Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate from Acaudina molpadioides improves hyperglycemia via activation of PKB/GLUT4 signaling in skeletal muscle of insulin resistant mice.

In this study, we investigated the improvement of fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (CHS) from the cucumber Acaudina molpadioides on hyperglycemia in skeletal muscle of insulin resistant mice. CHS, rosiglitazone (RSG), and their combinations were supplemented to high-fat high-sucrose diet (HFSD)-fed C57BL/6J mice for 19 weeks. The results showed that CHS treatment remarkably decreased blood glucose level and insulin resistance. The glucose metabolism-related genes expressions at the transcriptional level were apparently increased in skeletal muscle. Although the total protein expressions of IR-β, IRS-1, PI3K, PKB and GLUT4 in skeletal muscle were not affected, insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation and phosphorylation of Tyr-IR-β, Tyr612-IRS-1, p85-PI3K, Ser473-PKB, and Thr308-PKB were significantly increased by CHS supplement. Additionally, combination of CHS and RSG produced synergistic effects on anti-hyperglycemia. These results indicate that CHS can alleviate hyperglycemia via activation of the PKB/GLUT4 signaling pathway in skeletal muscle of insulin resistant mice.