Fat Cells And Primary Hepatocytes Cultured Liver Cells Can Induce Insulin Resistance At The Cellular Level,

Objective: To assess the effects of adipocyte on the development ofhepatic insulin resistance.Methods: Hepatic cells were co-cultured with fat cells at variousstages of differentiation and the effects of fat cells on insulin signaltransduction and glycogen synthesis in hepatic cells were evaluated.Results: Insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-2 wassignificantly inhibited. Insulin-related activation of Akt kinase andglycogen production in the hepatocytes were also reduced after co-culture,and the reduction was positively correlated with the differentiation ofco-cultured fat cells.Conclusion: Adipocyte differentiation might induce insulin resistancein hepatocytes. To our knowledge, our data present firstly the directevidence of interaction for insulin signaling event between the adipocytesand hepatocytes.