Chronic palmitate exposure inhibits AMPKα and decreases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from β-cells:: modulation by fenofibrate

Aim: Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a vital regulator of glucose metabolism, may affect insulin secretion in beta-cells. However, the role of AMPK in beta-cell lipotoxicity remains unclear. Fenofibrate has been reported to regulate lipid homeostasis and is involved in insulin secretion in pancreatic beta-cells. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of palmitate on AMPK expression and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in rat islets and INS-1 beta-cell, as well as the effect of fenofibrate on AMPK and GSIS in INS-1 cells treated with palmitate. Methods: Isolated rat islets and INS-1 beta-cells were treated with and without palmitate or fenofibrate for 48 h. The mRNA levels of the AMPK alpha isoforms were measured by real-time PCR. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of total AMPK alpha (T-AMPK alpha), phosphorylated AMPK alpha (P-AMPK alpha), and phosphorylated acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (P-ACC). Insulin secretion was detected by radioimmunoassay induced by 20 mmol/L glucose as GSIS. Results: The results showed that chronic exposure of beta-cells to palmitate for 48 h inhibited the expression of AMPK alpha 1 mRNA and T-AMPK alpha protein levels, as well as P-AMPK alpha and P-ACC protein expressions in a dose-dependent manner. Accordingly, GSIS was inhibited by palmitate. Compared with the palmitate-treated cells, fenofibrate ameliorated these changes impaired by palmitate and exhibited a significant elevation in the expression of AMPK alpha and GSIS. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a role of AMPK alpha reduction in beta-cell lipotoxicity and a novel role of fenofibrate in improving GSIS associated with the AMPK alpha activation in beta-cells chronically exposed to palmitate.