Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease with no cure. Adipose tissue is a major site of systemic insulin resistance. Sortilin is a central component of the glucose transporter -Glut4 storage vesicles (GSV) which translocate to the plasma membrane to uptake glucose from circulation. Here, using human adipocytes we demonstrate the presence of the alternatively spliced, truncated sortilin variant (Sort_T) whose expression is significantly increased in diabetic adipose tissue. Artificial-intelligence-based modeling, molecular dynamics, intrinsically disordered region analysis, and co-immunoprecipitation demonstrated association of Sort_T with Glut4 and decreased glucose uptake in adipocytes. The results show that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) hormone decreases Sort_T. We deciphered the molecular mechanism underlying GLP1 regulation of alternative splicing of human sortilin. Using splicing minigenes and RNA-immunoprecipitation assays, the results show that GLP1 regulates Sort_T alternative splicing via the splice factor, TRA2B. We demonstrate that targeted antisense oligonucleotide morpholinos reduces Sort_T levels and improves glucose uptake in diabetic adipocytes. Thus, we demonstrate that GLP1 regulates alternative splicing of sortilin in human diabetic adipocytes.
Keywords: TRA2B; antisense oligonucleotides; glucose uptake; human adipocytes; human adipose tissue; splice factors; splicing minigene; type 2 diabetes.