The rapid onset of hyperglycaemia in ZDF rats was associated with a widespread alteration of metabolic proteins implicated in glucose metabolism in the heart.

The present study tested the hypothesis that the phosphorylation and regulation of metabolic proteins implicated in glucose homeostasis were impaired in the heart of the type 2 diabetic Zucker-diabetic-fatty (ZDF) rat model. The onset of hyperglycaemia in ZDF rats was not uniform, instead it either progressed rapidly (3-4 weeks) or was delayed (6-8 weeks). In both the early and late onset hyperglycaemic ZDF rats, AMPKalpha Thr172 phosphorylation in the heart was significantly decreased. In the early onset hyperglycaemic ZDF rats, PKB Ser473 phosphorylation was reduced, whereas Thr308 phosphorylation was significantly increased. In the late onset hyperglycaemic ZDF rats, PKB Ser473 phosphorylation was unchanged, but Thr308 phosphorylation remained elevated. Cardiac GLUT4 protein and mRNA expression were significantly reduced in the early onset hyperglycaemic ZDF rats, whereas increased protein expression was observed in the late onset hyperglycaemic ZDF rats. In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that following a more rapid onset of hyperglycaemia, the type 2 diabetic heart is more prone to alterations in the signaling proteins implicated in glucose metabolism.