Chemerin/ChemR23 system plays crucial role upon vascular insulin signaling in db/db mice

The adipokine chemerin and its receptor, chemokine-like receptor 1 (ChemR23), influence major aspects of the metabolic syndrome, including adipogenesis and insulin sensitivity in adipocytes and skeletal muscle cells. Considering that chemerin impairs vascular reactivity and that amongst its many actions, insulin also influences vascular function, we postulate that chemerin impairs vascular insulin signaling via PI3K/Akt and that ChemR23 antagonism improves insulin signaling in diabetic mice. Lean (db/m) and obese and diabetic (db/db) mice were treated for 03 weeks by oral gavage with CCX 832 (ChemR23 antagonist). Mesenteric arteries, aorta and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) were isolated to perform functional and molecular experiments. Plasma levels of chemerin and body weight were increased in db/db mice compared to their counterpart controls db/m. However, db/db mice treated with ChemR23 antagonist (CCX 832) exhibited a slightly decrease in body weight. ChemR23 antagonism in db/db mice partially rev...