The Role of Myosin II in GLUT4 Activity and Membrane Fusion during Insulin-Stimulated Glucose Uptake in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Bethany Tralana-Thompson Smith (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Yashomati Patel

Abstract: Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is a vital physiological process, which requires the translocation and fusion of insulin sensitive glucose transporter (GLUT4) vesicles from intracellular pools to the plasma membrane. Previous studies have implicated cortical actin reorganization in proper GLUT4-mediated glucose uptake. However, not much is known about how cortical actin is reorganized to allow GLUT4 vesicle fusion to the plasma membrane. A recent study found that myosin II is necessary in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and implicated myosin II as a possible mechanism for cortical actin reorganization. Our study further examined the role of myosin II in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. We found that myosin II associates with GLUT4 vesicles upon insulin stimulation. This study also found that myosin II is necessary for proper GLUT4 vesicle fusion and activation. The findings in this study are the first to demonstrate the dual role myosin II plays in GLUT4 vesicle fusion and activation during insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Our results provide further understanding into cellular and molecular mechanisms necessary for proper glucose uptake.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, physiological process, translocation, fusion, glucose transporter (GLUT4), plasma membrane, cortical actin
Subjects
Blood Glucose $x metabolism.
Insulin $x metabolism.
Glucose $x Physiological transport.
Blood glucose $x Molecular aspects.
Adipocytes $x Physiology.
Myosin $x Physiology.

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