Leptin increases glucose transport and utilization in skeletal muscle in vitro.

1. The present study examines the effect of leptin on glucose transport and metabolism in incubated soleus muscle from male lean albino rats. 2. Insulin (100 microU/ml) increased glucose uptake by twofold while the leptin group (100 nmol/l) reached 75% of the insulin response after 1 hr of incubation. However, leptin did not potentiate the insulin effect on glucose uptake in soleus muscle. 3. Leptin elicited a significant increase (27.7%) in total lactate production, accompanied by a three-fold increment in glycogen synthesis from [U-14C]D-glucose. 4. Insulin raised glycogen synthesis by sixfold. The leptin plus insulin group increased glycogen synthesis by eightfold, which is equivalent to the sum of the separated leptin and insulin groups. 5. Leptin per se exerts an insulin-like effect stimulating glucose uptake, glycogen synthesis, and lactate formation and also seems to potentiate the effect of insulin on glucose incorporation into glycogen in incubated soleus muscle.