Selective activation of PPARγ in skeletal muscle induces endogenous production of adiponectin and protects mice from diet-induced insulin resistance

The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma plays a key role in regulating whole body glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. Although it is expressed most highly in adipose, it is also present at lower levels in many tissues, including skeletal muscle. The role muscle PPARgamma plays in metabolic regulation and in mediating the antidiabetic effects of the thiazolidinediones is not understood. The goal of this work was to examine the molecular and physiological effects of PPARgamma activation in muscle cells. We found that pharmacological activation of PPARgamma in primary cultured myocytes, and genetic activation of muscle PPARgamma in muscle tissue of transgenic mice, induced the production of adiponectin directly from muscle cells. This muscle-produced adiponectin was functional and capable of stimulating adiponectin signaling in myocytes. In addition, elevated skeletal muscle PPARgamma activity in transgenic mice provided a significant protection from high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance and associated changes in muscle phenotype, including reduced myocyte lipid content and an increase in the proportion of oxidative muscle fiber types. Our findings demonstrate that PPARgamma activation in skeletal muscle can have a significant protective effect on whole body glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance and that myocytes can produce and secrete functional adiponectin in a PPARgamma-dependent manner. We propose that activation of PPARgamma in myocytes induces a local production of adiponectin that acts on muscle tissue to improve insulin sensitivity.