Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.1.1 (hexokinase)
 5,274 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Insulin resistance is a principal feature of type 2 diabetes and precedes the clinical development of the disease by 10 to 20 years. Insulin resistance is caused by the decreased ability of peripheral target tissues (especially muscle) to respond properly to normal circulating concentrations of insulin. Defects in muscle glycogen synthesis play a significant role in insulin resistance, and 3 potentially rate-controlling steps in muscle glucose metabolism have been implicated in its pathogenesis: glycogen synthase, hexokinase, and GLUT4 (the major insulin-stimulated glucose transporter). Results from recent studies using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy implicate intracellular defects in glucose transport as the rate-controlling step for insulin-mediated glucose uptake in muscle. These alterations in glucose transport activity are likely the result of dysregulation of intramyocellular fatty acid metabolism, whereby fatty acids cause insulin resistance by activation of a serine kinase cascade, leading to decreased insulin-stimulated insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 tyrosine phosphorylation and decreased IRS-1-associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, a required step in insulin-stimulated glucose transport into muscle. The thiazolidinedione class of antidiabetic agents directly targets insulin resistance in skeletal muscle by improving glucose transport activity and insulin-stimulated muscle glycogen synthesis. Although the precise mechanism of action is not known, recent NMR studies support the hypothesis that these agents improve insulin action in skeletal muscle and liver by promoting a redistribution of fat out of these tissues and into peripheral adipocytes.
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PMID:Pathogenesis of skeletal muscle insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus. 1223 Oct 74

Insulin resistance is a pivotal feature in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, and it may be detected 10-20 y before the clinical onset of hyperglycemia. Insulin resistance is due to the reduced ability of peripheral target tissues to respond properly to insulin stimulation. In particular, impaired insulin-stimulated muscle glycogen synthesis plays a significant role in insulin resistance. Glucose transport (GLUT4), phosphorylation (hexokinase) and storage (glycogen synthase) are the three potential rate-controlling steps regulating insulin-stimulated muscle glucose metabolism, and all three have been implicated as being the major defects responsible for causing insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes. Using (13)C/(31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), we demonstrate that a defect in insulin-stimulated muscle glucose transport activity is the rate-controlling defect. Using a similar (13)C/(31)P MRS approach, we have also demonstrated that fatty acids cause insulin resistance in humans due to a decrease in insulin-stimulated muscle glucose transport activity, which could be attributed to reduced insulin-stimulated IRS-1-associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, a required step in insulin-stimulated glucose transport into muscle. Furthermore, we have recently proposed that this defect in insulin-stimulated muscle glucose transport activity may be due to the activation of a serine kinase cascade involving protein kinase C theta and IKK-beta, which are key downstream mediators of tissue inflammation. Finally, we propose that any perturbation that leads to an increase in intramyocellular lipid (fatty acid metabolites) content such as acquired or inherited defects in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, defects in adipocyte fat metabolism or simply increased fat delivery to muscle/liver due to increased energy intake will lead to insulin resistance through this final common pathway. Understanding these key cellular mechanisms of insulin resistance should help elucidate new targets for treating type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:Cellular mechanism of insulin resistance: potential links with inflammation. 1470 36