Insulin-sensitive regulation of glucose transport and GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle of GLUT1 transgenic mice.

Skeletal muscle glucose transport was examined in transgenic mice overexpressing the glucose transporter GLUT1 using both the isolated incubated-muscle preparation and the hind-limb perfusion technique. In the absence of insulin, 2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake was increased approximately 3-8-fold in isolated fast-twitch muscles of GLUT1 transgenic mice compared with non-transgenic siblings. Similarly, basal glucose transport activity was increased approximately 4-14-fold in perfused fast-twitch muscles of transgenic mice. In non-transgenic mice insulin accelerated glucose transport activity approximately 2-3-fold in isolated muscles and to a much greater extent ( approximately 7-20-fold) in perfused hind-limb preparations. The observed effect of insulin on glucose transport in transgenic muscle was similarly dependent upon the technique used for measurement, as insulin had no effect on isolated fast-twitch muscle from transgenic mice, but significantly enhanced glucose transport in perfused fast-twitch muscle from transgenic mice to approximately 50-75% of the magnitude of the increase observed in non-transgenic mice. Cell-surface glucose transporter content was assessed via 2-N-4-(l-azi-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)benzoyl-1,3-bis-(d -mannos-4-yloxy)-2-propylamine photolabelling methodology in both isolated and perfused extensor digitorum longus (EDL). Cell-surface GLUT1 was enhanced by as much as 70-fold in both isolated and perfused EDL of transgenic mice. Insulin did not alter cell-surface GLUT1 in either transgenic or non-transgenic mice. Basal levels of cell-surface GLUT4, measured in either isolated or perfused EDL, were similar in transgenic and non-transgenic mice. Interestingly, insulin enhanced cell-surface GLUT4 approximately 2-fold in isolated EDL and approximately 6-fold in perfused EDL of both transgenic and non-transgenic mice. In summary, these results reveal differences between isolated muscle and perfused hind-limb techniques, with the latter method showing a more robust responsiveness to insulin. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that muscle overexpressing GLUT1 has normal insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation and the ability to augment glucose-transport activity above the elevated basal rates.