BAF60c drives glycolytic muscle formation and improves glucose homeostasis through Deptor-mediated AKT activation

A shift from oxidative to glycolytic metabolism has been associated with skeletal muscle insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes(1–5). However, whether this metabolic switch is deleterious or adaptive remains controversial(6–8), in part due to limited understanding of the regulatory network that directs the metabolic and contractile specification of fast-twitch glycolytic muscle. Here we show that BAF60c, a transcriptional cofactor enriched in fast-twitch muscle, promotes a switch from oxidative to glycolytic myofiber type through Deptor-mediated AKT activation. Muscle-specific transgenic expression of BAF60c activates a program of molecular, metabolic, and contractile changes characteristic of glycolytic muscle. In addition, BAF60c is required for maintaining glycolytic capacity in adult skeletal muscle in vivo. BAF60c expression is significantly decreased in skeletal muscle from obese mice. Unexpectedly, transgenic activation of the glycolytic muscle program by BAF60c protects mice from diet-induced insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Further mechanistic studies revealed that Deptor is induced by the BAF60c/Six4 transcriptional complex and mediates activation of AKT and glycolytic metabolism by BAF60c in a cell-autonomous manner. This work defines a fundamental mechanism underlying the specification of fast glycolytic muscle and illustrates that the oxidative to glycolytic metabolic shift in skeletal muscle is potentially adaptive and beneficial in the diabetic state.