CaMK activation during exercise is required for histone hyperacetylation and MEF2A binding at the MEF2 site on the Glut4 gene

The role of CaMK II in regulating GLUT4 expression in response to intermittent exercise was investigated. Wistar rats completed 5 x 17-min bouts of swimming after receiving 5 mg/kg KN93 (a CaMK II inhibitor), KN92 (an analog of KN93 that does not inhibit CaMK II), or an equivalent volume of vehicle. Triceps muscles that were harvested at 0, 6, or 18 h postexercise were assayed for 1) CaMK II phosphorylation by Western blot, 2) acetylation of histone H3 at the Glut4 MEF2 site by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, 3) bound MEF2A at the Glut4 MEF2 cis-element by ChIP, and 4) GLUT4 expression by RT-PCR and Western blot. Compared with controls, exercise caused a twofold increase in CaMK II phosphorylation. Immunohistochemical stains indicated increased CaMK II phosphorylation in nuclear and perinuclear regions of the muscle fiber. Acetylation of histone H3 in the region surrounding the MEF2 binding site on the Glut4 gene and the amount of MEF2A that bind to the site increased approximately twofold postexercise. GLUT4 mRNA and protein increased approximately 2.2- and 1.8-fold, respectively, after exercise. The exercise-induced increases in CaMK II phosphorylation, histone H3 acetylation, MEF2A binding, and GLUT4 expression were attenuated or abolished when KN93 was administered to rats prior to exercise. KN92 did not affect the increases in pCaMK II and GLUT4. These data support the hypothesis that CaMK II activation by exercise increases GLUT4 expression via increased accessibility of MEF2A to its cis-element on the gene.     

葡萄糖转运蛋白GLUT4表达的调节机制

胰岛素反应性的葡萄糖转运蛋白4（glucose transporter 4,GLUT4）在葡萄糖的摄取和代谢过程中发挥着重要作用。GLUT4蛋白表达水平直接影响机体葡萄糖的利用。肌细胞增强因子2（myocyte enhancer factor 2,MEF2）、过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体（peroxisome proliferator activated receptors,PPARs）、CCAAT增强子结合蛋白α（CCAAT enhancer binding protein α,C/EBP-α）、固醇类反应元件结合蛋白1c(sterol response element binding protein 1c,SREBP-1c）等转录因子可以上调或下调Glut4基因转录。激素、代谢以及一些病理状态可以通过改变转录因子的量或活性影响Glut4。本文综述了在Glut4基因表达中发挥作用的转录因子,以及在特定的生理或病生理状态下Glut4基因表达调控的机制。     

Calpain system regulates muscle mass and glucose transporter GLUT4 turnover

The experiments in this study were undertaken to determine whether inhibition of calpain activity in skeletal muscle is associated with alterations in muscle metabolism. Transgenic mice that overexpress human calpastatin, an endogenous calpain inhibitor, in skeletal muscle were produced. Compared with wild type controls, muscle calpastatin mice demonstrated normal glucose tolerance. Levels of the glucose transporter GLUT4 were increased more than 3-fold in the transgenic mice by Western blotting while mRNA levels for GLUT4 and myocyte enhancer factors, MEF 2A and MEF 2D, protein levels were decreased. We found that GLUT4 can be degraded by calpain-2, suggesting that diminished degradation is responsible for the increase in muscle GLUT4 in the calpastatin transgenic mice. Despite the increase in GLUT4, glucose transport into isolated muscles from transgenic mice was not increased in response to insulin. The expression of protein kinase B was decreased by approximately 60% in calpastatin transgenic muscle. This decrease could play a role in accounting for the insulin resistance relative to GLUT4 content of calpastatin transgenic muscle. The muscle weights of transgenic animals were substantially increased compared with controls. These results are consistent with the conclusion that calpain-mediated pathways play an important role in the regulation of GLUT4 degradation in muscle and in the regulation of muscle mass. Inhibition of calpain activity in muscle by overexpression of calpastatin is associated with an increase in GLUT4 protein without a proportional increase in insulin-stimulated glucose transport. These findings provide evidence for a physiological role for calpains in the regulation of muscle glucose metabolism and muscle mass.     

Caffeine induces hyperacetylation of histones at the MEF2 site on the Glut4 promoter and increases MEF2A binding to the site via a CaMK-dependent mechanism

This study was conducted to explore the mechanism by which caffeine increases GLUT4 expression in C(2)C(12) myotubes. Myoblasts were differentiated in DMEM containing 2% horse serum for 13 days and the resultant myotubes exposed to 10 mM caffeine in the presence or absence of 25 microM KN93 or 10 mM dantrolene for 2 h. After the treatment, cells were kept in serum-free medium and harvested between 0 and 6 h later, depending on the assay. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that caffeine treatment caused hyperacetylation of histone H3 at the myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) site on the Glut4 promoter (P < 0.05) and increased the amount of MEF2A that was bound to this site approximately 2.2-fold (P < 0.05) 4 h posttreatment compared with controls. These increases were accompanied by an approximately 1.8-fold rise (P < 0.05 vs. control) in GLUT4 mRNA content at 6 h post-caffeine treatment. Both immunoblot and immunocytochemical analyses showed reduced nuclear content of histone deacetylase-5 in caffeine-treated myotubes compared with controls at 0-2 h posttreatment. Inclusion of 10 mM dantrolene in the medium to prevent the increase in cytosolic Ca(2+), or 25 microM KN93 to inhibit Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMK II), attenuated all the above caffeine-induced changes. These data indicate that caffeine increases GLUT4 expression by acetylating the MEF2 site to increase MEF2A binding via a mechanism that involves CaMK II.