Oral Presentation Australian Diabetes Society and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2014

Hepatic FoxO1 acetylation is involved in oleanolic acid-induced memory of glycemic control (#17)

Xiu Zhou 1 , Xiao-Yi Zeng 1 , Hao Wang 1 , Songpei Li 1 , Eunjung Jo 1 , Charlie Xue 1 , Minjia Tan 2 , Juan Molero 1 , Jiming Ye 1
  1. Molecular Pharmacology for Diabetes, Health Innovations Research Institute and School of Health Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China

We recently observed that the triterpenoid oleanolic acid (OA) was able to produce a sustained correction of hyperglycemia beyond treatment period in type 2 diabetic (T2D) mice with liver as a responsible site. The present study investigated the possible role of acetylation of FoxO1 and associated events in this therapeutic memory by comparing their responses during and post-OA treatments. OA treatment (100 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks, during OA treatment) reduced hyperglycemia in T2D mice by ~87% and this effect was largely (~70%) maintained even 4 weeks after the cessation of OA administration (post-OA treatment). During OA treatment, the acetylation and phosphorylation of FoxO1 were markedly increased (1.5 to 2.5-fold) while G6Pase expression was suppressed by ~80%. Consistent with this, OA treatment reversed pyruvate intolerance in high-fat fed mice. Histone acetyltransferase 1 (HAT1) content was increased (>50%) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) 4 and 5 (not HDAC1) were reduced by 30-50%. The OA-induced changes in FoxO1, G6Pase, HAT1 and HDACs persisted during the post-OA treatment period where the increased phosphorylation of AMPK, SIRT1 content and reduced liver triglyceride had subsided. These results demonstrated the ability of OA to control hyperglycemia far beyond treatment period in T2D mice. Acetylation of FoxO1 in the liver is involved in OA-induced memory for the control of hyperglycemia. Our novel findings suggest that acetylation of the key regulatory proteins of hepatic gluconeogenesis is a plausible mechanism by the triterpenoid to achieve a sustained glycemic control for T2D.