Visfatin regulates glucose uptake via AMPK

Visfatin is a novel adipocytokine produced by visceral fat. Lee and colleagues found that visfatin increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in mouse C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. This was determined directly by observing glucose uptake in visfatin-treated cells, and indirectly through knockdown of the insulin receptor and examination of GLUT4 plasma membrane localization in the presence of visfatin. This study indicates that visfatin plays an important role in glucose metabolism via the Ca2+-mediated AMPK–p38 MAPK pathway.

Read the full article at Lee et al. (2015) Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 54 251–262. DOI:10.1530/JME-14-0274