Astragalus polysaccharide improves palmitate-induced insulin resistance by inhibiting PTP1B and NF-κB in C2C12 myotubes

We investigated the effects of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) on palmitate-induced insulin resistance in C2C12 skeletal muscle myotubes. Palmitate-reduced glucose uptake was restored by APS. APS prevented palmitate-induced C2C12 myotubes from impaired insulin signaling by inhibiting Ser307 phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and increasing Ser473 phosphorylation of Akt. Moreover, the increases in protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) protein level and NF-κB activation associated with palmitate treatment were also prevented by APS. However the treatment with APS didn't change AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in palmitate-induced myotubes. The results of the present study suggest that Astragalus polysaccharide inhibits palmitate-induced insulin resistance in C2C12 myotubes by inhibiting expression of PTP1B and regulating NF-κB but not AMPK pathway.