A simple and rapid method to characterize lipid fate in skeletal muscle

BACKGROUND: Elevated fatty acids contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and affect skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. Since elevated intramuscular lipids and insulin resistance is strongly correlated, aberrant lipid storage or lipid intermediates may be involved in diabetes pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to develop a method to determine the dynamic metabolic fate of lipids in primary human skeletal muscle cells and in intact mouse skeletal muscle. We report a simple and fast method to characterize lipid profiles in skeletal muscle using thin layer chromatography. FINDINGS: The described method was specifically developed to assess lipid utilization in cultured and intact skeletal muscle. We determined the effect of a pan-diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) class I inhibitor (R59949) on lipid metabolism to validate the method. In human skeletal muscle cells, DGK inhibition impaired diacylglycerol (DAG) conversion to phosphatidic acid and increased triglyceride synthesis. In intact glycolytic mouse skeletal muscle, DGK inhibition triggered the accumulation of DAG species. Conversely, the DGK inhibitor did not affect DAG content in oxidative muscle. CONCLUSION: This simple assay detects rapid changes in the lipid species composition of skeletal muscle with high sensitivity and specificity. Determination of lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle may further elucidate the mechanisms contributing to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes or obesity.