Fig. 1.

Adiponectin treatment reverses diet-induced cardiomyocyte insulin resistance. Adiponectin knockout (Ad-KO) mice were fed either commercial chow (Chow) or 60% high fat diet (HFD) diet at the age of 6 weeks for a period of 6 weeks. After 6 weeks of HF diet, Ad-KO mice were treated with either saline or Ad at a dosage of 3 μg/g body weight twice a day for additional 2 weeks via intraperitoneal injection. Insulin signaling was assessed 15 min after a bolus injection of insulin (4 U/kg body weight) via the tail vein upon 4–5 h of fasting. a Representative western blot images and quantitative analysis of a) insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt, at both Thr308 and Ser473 compared to total Akt and b) p-AMPK (thr172) over total AMPK. c Triglyceride, d ATP and e) Lactate content were analyzed in whole heart tissue collected from animals. f Expression levels of AdipoR1, AdipoR2, APPL1 and APPL2 from heart tissues collected from Ad-KO mice with or without additional adiponectin treatment upon chow or HFD. GAPDH was used as loading control. Data represent mean ± SEM; *P < 0.05 vs Chow, ^#P < 0.05 vs 60% HFD, n = 4–5