Independent control of selected insulin-sensitive cell membrane and intracellular functions-the linkage of cell membrane and intracellular events controlled by insulin. III. The influence of trypsin on cell membrane hexose transport and on glycogen synthase and mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase activation.

Brief treatment of rat adipocytes with low concentration of trypsin activated both cell membrane and intracellular insulin-sensitive functions in marked contrast H2O2 (1), increase in pH, and oxidized glutathione (papers I and II). Glucose oxidation was activated maximally by trypsin in 30 s and preceded maximal activation of glycogen synthase, which occurred in 60s. Trypsin action to activate glycogen synthase was further enhanced by insulin. Mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase was also rapidly activated by trypsin. With both insulin and trypsin action, mediator generation was directly demonstrated by glycogen synthase phosphoprotein phosphatase activation. Trypsin is thus the most insulin-like of these four agents studied since it acts by the formation of chemical mediator peptide(s) which are similar but not identical to those produced by insulin.