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Oral treatment with vanadium of Zucker fatty rats activates muscle glycogen synthesis and insulin-stimulated protein phosphatase-1 activity

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Abstract

Since the glucose-lowering effects of vanadium could be related to increased muscle glycogen synthesis, we examined the in vivo effects of vanadium and insulin treatment on glycogen synthase (GS) activation in Zucker fatty rats. The GS fractional activity (GSFA), protein phosphatase-1 (PP1), and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) activity were determined in fatty and lean rats following treatment with bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BMOV) for 3 weeks (0.2 mmol/kg/day) administered in drinking water. Skeletal muscle was freeze-clamped before or following an insulin injection (5 U/kg i.v.). In both lean and fatty rats, muscle GSFA was significantly increased at 15 min following insulin stimulation. Vanadium treatment resulted in decreased insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity in the fatty rats. Interestingly, this treatment stimulated muscle GSFA by 2-fold (p < 0.05) and increased insulin-stimulated PP1 activity by 77% (p < 0.05) in the fatty rats as compared to untreated rats. Insulin resistance, vanadium and insulin in vivo treatment did not affect muscle GSK-3β activity in either fatty or lean rats. Therefore, an impaired insulin sensitivity in the Zucker fatty rats was improved following vanadium treatment, resulting in an enhanced muscle glucose metabolism through increased GS and insulin-stimulated PP1 activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

    Sabina Semiz

  2. Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of British Columbia, 2146 East Mall, Vancouver, B.C, V6T 1Z3, Canada

    John H. McNeill

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Semiz, S., McNeill, J.H. Oral treatment with vanadium of Zucker fatty rats activates muscle glycogen synthesis and insulin-stimulated protein phosphatase-1 activity. Mol Cell Biochem 236, 123–131 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016116700632

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