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The effect of interleukin‐6 and the interleukin‐6 receptor on glucose transport in mouse skeletal muscle
Author(s) -
Gray Stuart R.,
Ratkevicius Aivaras,
Wackerhage Henning,
Coats Paul,
Nimmo Myra A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
experimental physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0958-0670
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.2009.048173
Subject(s) - interleukin 1β , skeletal muscle , endocrinology , interleukin 2 , medicine , interleukin , receptor , glucose transporter , chemistry , biology , cytokine , insulin
Exercise results in an increase in interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), its receptor (IL‐6R) and skeletal muscle glucose transport. Interleukin‐6 has been found to have equivocal effects on glucose transport, with no studies, to our knowledge, investigating any potential role of IL‐6R. In the present study, we hypothesized that a combined preparation of IL‐6 and soluble IL‐6R (sIL‐6R) would stimulate glucose transport. Mouse soleus muscles were incubated with physiological and supraphysiological concentrations of IL‐6 and a combination of IL‐6 and sIL‐6R. Total and phosphorylated AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Protein Kinase B (PKB/Akt) were also measured by Western blotting. Exposure to both physiological (80 pg ml −1 ) and supraphysiological IL‐6 (120 ng ml −1 ) had no effect on glucose transport. At physiological levels, exposure to a combination of IL‐6 and sIL‐6R (32 ng ml −1 ) resulted in a 1.4‐fold increase ( P < 0.05) in basal glucose transport with no change to the phosphorylation of AMPK. Exposure to supraphysiological levels of IL‐6 and sIL‐6R (120 ng ml −1 ) resulted in an approximately twofold increase ( P < 0.05) in basal glucose transport and an increase ( P < 0.05) in AMPK phosphorylation. No effect of IL‐6 or sIL‐6R was observed on insulin‐stimulated glucose transport. These findings demonstrate that, while IL‐6 alone does not stimulate glucose transport in mouse soleus muscle, when sIL‐6R is introduced glucose transport is directly stimulated, partly through AMPK‐dependent signalling.