OBJECTIVE—Insulin secretion involves complex events in which the mitochondria play a pivotal role in the generation of signals that couple glucose detection to insulin secretion. Studies on the mitochondrial generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generally focus on chronic nutrient exposure. Here, we investigate whether transient mitochondrial ROS production linked to glucose-induced increased respiration might act as a signal for monitoring insulin secretion. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—ROS production in response to glucose was investigated in freshly isolated rat islets. ROS effects were studied using a pharmacological approach and calcium imaging. RESULTS—Transient glucose increase from 5.5 to 16.7 mmol/l stimulated ROS generation, which was reversed by antioxidants. Insulin secretion was dose dependently blunted by antioxidants and highly correlated with ROS levels. The incapacity of β-cells to secrete insulin in response to glucose with antioxidants was associated with a decrease in ROS production and in contrast to the maintenance of high levels of ATP and NADH. Then, we investigated the mitochondrial origin of ROS (mROS) as the triggering signal. Insulin release was mimicked by the mitochondrial-complex blockers, antimycin and rotenone, that generate mROS. The adding of antioxidants to mitochondrial blockers or to glucose was used to lower mROS reversed insulin secretion. Finally, calcium imaging on perifused islets using glucose stimulation or mitochondrial blockers revealed that calcium mobilization was completely reversed using the antioxidant trolox and that it was of extracellular origin. No toxic effects were present using these pharmacological approaches. CONCLUSIONS—Altogether, these complementary results demonstrate that mROS production is a necessary stimulus for glucose-induced insulin secretion.

The monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1 or SLC16A1) is a carrier of short-chain fatty acids, ketone bodies, and lactate in several tissues. Genetically modified C57BL/6J mice were produced by targeted disruption of the mct1 gene in order to understand the role of this transporter in energy homeostasis. Null mutation was embryonically lethal, but MCT1^+/− mice developed normally. However, when fed high fat diet (HFD), MCT1^+/− mice displayed resistance to development of diet-induced obesity (24.8% lower body weight after 16 weeks of HFD), as well as less insulin resistance and no hepatic steatosis as compared to littermate MCT1^+/+ mice used as controls. Body composition analysis revealed that reduced weight gain in MCT1^+/− mice was due to decreased fat accumulation (50.0% less after 9 months of HFD) notably in liver and white adipose tissue. This phenotype was associated with reduced food intake under HFD (12.3% less over 10 weeks) and decreased intestinal energy absorption (9.6% higher stool energy content). Indirect calorimetry measurements showed ∼ 15% increase in O₂ consumption and CO₂ production during the resting phase, without any changes in physical activity. Determination of plasma concentrations for various metabolites and hormones did not reveal significant changes in lactate and ketone bodies levels between the two genotypes, but both insulin and leptin levels, which were elevated in MCT1^+/+ mice when fed HFD, were reduced in MCT1^+/− mice under HFD. Interestingly, the enhancement in expression of several genes involved in lipid metabolism in the liver of MCT1^+/+ mice under high fat diet was prevented in the liver of MCT1^+/− mice under the same diet, thus likely contributing to the observed phenotype. These findings uncover the critical role of MCT1 in the regulation of energy balance when animals are exposed to an obesogenic diet.

OBJECTIVE: Recent data demonstrated that glucose sensing in different tissues is initiated by an intracellular redox signaling pathway in physiological conditions. However, the relevance of such a mechanism in metabolic disease is not known. The aim of the present study was to determine whether brain glucose hypersensitivity present in obese Zücker rats is related to an alteration in redox signaling. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Brain glucose sensing alteration was investigated in vivo through the evaluation of electrical activity in arcuate nucleus, changes in reactive oxygen species levels, and hypothalamic glucose-induced insulin secretion. In basal conditions, modifications of redox state and mitochondrial functions were assessed through oxidized glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, manganese superoxide dismutase, aconitase activities, and mitochondrial respiration. RESULTS: Hypothalamic hypersensitivity to glucose was characterized by enhanced electrical activity of the arcuate nucleus and increased insulin secretion at a low glucose concentration, which does not produce such an effect in normal rats. It was associated with 1) increased reactive oxygen species levels in response to this low glucose load, 2) constitutive oxidized environment coupled with lower antioxidant enzyme activity at both the cellular and mitochondrial level, and 3) overexpression of several mitochondrial subunits of the respiratory chain coupled with a global dysfunction in mitochondrial activity. Moreover, pharmacological restoration of the glutathione hypothalamic redox state by reduced glutathione infusion in the third ventricle fully reversed the cerebral hypersensitivity to glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrated that obese Zücker rats' impaired hypothalamic regulation in terms of glucose sensing is linked to an abnormal redox signaling, which originates from mitochondria dysfunction.

Hypothalamic glucose detection participates in maintaining glycemic balance, food intake, and thermogenesis. Although hypothalamic neurons are the executive cells involved in these responses, there is increasing evidence that astrocytes participate in glucose sensing (GS); however, it is unknown whether astroglial networking is required for glucose sensitivity. Astroglial connexins 30 and 43 (Cx30 and Cx43) form hexameric channels, which are apposed in gap junctions, allowing for the intercellular transfer of small molecules such as glucose throughout the astroglial networks. Here, we hypothesized that hypothalamic glucose sensitivity requires these connexins. First, we showed that both Cxs are enriched in the rat hypothalamus, with highly concentrated Cx43 expression around blood vessels of the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH). Both fasting and high glycemic levels rapidly altered the protein levels of MBH astroglial connexins, suggesting cross talk within the MBH between glycemic status and the connexins' ability to dispatch glucose. Finally, the inhibition of MBH Cx43 (by transient RNA interference) attenuated hypothalamic glucose sensitivity in rats, which was demonstrated by a pronounced decreased insulin secretion in response to a brain glucose challenge. These results illustrate that astroglial connexins contribute to hypothalamic GS.