Exercise-induced protection against insulin resistance and type 11 diabetes : the role of calcium

Regular exercise protects individuals against developing insulin resistance and type II diabetes. This effect of exercise does not appear to be due to an improvement in the insulin signalling pathway but instead due to an increase in the content of the insulin-regulatable glucose transporter (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle (84). Understanding the mechanisms by which exercise increases GLUT4 levels in skeletal muscle may reveal targets for pharmaceuticals to treat insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Although in vitro binding assays have shown that GLUT4 expression during exercise is mediated by the binding of myocyte enhancer factor-2A (MEF2A) to its cis-element on the Glut4 promoter (122), this has not been demonstrated in vivo. Moreover, the mechanisms by which exercise increases MEF2A binding to the Glut4 promoter have not been fully characterised.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Smith, James Antony Harris

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Ojuka, Edward
• Collins, Malcolm

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/2767

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/2767