Unbalanced Expression of the Different Subunits of Elongation Factor 1 in Diabetic Skeletal Muscle

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 98; no. 6; pp. 3422 - 3427
• Main Authors: Reynet, Christine, Kahn, C. Ronald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 13.03.2001; National Acad Sciences; The National Academy of Sciences
• Subjects: Animals; Biological Sciences; Cloning; Cloning, Molecular; Diabetes; Diabetes complications; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - genetics; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - pathology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - genetics; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - pathology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - genetics; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - pathology; elongation factor EF-1; Gene Expression; Genes; Humans; Insulin; Male; Medical research; Messenger RNA; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred NOD; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Muscles; Peptide Elongation Factor 1 - genetics; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; RNA; RNA, Messenger; Skeletal muscle; streptozotocin; Type 1 diabetes mellitus; Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.051630398

In studies using subtraction cloning to screen for alterations in mRNA expression in skeletal muscle from humans with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and control subjects, one of the most prominent differences was in the mRNA for elongation factor (EF)-1α. With Northern blot analysis, EF-1α expression was enhanced by 2- to 6-fold in both Types 1 and 2 human diabetics. In contrast, no changes in expression of EF-1β or -γ were noted. We observed similar results in animal models of Type 1 diabetes. EF-1α expression, but not EF-1β or -γ expression, was also enhanced in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, and this effect was reversed by insulin treatment. An increased level of EF-1α mRNA was also observed in nonobese diabetic mice. This unbalanced regulation of the expression of the different subunits of EF-1 may contribute to alterations not only in protein synthesis but also in other cellular events observed in the diabetic state.