Authors

Takashi Sasaki *, Yuichi Watanabe, Ayane Kuboyama, Akira Oikawa, Makoto Shimizu, Yoshio Yamauchi, and Ryuichiro Sato *

Abstract

TGR5, a G protein-coupled bile acid receptor, is expressed in various tissues and regulates several physiological processes. In the skeletal muscle, TGR5 activation is known to induce muscle hypertrophy; however, the effects on glucose and lipid metabolism are not well understood, despite the fact that the skeletal muscle plays a major role in energy metabolism. Here, we demonstrate that skeletal muscle-specific TGR5 transgenic (Tg) mice exhibit increased glucose utilization, without altering the expression of major genes related to glucose and lipid metabolism. Metabolite profiling analysis by CE-TOF MS showed that glycolytic flux was activated in the skeletal muscle of Tg mice, leading to an increase in glucose utilization. Upon long-term, high-fat diet (HFD) challenge, blood glucose clearance was improved in Tg mice without an accompanying increase in insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and a reduction of body weight. Moreover, Tg mice showed improved age-associated glucose intolerance. These results strongly suggest that TGR5 ameliorated glucose metabolism disorder that is caused by diet-induced obesity and aging by enhancing the glucose metabolic capacity of skeletal muscle. Our study demonstrates that TGR5 activation in the skeletal muscle is effective in improving glucose metabolism and may be beneficial in developing a novel strategy for the prevention or treatment of hyperglycemia.

Paper Information

Journal
: The Journal of Biological Chemistry
DOI
: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.016203
: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021925820001234