Endocrinology, Vol 113, 1763-1770, Copyright © 1983 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Insulin-stimulated methylaminoisobutyric acid uptake in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts and fat cells

C Grunfeld and DS Jones

3T3-L1 fibroblasts and fat cells have been extensively used to study the development of insulin-stimulated glucose and lipid metabolism during adipocyte differentiation in vitro. In this paper we explore the ability of insulin to stimulate amino acid uptake in 3T3-L1 cells using the nonmetabolizable amino acid analog methylaminoisobutyric acid (MAIB). In differentiated 3T3-L1 fat cells, a 12-h preincubation with insulin was required for maximal stimulation of MAIB uptake. In contrast, in the undifferentiated fibroblasts, insulin stimulation peaked between 6 and 8 h and then declined significantly. Maximal stimulation of MAIB uptake in the differentiated fat cell exceeded that in the fibroblast phenotype. This increased ability of insulin to stimulate MAIB uptake in fat cells appeared within the first day after removal of the differentiation medium. 3T3-L1 fat cells were 30 times more sensitive to the effects of insulin on MAIB transport than the undifferentiated fibroblasts. These findings are consistent with previous data on insulin-stimulated deoxyglucose uptake, in that the increased sensitivity to insulin with differentiation is more than can be accounted for by the increase in receptor number. The activity of porcine proinsulin indicates that this stimulation reflects the known characteristics of the insulin receptor. The stimulation of MAIB uptake by insulin in 3T3-L1 fat cells was blocked by inhibitors of protein synthesis (cycloheximide and puromycin) and mRNA synthesis (actinomycin D). Colchicine, an inhibitor of microtubule function, showed little inhibition of insulin-stimulated MAIB uptake. Insulin stimulation of MAIB uptake was greater when 3T3-L1 cells were preincubated with insulin in the absence of essential amino acids. Basal transport in 3T3- L1 cells was not influenced by the presence or absence of amino acids. Thus, amino acid deprivation appears specifically to enhance the ability of insulin to stimulate amino acid transport in cultured adipocytes.

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