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Horm Metab Res 2003; 35(10): 570-576
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-43501
Original Basic
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Skeletal Muscle Cells from Insulin-resistant (Non-diabetic) Individuals are Susceptible to Insulin Desensitization by Palmitate

C.  Kausch[*] 1 , H.  Staiger[*] 1 , K.  Staiger1 , J.  Krützfeldt1 , S.  Matthaei1 , H.-U.  Häring1 , M.  Stumvoll1
  • 1Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Pathobiochemistry, Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, Germany
Further Information

Publication History

Received 10 December 2002

Accepted after second revision 15 July 2003

Publication Date:
07 November 2003 (online)

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Abstract

We recently demonstrated that in vivo insulin resistance is not retained in cultured skeletal muscle cells. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that treating cultured skeletal muscle cells with fatty acids has an effect on insulin action which differs between insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant subjects. Insulin effects were examined in myotubes from 8 normoglycemic non-obese insulin-resistant and 8 carefully matched insulin-sensitive subjects after preincubation with or without palmitate, linoleate, and 2-bromo-palmitate. Insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis decreased by 27 ± 5 % after palmitate treatment in myotubes from insulin-resistant, but not from insulin-sensitive subjects (1.50 ± 0.08-fold over basal vs. 1.81 ± 0.09-fold, p = 0.042). Despite this observation, we did not find any impairment in the PI 3-kinase/PKB/GSK-3 pathway. Furthermore, insulin action was not affected by linoleate and 2-bromo-palmitate. In conclusion, our data provide preliminary evidence that insulin resistance of skeletal muscle does not necessarily involve primary defects in insulin action, but could represent susceptibility to the desensitizing effect of fatty acids and possibly other environmental or adipose tissue-derived factors.

Key words

Fatty acids - Insulin sensitivity - Myotubes - Glucose metabolism - Insulin signaling

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1 These authors contributed equally.

Dr. M. Stumvoll

Medizinische Klinik IV · Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen

Otfried-Müller-Straße 10 · 72076 Tübingen · Germany

Phone: + 49 (7071) 298 03 90

Fax: + 49 (7071) 29 52 77 ·

Email: michael.stumvoll@med.uni-tuebingen.de

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