Acute low-dose endotoxin treatment results in improved whole-body glucose homeostasis in mice.
Obese individuals present with an increased inflammatory tone as compared to healthy, normal-weight individuals, which is associated with insulin resistance. One factor hypothesized to contribute to increased inflammation in obese and diabetic states is elevated blood endotoxin levels, a condition known as metabolic endotoxemia. In non-obese and insulin sensitive individuals, circulating endotoxin concentrations fluctuate over the course of the day with elevations in the post-prandial state that return to baseline levels in the post-absorptive state. Evidence suggests that high-fat feeding alters these fluctuations causing endotoxin levels to remain high throughout the day. The effects of alterations in endotoxin levels on glucose metabolism are not clearly understood.



The goal of this study was to determine the effects of both short-term and long-term increases in endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) of a low magnitude on the glucose tolerance and insulin signaling in a human primary cell line as well as the effects of short-term endotoxin treatments on glucose homeostasis in a C57/Bl6 mouse model. First, we tested the hypothesis that short-term low-dose endotoxin treatments would augment insulin signaling and glycogen synthesis while long-term treatments would be disruptive in the cell culture model. Second, we examined if these short-term low dose treatments of endotoxin would contribute to similar improvements in whole-body glucose homeostasis in a mouse model.



Contrary to our initial hypothesis, short-term endotoxin treatment had no effect on insulin signaling or glycogen synthesis, however long-term treatment indeed decreased glycogen synthesis (P<.05). Interestingly, short-term endotoxin treatment resulted in significant improvements in glucose homeostasis in the mouse model (P<.01); which is believed to be at least partly attributed to an inhibitory action of LPS on liver glucose production.



This research shows that low-magnitude, short-term changes in LPS can have significant effects on whole body glucose metabolism and this likely occurs through its direct actions on the liver. Additional studies are necessary to understand the mechanisms responsible for altered glucose metabolism in response to low magnitude changes in LPS levels.
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Joseph R
JR
Stevens
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA; Metabolic Phenotyping Core, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Ryan P
RP
McMillan
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Justin T
JT
Resendes
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Shannon K
SK
Lloyd
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Mostafa M
MM
Ali
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Madlyn I
MI
Frisard
Department of Medicine/Division of Endocrinology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Stefan
S
Hargett
Department of Medicine/Division of Endocrinology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Susanna R
SR
Keller
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA; Metabolic Phenotyping Core, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Electronic address: hulvermw@vt.edu.
Matthew W
MW
Hulver
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005943:Gluconeogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D051275:Glucose Transporter Type 4 / Q000378:metabolism; D006003:Glycogen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000502:physiology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
D004731:Endotoxins; D051275:Glucose Transporter Type 4; D007328:Insulin; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C495693:Slc2a4 protein, mouse; D006003:Glycogen; D005947:Glucose
Endotoxin; Glucose homeostasis; LPS; Metabolic endotoxemia; Skeletal muscle