treated with insulin followed by isoproterenol exhibit a change in glucose transporter intrinsic activity (lowered maximal activity) and a decrease in insulin sensitivity (rightward shift of the concentration-response curve) when assayed for 3-O-methylglucose transport. To investigate the latter phenomenon, the distribution and phosphorylation state of insulin receptors was examined. Isoproterenol augmented the effect of insulin to reduce cell surface receptors by 20-30%. These receptors were recovered in microsomal fractions. Isoproterenol also markedly reduced insulin-stimulated [32P]phosphate incorporation into the plasma membrane receptor beta-subunit. These effects may account for the effect of isoproterenol to decrease the sensitivity of the glucose transport response to insulin.     

A Role for Protein Kinase Bβ/Akt2 in Insulin-Stimulated GLUT4 Translocation in Adipocytes

Insulin stimulates glucose uptake into muscle and fat cells by promoting the translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the cell surface. Phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) has been implicated in this process. However, the involvement of protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt, a downstream target of PI3K in regulation of GLUT4 translocation, has been controversial. Here we report that microinjection of a PKB substrate peptide or an antibody to PKB inhibited insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane by 66 or 56%, respectively. We further examined the activation of PKB isoforms following treatment of cells with insulin or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and found that PKBbeta is preferentially expressed in both rat and 3T3-L1 adipocytes, whereas PKBalpha expression is down-regulated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. A switch in growth factor response was also observed when 3T3-L1 fibroblasts were differentiated into adipocytes. While PDGF was more efficacious than insulin in stimulating PKB phosphorylation in fibroblasts, PDGF did not stimulate PKBbeta phosphorylation to any significant extent in adipocytes, as assessed by several methods. Moreover, insulin, but not PDGF, stimulated the translocation of PKBbeta to the plasma membrane and high-density microsome fractions of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. These results support a role for PKBbeta in insulin-stimulated glucose transport in adipocytes.     

Insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporters in rat hindlimb muscles

Insulin causes a translocation of glucose transporters from intracellular microsomes to the plasma membrane in adipocytes. To determine whether insulin has a similar effect in rat hindlimb muscles, we used glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding to estimate the number of glucose transporters in membrane fractions from insulinized and control muscles. Insulin treatment caused an approx. 2-fold increase in cytochalasin B-binding sites in a plasma membrane fraction and an approx. 70% decrease in cytochalasin B-binding sites in an intracellular membrane fraction. In order to detect this effect of insulin, it was necessary to develop a procedure for isolating a plasma membrane fraction and an intracellular membrane fraction that were not contaminated with sarcoplasmic reticulum. Our results show that, as in adipocytes, insulin stimulates translocation of glucose transporters from an intracellular membrane pool to the plasma membrane in hindlimb skeletal muscles.     

Insulin-stimulated translocation of the HepG2/erythrocyte-type glucose transporter expressed in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Insulin stimulates glucose transport into adipocytes, at least in part, via the translocation of intracellular transporters to the plasma membrane. The human HepG2-type transporter, which is not insulin-responsive in its native cell type, was expressed in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by infection with recombinant retrovirus harboring the HepG2 transporter cDNA in order to determine whether glucose transporter translocation in adipocytes is restricted to a distinct insulin-sensitive transporter species. The distributions of the endogenous murine and the HepG2 transporters were estimated by quantitative immunoblot analysis of subcellular fractions probed with either a monoclonal antibody that recognized only the human transporter or a polyclonal antibody that recognized both transporter species. In the basal state, the intracellular membrane fraction comprised approximately 50% of the total of each transporter type. Insulin decreased the content of both transporter species in the intracellular membranes by approximately 50% and increased the plasma membrane content of both species by approximately 1.5-2-fold. The similar insulin-mediated increase in the plasma membrane content of endogenous murine and HepG2 glucose transporters was verified by labeling of cell surface glycoproteins with [3H]NaBH4 followed by immunoprecipitation with glucose transporter antibodies. These data indicate that insulin-mediated translocation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes is not restricted to a tissue-specific insulin-responsive glucose transporter species and suggest that other tissue-specific factors regulate the translocation process.     

Contraction-induced translocation of the glucose transporter Glut4 in isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes.

Field stimulation of isolated adult ventricular cardiomyocytes was used to study the effect of contractile activity on 3-O-methylglucose transport and the subcellular distribution of Glut4. Cells contracting at a frequency of 1 Hz for 30 min exhibited unaltered basal and insulin-stimulated rates of glucose transport when compared to resting cells. However, at 5 Hz 3-O-methylglucose transport increased to 224% of control after 5 min. Under these conditions insulin was unable to produce a significant additional stimulation of glucose transport. Immunoblotting with an anti-Glut4 polyclonal antibody showed that both insulin and contraction (5 Hz) increased the amount of Glut4 in a plasma membrane fraction by about 8-fold with a parallel decrease in an intracellular membrane fraction by 60-65%. These data suggest the existence of an identical insulin- and contraction-recruitable Glut4 transporter pool in cardiomyocytes.