Abstract
Shc proteins interact with the insulin receptor, indicating a role in regulating glycolysis. To investigate this idea, the activities of key glycolytic regulatory enzymes and metabolites levels were measured in skeletal muscle from mice with low levels of Shc proteins (ShcKO) and wild-type (WT) controls. The activities of hexokinase, phosphofructokinase-1 and pyruvate kinase were decreased in ShcKO versus WT mice under both fed and fasted conditions. Increased alanine transaminase and branched-chain amino acid transaminase activities were also observed in ShcKO mice under both fed and fasting conditions. Protein expression of glycolytic enzymes was unchanged in the ShcKO and WT mice, indicating that decreased activities were not due to changes in their transcription. Changes in metabolite levels were consistent with the observed changes in enzyme activities. In particular, the levels of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, a potent activator of phosphofructokinase-1, were consistently decreased in the ShcKO mice. Furthermore, the levels of lactate (inhibitor of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase-1) and citrate (inhibitor of phosphofructokinase-1 and pyruvate kinase) were increased in fed and fasted ShcKO versus WT mice. Pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was lower in ShcKO versus WT mice under fed conditions, and showed inhibition under fasting conditions in both ShcKO and WT mice, with ShcKO mice showing less inhibition than the WT mice. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 levels were unchanged under fed conditions but were lower in the ShcKO mice under fasting conditions. These studies indicate that decreased levels of Shc proteins in skeletal muscle lead to a decreased glycolytic capacity in both fed and fasted states.