The Effect of Butyric Acid on Gene Expression of GLUT2 and IRS1 on Human Hepatocytes in vitro

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2) affects hundreds of millions of people globally and costs billions of dollars each year. The importance of research toward prevention and treatment of this disease cannot be overestimated. Butyric acid is a short chain fatty acid that has been shown in mice and in intestinal cell culture studies to increase insulin sensitivity at the level of gene expression. However, little or no work has been reported on its effects on human liver cells. The present study determined the changes in gene expression of glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) on insulin shocked THLE-2 human liver cells exposed in vitro to the following concentrations of butyric acid in mg/ml: 0.05, 0.1, and 1.0. GLUT2 and IRS1 had increases in expression at doses of butyric acid previously found to be nontoxic in human serum. This work indicates that more studies involving the effects of butyric acid on gene expression of insulin resistant human hepatocytes are warranted.