Regulation of cardiac long-chain fatty acid and glucose uptake by translocation of substrate transporters

Cardiac uptake of long-chain fatty acids (FA) is mediated predominantly by two membrane-associated proteins, the 43-kDa plasma membrane fatty acid-binding protein (FABPpm) and the 88-kDa fatty acid translocase/CD36 (FAT/CD36). While FABPpm is present constitutively in the sarcolemma, FAT/CD36 is recycled between an intracellular membrane compartment and the sarcolemma. Since the amount of sarcolemmal FAT/CD36 is a major determinant of cellular FA uptake, understanding of the regulation of its recycling is likely to provide new insights into altering substrate preference of the heart. FAT/CD36 recycling displays a remarkable similarity with that of the two glucose transporters (GLUT) in the heart, GLUT1 and GLUT4. Translocation of all three transporters is induced by insulin and by contraction, which stimuli activate distinct signalling cascades. The insulin pathway involves phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) whilst the contraction pathway is dependent on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). For the identification of additional protein components involved in the regulation of FAT/CD36 recycling, valuable lessons can be learned from GLUT1 and GLUT4 recycling. Especially GLUT4 recycling is an intensively studied process in which a number of signalling proteins, both upstream and downstream from PI3 K and AMPK, have been identified, as well as proteins that are part of the translocation machinery involving Rab GTPases and soluble N-ethylmaleimide attachment protein receptors (SNAREs). Comparison of the magnitude of the effects of insulin and contraction on substrate uptake and on transporter appearance in the sarcolemma have revealed that FAT/CD36 recycling resembles GLUT1 recycling more closely than that of GLUT4. This pinpoints the recycling compartment and excludes a pre-endosomal storage compartment as the intracellular storage site for FAT/CD36. Further research will probably establish whether FAT/CD36 translocation is (partly) coupled to that of one or both GLUTs or, alternatively, whether it is a distinct process that also can be induced independently of GLUT1 or GLUT4 movement. In the latter case, a unique set of proteins would be dedicated to FAT/CD36 recycling, which would then provide an attractive target for manipulating cardiac substrate preference.