Activiated galanin receptor 2 attenuates insulin resistance in skeletal muscle of obese mice

The results of our and other's studies showed that activation of galanin receptor 1 could mitigate insulin resistance via promoting glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression and translocation in the skeletal muscle of rats. But no literature are available regarding the effect of galanin receptor 2 (GALR2) on insulin resistance in skeletal muscle of type 2 diabetes. Herein, in this study we intended to survey the effect of GALR2 and its signal mechanisms in the mice with high fat diet-induced obese. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with vehicle, GALR2 agonist M1145 and antagonist M871 respectively once a day for continuous 21 days. The skeletal muscles were processed for determination of glucose uptake, and GLUT4 mRNA and protein expression levels. The PGC-1α, AKT, p38MAPK, AS160, pAKT, pP38MAPK and pAS160 expression levels were quantitatively assessed too. We found that pharmacological activation of GALR2 enhanced energy expenditure, and increased GLUT4 expression and translocation in skeletal muscle of mice during high-fat diet regimens. Activation of GALR2 alleviated insulin resistance through P38MAPK/PGC-1α/GLUT4 and AKT/AS160/GLUT4 pathway in the skeletal muscle of mice. Overall, these results identify that GALR2 is a regulator of insulin resistance and activation of GALR2 represents a promising strategy against obesity-induced insulin resistance.