c2c12 cell line is a good model to explore the effects of herbal extracts on glut4 expression and translocation

objective: glut4 is a type of glucose transporter and plays a central role in whole-body metabolism of carbohydrates. the muscle is the major site of glut4 and cell line models, to explore glut4 behaviors under new therapeutic approach, such as herbal components, should be evaluated. here, c2c12 cell line is evaluated for glut4 translocation from intracellular compartment into the cell membrane. materials and methods: c2c12 cell lines were cultured and differentiated into myotubes. cinnamon/turmeric-water soluble extract (cwe and twe) were prepared and differentiated myotubes were exposed to the 100, 1000 μg/ml cwe, 100 μg/ml twe or dimethylsulfoxide for 3 hours. intracellular/cytoplasmic membrane compartments were separated using ultracentrifugation. glut4 percentages quantities were measured using western blotting. data analysis of 3 sample sizes was done by comparing mean±sd of glut4 quantities and independent samples t-test. results: cwe enhances glut4 translocation from intracellular compartment into the cytoplasmic membrane its effect is also dose-dependent meaning that 1000 μg/ml concentration has a more potent effect than 100 μg/ml (p<0.05). however, 100 μg/ml twe had a reverse effect (p<0.05). conclusion: here we have shown that c2c12 is a good model for exploring glut4 changes under the effect of herbal extract. induction or blockade of glut4 maybe under control of different signals transduction pathways. furthermore, although turmeric ingredients are declared to have somewhat anti-diabetic effects, here we have shown that such effect is not applied via twe effects on glut4 intracellular compartments movement into the cell membrane.