spexin通过增强胰岛素介导的PI3K/Akt信号通路调控草鱼糖代谢

Spexin regulates glucose metabolism by enhancing the insulin-mediated PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

  • 摘要:
    目的 spexin(SPX)是由14个氨基酸组成的多肽类激素,在鱼类中存在SPX1和SPX2两种亚型。为了探究spexin是否能够通过增强胰岛素介导的PI3K/Akt信号通路,从而调控草鱼(Ctenopharyngodon idella)肝细胞糖代谢。
    方法 实验以草鱼为研究对象,使用原代肝细胞,通过Western blot实验,探究SPX1和SPX2对原代肝细胞PI3K/AKT信号通路的影响;并分别使用PI3K和Akt的抑制剂阻断该信号通路,利用荧光定量PCR技术,比较阻断上述信号通路前后,SPX1、SPX2对胰岛素介导的糖代谢作用的变化。
    结果 结果显示,胰岛素可激活PI3K/Akt信号通路,胰岛素与100 nM SPX1或SPX2共同处理原代肝细胞15 min时Akt蛋白磷酸化水平最高(P < 0.05)。SPX1或SPX2均可增强胰岛素对PI3K/Akt信号通路的激活作用,进一步提高糖酵解关键酶基因(gkpkpfkla)、葡萄糖转运蛋白2(glut2)和糖原合成酶基因(gys)mRNA的表达水平(P < 0.05),抑制糖异生关键酶基因(g6pasepepck)及糖原分解酶基因(pygl)mRNA的表达(P < 0.05)。
    结论 研究表明,SPX1和SPX2增强了胰岛素对PI3K/Akt信号通路的激活作用,进一步促进了肝细胞的糖酵解和糖原合成,抑制了糖异生和糖原分解途径,表明其可在肝细胞中增强胰岛素的糖代谢调控作用。

     

    Abstract: Fish exhibit a relatively low capacity for carbohydrate utilization. When fed a high-carbohydrate diet, fish exhibit increased hepatic glycogen content, which can disrupt normal liver metabolic functions. In recent years, investigating carbohydrate utilization and energy metabolism mechanisms across different fish species has become an active area of fish fish nutrition research. Under physiological conditions, blood glucose homeostasis is primarily maintained through the antagonistic actions of insulin and glucagon, with insulin being the most important hypoglycemic hormone in the body. Studies have found that endocrine mediators can influence the secretion and antagonistic balance between insulin and glucagon, ultimately regulating blood glucose levels by modulating glucose uptake, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, as well as glycogen synthesis and breakdown. In mammals, spexin has been demonstrated to play significant roles in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism and alleviating insulin resistance. Spexin (SPX) is a polypeptide hormone composed of 14 amino acids, and two isoforms, SPX1 and SPX2, exist in fish. Our previous research has indicated that both SPX1 and SPX2 enhance insulin action in hepatocytes, thereby increasing hepatic insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, studies in fish have shown an association between spexin and the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Inhibition of PI3K or Akt attenuated insulin-mediated spx1 mRNA expression. Given that the PI3K/Akt pathway is a classical insulin signaling cascade, we hypothesized that spexin exerts its regulatory functions via this signaling axis. Using in vitro approaches, this study investigates the roles of SPX1 and SPX2 in regulating glucose metabolism via enhanced insulin-mediated PI3K/Akt signaling in the hepatocytes of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Western blot analysis was used to examine the effects of spexin on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in the primary hepatocytes. Additionally, specific inhibitors of PI3K and Akt were employed to block this pathway, followed by quantitative real-time PCR to assess changes in insulin-mediated SPX1/SPX2 effects on glucose metabolism. Our results showed that insulin activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and the phosphorylation level of Akt protein peaked at 15 minutes after co-treatment of primary hepatocytes with insulin and 100 nM spexin (P < 0.05). SPX1 or SPX2 enhanced the activating effect of insulin on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, further elevating the mRNA expression levels of key glycolytic enzyme genes (gk, pk, and pfkla), glucose transporter 2 (glut2), and glycogen synthase gene (gys) (P < 0.05), and inhibiting the mRNA expression of key gluconeogenic enzyme genes (g6pase, pepck) and glycogen phosphorylase gene (pygl) (P < 0.05). These results indicated that SPX1 and SPX2 enhanced the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activated by insulin, further promoting glycolysis and glycogen synthesis in the hepatocytes, and inhibiting gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis pathways, which demonstrates that spexin enhance insulin-mediated regulation of glucose metabolism in the hepatocytes. This study clarified the indirect regulatory roles and mechanisms of spexin on glucose metabolism in the hepatocytes of grass carp, which provides a foundation for further in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the endocrine network regulating glucose metabolism in fish.

     

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