The effect of interleukin-6 and the interleukin-6 receptor on glucose transport in mouse skeletal muscle

Exercise results in an increase in interleukin-6 (IL-6), its receptor (IL-6R) and skeletal muscle glucose transport. Interleukin-6 has been found to have equivocal effects on glucose transport, with no studies, to our knowledge, investigating any potential role of IL-6R. In the present study, we hypothesized that a combined preparation of IL-6 and soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R) would stimulate glucose transport. Mouse soleus muscles were incubated with physiological and supraphysiological concentrations of IL-6 and a combination of IL-6 and sIL-6R. Total and phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Protein Kinase B (PKB/Akt) were also measured by Western blotting. Exposure to both physiological (80 pg ml(-1)) and supraphysiological IL-6 (120 ng ml(-1)) had no effect on glucose transport. At physiological levels, exposure to a combination of IL-6 and sIL-6R (32 ng ml(-1)) resulted in a 1.4-fold increase (P < 0.05) in basal glucose transport with no change to the phosphorylation of AMPK. Exposure to supraphysiological levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R (120 ng ml(-1)) resulted in an approximately twofold increase (P < 0.05) in basal glucose transport and an increase (P < 0.05) in AMPK phosphorylation. No effect of IL-6 or sIL-6R was observed on insulin-stimulated glucose transport. These findings demonstrate that, while IL-6 alone does not stimulate glucose transport in mouse soleus muscle, when sIL-6R is introduced glucose transport is directly stimulated, partly through AMPK-dependent signalling

Use of Computed Tomography and Histopathologic Review for Lung Lesions Produced by the Interaction Between Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Fumonisin Mycotoxins in Pigs

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has a primary role in the porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC). The objective of this study was to determine whether fumonisin mycotoxins influence the character and/or the severity of pathological processes induced in the lungs of pigs by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Four groups of pigs (n ¼ 7/group) were used, one fed 20 ppm fumonisin B1 (FB1) from 16 days of age (group F), one only infected with M. hyopneumoniae on study day 30 (group M), and a group fed FB1 and infected with M. hyopneumoniae (group MF), along with an untreated control group (group C). Computed tomography (CT) scans of infected pigs (M and MF) on study day 44 demonstrated lesions extending to the cranial and middle or in the cranial third of the caudal lobe of the lungs. The CT images obtained on study day 58 showed similar but milder lesions in 5 animals from group M, whereas lungs from 2 pigs in group MF appeared progressively worse. The evolution of average pulmonary density calculated from combined pixel frequency values, as measured by quantitative CT, was significantly influenced by the treatment and the age of the animals. The most characteristic histopathologic lesion in FB1-treated pigs was pulmonary edema, whereas the pathomorphological changes in Mycoplasma-infected pigs were consistent with catarrhal bronchointerstitial pneumonia. FB1 aggravated the progression of infection, as demonstrated by severe illness requiring euthanasia observed in 1 pig and evidence of progressive pathology in 2 pigs (group MF) between study days 44 and 58