Abstract
Insulin resistance is often accompanied by elevated circulating branched-chain amino acids (BCAA). We investigated the effects of insulin resistance on the mitochondrial BCAA transporter, SLC25A44, using a myotube model of insulin resistance. Insulin sensitivity and SLC25A44 expression were assessed via Western blot. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to evaluate extracellular BCAA media content. Insulin resistance reduced pAkt activation following insulin stimulation but did not alter SLC25A44 expression. Under select conditions, insulin resistance led to the accumulation of extracellular BCAA.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00726-023-03336-8/MediaObjects/726_2023_3336_Fig1_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00726-023-03336-8/MediaObjects/726_2023_3336_Fig2_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- BCAA:
-
Branched-chain amino acids
- BCAT:
-
Branched-chain aminotransferase
- BCKDH:
-
Branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase
- IRS-1:
-
Insulin receptor substrate 1
- LAT1:
-
L-type amino acid transporter 1
- PI3K:
-
Phosphoinositide 3 kinase
- SLC25A44:
-
Solute carrier family 25 member 44
References
Arany Z, Neinast M (2018) Branched chain amino acids in metabolic disease. Curr Diab Rep 18(10):76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-018-1048-7
Boulet MM, Chevrier G, Grenier-Larouche T, Pelletier M, Nadeau M, Scarpa J et al (2015) Alterations of plasma metabolite profiles related to adipose tissue distribution and cardiometabolic risk. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 309(8):E736-746. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00231.2015
Gannon NP, Schnuck JK, Vaughan RA (2018) BCAA metabolism and insulin sensitivity—dysregulated by metabolic status? Mol Nutr Food Res 62(6):e1700756. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201700756
Holeček M (2020) Why are branched-chain amino acids increased in starvation and diabetes? Nutrients 12(10):3087. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103087
Kumar N, Dey CS (2002) Metformin enhances insulin signalling in insulin-dependent and-independent pathways in insulin resistant muscle cells. Br J Pharmacol 137(3):329–336. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjp.0704878
Kumar N, Dey CS (2003) Development of insulin resistance and reversal by thiazolidinediones in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. Biochem Pharmacol 65(2):249–257
Lackey DE, Lynch CJ, Olson KC, Mostaedi R, Ali M, Smith WH et al (2013) Regulation of adipose branched-chain amino acid catabolism enzyme expression and cross-adipose amino acid flux in human obesity. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 304(11):E1175-1187. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00630.2012
Lee S, Gulseth HL, Langleite TM, Norheim F, Olsen T, Refsum H et al (2021) Branched-chain amino acid metabolism, insulin sensitivity and liver fat response to exercise training in sedentary dysglycaemic and normoglycaemic men. Diabetologia 64(2):410–423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-020-05296-0
Lynch CJ, Adams SH (2014) Branched-chain amino acids in metabolic signalling and insulin resistance. Nat Rev Endocrinol 10(12):723–736. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.171
Mann G, Mora S, Madu G, Adegoke OAJ (2021) Branched-chain amino acids: catabolism in skeletal muscle and implications for muscle and whole-body metabolism. Front Physiol 12:702826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.702826
Newgard CB (2012) Interplay between lipids and branched-chain amino acids in development of insulin resistance. Cell Metab 15(5):606–614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2012.01.024
Rivera CN, Kamer MM, Rivera ME, Watne RM, Macgowan TC, Wommack AJ, Vaughan RA (2023) Insulin resistance promotes extracellular BCAA accumulation without altering LAT1 content, independent of prior BCAA treatment in a myotube model of skeletal muscle. Mol Cell Endocrinol 559:111800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2022.111800
Rivera ME, Lyon ES, Johnson MA, Vaughan RA (2020) Leucine increases mitochondrial metabolism and lipid content without altering insulin signaling in myotubes. Biochimie 168:124–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biochi.2019.10.017
Vanweert F, Schrauwen P, Phielix E (2022) Role of branched-chain amino acid metabolism in the pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes-related metabolic disturbances BCAA metabolism in type 2 diabetes. Nutr Diabetes 12(1):35. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41387-022-00213-3
White PJ, McGarrah RW, Herman MA, Bain JR, Shah SH, Newgard CB (2021) Insulin action, type 2 diabetes, and branched-chain amino acids: a two-way street. Mol Metab 52:101261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2021.101261
Yoneshiro T, Wang Q, Tajima K, Matsushita M, Maki H, Igarashi K et al (2019) BCAA catabolism in brown fat controls energy homeostasis through SLC25A44. Nature 572(7771):614–619. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1503-x
Funding
This work was supported by the Department of Health and Human Performance within the Congdon School of Health Sciences. Additional support was provided by the High Point University Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Small Project Support Grant (F-22-14). RMW was supported by the HPU Natural Science Fellows Program. Instrumentation support was provided by the Shimadzu Partnership for Academics, Research and Quality of Life (SPARQ) Program. We would also like to thank the Department of Physical Therapy (Congdon School of Health Sciences) for the use of shared lab space and equipment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
CNR, RMW, and AJW conducted experiments and assisted with manuscript preparation. RAV conceived the study, conducted, and oversaw experiments, performed all statistical analyses, and oversaw manuscript preparation. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Authors and contributors declare no conflict of interest.
Ethics approval
Not applicable. This research falls outside of human or animal studies and institutional ethical approval was not required.
Consent to participate and consent to publish
Not applicable.
Additional information
Handling editor: E. Closs.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Rivera, C.N., Watne, R.M., Wommack, A.J. et al. The effect of insulin resistance on extracellular BCAA accumulation and SLC25A44 expression in a myotube model of skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Amino Acids 55, 1701–1705 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-023-03336-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-023-03336-8