Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-11 is increased under conditions of insulin resistance.

Aim: To investigate matrix metalloproteinase-11 () expression in adipose tissue dysfunction, using and models of insulin resistance.

Methods: Culture of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were induced to differentiation into mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Cellular insulin resistance was induced by treating differentiated cultured adipocytes with hypoxia and/or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and transcriptional changes were analyzed in each condition thereafter. For the studies, expression levels were measured in white adipose tissue (WAT) from C57BL/6J mice that underwent low fat diet or high-fat feeding in order to induce obesity and obesity-related insulin resistance. Statistical analysis was carried out with GraphPad Prism Software.

Results: mRNA expression levels were significantly higher in insulin resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared to control cells (1.46 ± 0.49 0.83 ± 0.21, respectively; < 0.00036). The increase in expression was observed even in the presence of TNF-α alone (3.79 ± 1.11 1 ± 0.17, < 0.01) or hypoxia alone (1.79 ± 0.7 0.88 ± 0.1, < 0.00023). The results obtained in experiments were confirmed in the model of insulin resistance. In particular, mRNA was upregulated in WAT from obese mice compared to lean mice (5.5 ± 2.8 1.1 ± 0.7, respectively; < 3.72E-08). The increase in levels in obese mice was accompanied by the increase in typical markers of fibrosis, such as collagen type VI alpha 3 (), and fibroblast-specific protein 1.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that dysregulation of expression is an early process in the adipose tissue dysfunction, which leads to obesity and obesity-related insulin resistance.