title: Effects of insulin and transgenic overexpression of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase on UDP-glucose and glycogen accumulation in skeletal muscle fibers.
abstract: UDP-glucose (UDP-Glc) and glycogen levels in skeletal muscle fibers of defined fiber type were measured using microanalytical methods. Infusing rats with insulin increased glycogen in both Type I and Type II fibers. Insulin was without effect on UDP-Glc in Type I fibers but decreased UDP-Glc by 35-40% in Type IIA/D and Type IIB fibers. The reduction in UDP-Glc suggested that UDP-Glc pyrophosphorylase (PPL) activity might limit glycogen synthesis in response to insulin. To explore this possibility, we generated mice overexpressing a UDP-Glc PPL transgene in skeletal muscle. The transgene increased both UDP-Glc PPL activity and levels of UDP-Glc in skeletal muscles by approximately 3-fold. However, overexpression of UDP-Glc PPL was without effect on either the levels of skeletal muscle glycogen or glucose tolerance in vivo. The transgene was also without effect on either control or insulin-stimulated rates of (14)C-glucose incorporation into glycogen in muscles incubated in vitro. The results indicate that UDP-Glc PPL activity is not limiting for glycogen synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1300 Jefferson Park Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: Yunbae
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pak
authors.forename: Thurl E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manchester
authors.forename: Eugene J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lawrence
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics*; D005957:UTP-Glucose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014532:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D006003:Glycogen; D005957:UTP-Glucose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase; D014532:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose