24 November 2014

New role for a muscle enzym (mTORC2)

muscle metabolism research

A new study published by Section of Molecular Physiology in Molecular Metabolism shows that the enzyme mTORC2 has an important role in regulation of insulin sensitivity and substrate utilization in muscle in vivo

Blockade of the enzymes mTORC1 and mTORC2 by a drug AZD8055 used in treatment of some forms of cancer, reveals that particularly mTORC2 has until now unrecognized effects on whole body metabolism.

Blockade of the enzyme leads to marked increase in lipid oxidation and insulin resistance, the latter primarily by inhibition of glycolysis in muscle. Insulin resistance and impaired glycolysis were also found in mTORC2 KO mice.

The findings were recently published in the open access journal Molecular Metabolism "Acute mTOR inhibition induces insulin resistance and alters substrate utilization in vivo".

Contact

Professor Erik Richter, erichter@nexs.ku.dk, +45 28 75 16 26

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