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Effects of Epicatechin on AMPK, GLUT4 and TNF‐α in the onset of Type 2 Diabetes
Author(s) -
Gonzalez Nelson,
Go Yamazaki Katrina
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.1044.9
Subject(s) - glut4 , ampk , medicine , endocrinology , insulin resistance , type 2 diabetes , glucose transporter , diabetes mellitus , glucose uptake , insulin , protein kinase a , biology , kinase , microbiology and biotechnology
An abnormally high level of blood glucose is the key characteristic of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Several studies have established that this results from decreased translocation of glucose transporters. Due to the consequences of T2D, i.e. cardiovascular disease, the glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), found in both skeletal and cardiac tissue, is of important interest. T2D has been linked to energy deficiency leading to cardiovascular disease, possibly due to the lack of the metabolic substrate glucose. A key protein in an insulin independent pathway is 5′ adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is directly involved with the translocation of GLUT4 and energy deficiency. Additionally, literature has suggested that the pro‐inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) may be associated in the development of insulin resistance, by targeting insulin signaling markers, and heart inflammation, decreasing overall cardiac functionality. Using an in vivo high fat, streptozotocin (STZ) induced T2D model, we investigated whether (‐)‐epicatechin (EPI), a naturally occurring flavonoid with demonstrated anti‐diabetic properties, altered the relative expression of the aforementioned proteins in heart tissue samples between sham and diabetic H20 or EPI treated animals. Utilizing western blot assays, we observed a reduced expression of GLUT4 and TNF‐α and an increased expression in AMPK in T2D models treated with EPI in comparison to T2D models treated with H2O. Our results suggest that EPI is playing a role in the increased expression of AMPK and decreased expression of GLUT4 and TNF‐α in the on set of T2D.