Pioglitazone-induced increase in the stearoyl-CoA desaturation index and fat accumulation in rat muscles are not related to lipoprotein lipase activity.

Muscular insulin resistance is a characteristic of obesity and type 2 diabetes, but little is known about fatty acid (FA) metabolism in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle. In this study, we investigated the effects of the repeated administration of the PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone on fat accumulation, FA composition, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) index in rat tissues. Seventeen 4-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into control (C, n = 9) and pioglitazone treatment (P, n = 8) groups, and all the rats were fed a high-fat and high-sucrose diet for 8 weeks. Vehicle or pioglitazone (3 mg/kg) was orally administered daily to rats in the C group and P group, respectively. In the eighth week of the test period, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed after 12 h fasting. At the end of the test period, serum, liver, perirenal adipose tissue, and skeletal muscles were removed after 12 h fasting. The fasting serum and plasma glucose concentrations and OGTT glucose and insulin levels were significantly lower, while the serum adiponectin concentration was significantly higher in the P group than in the C group. Pioglitazone administration increased fat accumulation in the various muscle types examined, perirenal adipose tissue, and brown adipose tissue (BAT), but decreased fat accumulation in the liver. Pioglitazone administration increased the SCD indices for the muscles, perirenal adipose tissue, and liver, but not those of BAT. The lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity of the BAT and perirenal adipose tissue, but not the muscles, was higher in the P group than in the C group. These results indicate that pioglitazone administration improved glucose tolerance and increased fat accumulation and SCD indices in the muscles and adipose tissues of rats. The increased fat accumulation was closely correlated with LPL activity in both adipose tissues, but not in the muscles.