A robust assay measuring GLUT4 translocation in rat myoblasts overexpressing GLUT4-myc and AS160_v2

Muscle and fat cells translocate GLUT4 (glucose transporter 4) to the plasma membrane when stimulated by insulin. Usually, this event is measured in differentiated adipocytes, myotubes, or cell lines overexpressing tagged GLUT4 by immunostaining. However, measurement of the translocation in differentiated adipocytes or myotubes or GLUT4 overexpressing cell lines is difficult because of high assay variability caused by either the differentiation protocol or low assay sensitivity. We recently reported the identification of a novel splice variant of AS160 (substrate of 160 kDa), namely AS160_v2, and showed that its coexpression with GLUT4 in L6 myoblasts increased the insulin-stimulated glucose uptake rate due to an increased amount of GLUT4 on the cell surface. L6 cells, which coexpress myc-tagged GLUT4 and AS160_v2, can be efficiently used to generate an assay useful for identifying compounds that affect cellular responses to insulin. We compared the EC50 values for radioactive glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation of different insulins and several small molecules to validate the assay. The use of L6 cells overexpressing AS160_v2 can be considered as a novel tool for the characterization of molecules modulating insulin signaling and GLUT4 translocation, and an image-based assay increases our confidence in the mode of action of the compounds identified.