Ecklonia cava, a brown sea algae that is grown in the coast of Jeju island in Korea, has a variety
of biological activities. We investigated the effect of dieckol (DEK) isolated from
Ecklonia cava on glucose transport and its related signaling pathways in L6 muscle cells. DEK increased
the basal glucose transport independent of insulin. Glut4 was also translocated from
cytoplasm to plasma membrane in response to DEK. PKB/Akt as well as ERK was phosphorylated
by DEK in a dose-dependent manner. DEK also stimulated phosphorylation of AMPK, an
insulin-independent stimulator of glucose uptake. DEK-stimulated increase of Glut4
translocation and of glucose transport were sensitive to both inhibition of PI3 kinase
(by wortmannin) as well as AMPK (by compound-c). These results suggest that DEK from
Ecklonia cava can be applied to ameliorate abnormalities in glucose metabolism like as insulin
resistance or diabetes mellitus.
Figure 1: DEK stimulate glucose consumption independent of insulin in L6 muscle cells
Figure 2: DEK-induced Glut4 translocation to plasma membrane is sensitive to inhibition of
PI3-kinase as well as AMPK in L6 muscle cells
Acknowledgement:
This work was supported by a grant from National Research Foundation of Korea (2010–0022036).
