Figure 3.

Administration of bilirubin reduces the blood glucose level and increases insulin sensitivity in db/db mice. A, Treatment of db/db mice with bilirubin (BR) significantly reduced blood glucose levels in db/db mice compared with those that received vehicle (defined as CTR). B, Mice that received BR showed significantly lower blood glucose levels at most time points and smaller area under the curve (AUC) compared with control after ITT test. C, Expression of p308 and total Akt, and membrane expression of Glut4 were observed in muscles of mice that received BR compared with controls after insulin stimulation. D, Quantification of p-308Akt in total Akt; and E, relative expression of membrane Glut4 in muscles from db/db mice treated with or without BR. At least 8 mice were included in each treatment group; *, P < .05 and **, P < .01, ANOVA or Student's t test.