Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

PGC-1α at the crossroads of type 2 diabetes

Nature Genetics volume 34, pages 244–245 (2003)Cite this article

Muscle mitochondrial respiratory metabolism is reduced in aging and diabetes. Now, coordinated changes in expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation have been found in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Peroxisome proliferator activator protein-γ co-activator-1α (PGC-1α) seems to be in charge of this orchestrated change in gene expression.

Glucose oxidation and glucose production must be finely tuned to maintain blood glucose within a narrow range. Glucose sensing by pancreatic β-cells stimulates insulin secretion. Insulin promotes glucose clearance in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue and attenuates glucose production in the liver. In DM2, the insulin signal is impaired by a combination of dampened responsiveness to insulin (insulin resistance) and an inability to compensate for the poor response with an adequate supply of insulin.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: PGC-1α induces expression of mitochondrial respiratory genes and of GLUT4.

Katie Ris

References

  1. Holloszy, J.O. J. Biol. Chem. 242, 2278–2282 (1967).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hood, D.A. J. Appl. Physiol. 90, 1137–1157 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Regensteiner, J.G. et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 85, 310–317 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kelley, D.E., He, J., Menshikova, E.V. & Ritov, V.B. Diabetes 51, 2944–2950 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Puigserver, P. & Spiegelman, B.M. Endocr. Rev. 24, 78–90 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Mootha, V.K. et al. Nat. Genet. 34, 267–273 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hardie, D.G., Carling, D. & Carlson, M. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 67, 821–855 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Sakamoto, K. & Goodyear, L.J. J. Appl. Physiol. 93, 369–383 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Handschin, C., Rhee, J., Lin, J., Tarr, P.T. & Spiegelman, B.M. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (in the press).

  10. Wu, H. et al. Science 296, 349–352 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Obici, S. et al. J. Clin. Invest. 109, 1599–1605 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Koubova, J. & Guarente, L. Genes Dev. 17, 313–321 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Neel, J.V. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 14, 353–362 (1962).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Patti, M.E. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (in the press).

  15. Petersen, K.F. et al. Science 300, 1140–1142 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry,

    Alan D Attie & Christina M Kendziorski

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

    Alan D Attie & Christina M Kendziorski

Authors
  1. Alan D Attie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christina M Kendziorski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Attie, A., Kendziorski, C. PGC-1α at the crossroads of type 2 diabetes. Nat Genet 34, 244–245 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0703-244

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0703-244

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing