Figure 2. Improved glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism in IL-6Rα^T-KO (8-week HFD).

(a) Blood glucose (BG) and glucose infusion rate (GIR) during hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic (HIEG) clamp experiments (n=9); two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on data from the green-shaded steady state (130–180 min). (b) Rate of hepatic glucose production (HGP) at basal and during steady state of HIEG clamp (n=9). (c) Rate of glucose uptake (GU) during steady state of HIEG clamp (n=9). Representative immunoblots of 3 blots and quantification of (d) liver and (e) EWAT pS473 Akt, total Akt and eEF2 at time 180 min during steady state of HIEG clamp (n=9); relative unit (RU) to that of IL-6Rα^f/f (Control). (f) Representative liver sections of 22 samples with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining; scale bars, 75 μm. (g) Hepatic content of triglycerides (TG), free cholesterols (Ch), cholesteryl esters (CE), diglycerides (DAG) and ceramides (n=6). (h) Representative EWAT sections of 20 samples with F4/80 staining and quantification of adipocyte size in area and crown-like structure (CLS) counts (n=8 versus 12); scale bars, 100 pixels. (i) Fast (12 h) and refeed (2 h) plasma TG and cholesterol levels (n=19 versus 20). Two-tailed t-tests and two-way ANOVA used for statistical analyses (*P<0.05; ***P<0.005). Error bars presented as s.e.m.