Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the sensitivity of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) in relation to various anthropometric and metabolic markers in healthy young adults and then to investigate how a chronic exercise regime affects this important post-translation signalling pathway in a Type II diabetic (T2DM) mouse model. Whole blood was collected from clinically healthy young adult males (n=24) and cardiac tissue was collected from diabetic (db/db) and control (db+) mice (n=9-10/group) that underwent six weeks of exercise or were designated sedentary. Western blot analysis was performed on all samples. Human whole blood exhibited greater sensitivity to Homeostatic Model of Assessment – Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) than Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) demonstrating its potential utility as a screening tool with strong diagnostic value. Six weeks of running wheel exercise did not alter protein O-GlcNAcylation in db/db or db+ mice. Protein O-GlcNAcylation is a valuable tool in assessing the efficacy of exercise in preventing T2DM.
