Methylxanthines inhibit glucose transport in rat adipocytes by two independent mechanisms.

In summary, this study characterized the biphasic inhibition of fat cell glucose transport by the lipolytic agents caffeine and theophylline. Like the lipolytic drug forskolin, both methylxanthines produced an immediate inhibition of glucose transport that was not seen with 8-phenyltheophylline, a pure adenosine receptor antagonist. The immediate inhibition was therefore not mediated by the adenosine receptor antagonism but seems to be due to a direct interaction with the hexose transporter. This conclusion is supported by the immediate onset of the inhibition and additionally by the interference of theophylline and caffeine with the binding of cytochalasin B, a ligand of the glucose transporter that binds to an intracellular site of the transporter molecule. In addition, a second, delayed inhibitory effect of theophylline and caffeine on glucose transport was observed. This portion shared many aspects of the inhibitory effect of lipolytic hormones. It developed over a period of about 5 min and was antagonized by the simultaneous addition of the antilipolytic hormone PGE2. This component of transport inhibition could be attributed to the antagonistic effect of methylxanthines at the fat cell A1-adenosine receptor since it was also seen with 8-phenyltheophylline. This conclusion is further supported by data showing that the removal of endogenous adenosine with adenosine deaminase resulted in a comparable 25-30% inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport. In addition, the time course of glucose transport inhibition by the subsequent addition of adenosine deaminase is similar to that of the delayed portion of the inhibition seen with theophylline and caffeine. Both treatments produced their maximal inhibition after 5 min. In conclusion, the methylxanthines theophylline and caffeine inhibit glucose transport by a combination of two different modes of action. The immediate major component is mediated via a direct interaction with the hexose transporter whereas the delayed component involves adenosine receptor antagonism and thereby the interaction with G-proteins.