Effect of dieckol from Ecklonia cava on glucose transport in L6 muscle cells

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).