Muscle contraction stimulates glucose uptake acutely to increase energy supply, but suitable cellular models that faithfully reproduce this complex phenomenon are lacking. To this end, we have developed a cellular model of contracting C2C12myotubes overexpressing GLUT4 with an exofacial myc-epitope tag (GLUT4 myc) and explored stimulation of GLUT4 traffic by physiologically relevant agents. Carbachol (an acetylcholine receptor agonist) induced a gain in cell surface GLUT4 myc that was mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Carbachol also activated AMPK, and this response was sensitive to the contractile myosin ATPase inhibitor N-benzyl- p-toluenesulfonamide. The gain in surface GLUT4 myc elicited by carbachol or by the AMPK activator 5-amino-4-carboxamide-1 β-ribose was sensitive to chemical inhibition of AMPK activity by compound C and partially reduced by siRNA-mediated knockdown of AMPK catalytic subunits or LKB1. In addition, the carbachol-induced gain in cell surface GLUT4 myc was partially sensitive to chelation of intracellular calcium with BAPTA-AM. However, the carbachol-induced gain in cell surface GLUT4 myc was not sensitive to the CaMKK inhibitor STO-609 despite expression of both isoforms of this enzyme and a rise in cytosolic calcium by carbachol. Therefore, separate AMPK- and calcium-dependent signals contribute to mobilizing GLUT4 in response to carbachol, providing an in vitro cell model that recapitulates the two major signals whereby acute contraction regulates glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. This system will be ideal to further analyze the underlying molecular events of contraction-regulated GLUT4 traffic.
