ABBREVIATIONS
EFA
LA
ALA
OA
PO
POA
araA
2-NBDG
MTT
PKCθ
JNK
AMPK
ACC
INTRODUCTION

METHODS
Materials
Cell culture and fatty acid treatment
Measurement of glucose uptake activity using 2-NBDG
Cell viability assay
Western blot analysis
Statistical analysis

RESULTS
Effect of fatty acid treatment on cell viability
Effect of EFAs on PA-induced impairment in glucose uptake
![]() | Fig. 1Concentration-dependent effect of palmitic acid (PA) on 2-NBDG uptake of C2C12 cells in the presence or absence of 100 nM insulin (A). Effects of oleic acid (OA), linoleic acid (LA), and α-linolenic acid (ALA) on PA-induced impairment of 2-NBDG uptake in C2C12 cells (B). Cells were incubated with different kinds of 500 µM fatty acids either alone or in combination for 18 h. And then, cells were incubated with or without 100 nM insulin. Glucose uptake activity was measured using a fluorescent 2-NBDG as described in Methods. The results are presented as means±SEM of 6 independent experiments. **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 compared to untreated control group and #p<0.05, ##p<0.01, ###p<0.001 compared to insulin-untreated group. |
Effect of EFAs on PA-induced suppression of insulin signaling
![]() | Fig. 2Effects of palmitoleic acid (POA, C16:1), oleic acid (OA, C18:1), linoleic acid (LA, C18:2), and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3) on the levels of phosphorylation of Akt in palmitic acid (PA)-treated C2C12 cells. Cells were incubated with different kinds and concentrations of fatty acids either alone or in combination for 18 h. And then, cells were incubated with or without 100 nM insulin. The level of p-Akt was detected by Western blotting. The results are presented as means±SEM of 4 independent experiments. **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 compared to untreated control group, #p<0.05, ##p<0.01 compared to insulin-treated group, and §p<0.05, §§p<0.01 compared to PA-treated group in the presence of 100 nM insulin. |
![]() | Fig. 3Effects of palmitoleic acid (POA, C16:1), oleic acid (OA, C18:1), linoleic acid (LA, C18:2), and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3) on the levels of phosphorylation of PKCθ (A) and JNK (B) in palmitic acid (PA)-treated C2C12 cells. Cells were incubated with different kinds and concentrations of fatty acids either alone or in combination for 18 h. The levels of p-PKCθ and p-JNK were detected by Western blotting. The results are presented as means±SEM of 4 independent experiments. **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 compared to untreated control group, and §p<0.05, §§p<0.01, §§§p<0.001, compared to PA-treated group. |
Involvement of AMPK in glucose uptake stimulated by EFAs
![]() | Fig. 4Effects of oleic acid (OA), linoleic acid (LA), α-linolenic acid (ALA), and metformin (Met) on 2-NBDG uptake of C2C12 cells in the presence or absence of an AMPK inhibitor, araA (A) and the levels of phosphorylation of AMPK and ACC (B~D). Cells were incubated with different kinds of 500 µM fatty acids and 1 mM Met for 18 h. A specific AMPK inhibitor, araA (2 mM) was added to medium at 20 min before incubation of fatty acid. Glucose uptake activity was measured using a fluorescent 2-NBDG as described in Methods. The levels of p-AMPK and ACC were detected by Western blotting. The results are presented as means±SEM of 6 independent experiments. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 compared to untreated control group, #p<0.05, ##p<0.01 compared to araA-untreated corresponding group. |

DISCUSSION
