Li Yuen Megan Yeoh

• MBBS (NUMed Malaysia)
• p38 Mitogen Activated Kinases (p38MAPK) Activation and Skeletal Muscle Function

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients have decreased skeletal muscle function when compared with age-matched subjects without diabetes. p38MAPK is a protein involved in cell differentiation and a previous study found increased p38MAPK activation in cultured skeletal muscle cells from insulin resistant T2D patients with a strong diabetes family history. This study investigated p38MAPK activation in cultured muscle cells from an unselected group of T2D patients. Activated and total p38MAPK was determined by western blotting in protein samples from undifferentiated myoblasts and day 7 differentiated myotubes from T2D patients and age-matched non-diabetic subjects (n=11 and 12, respectively). Overall, there was no significant difference in the degree of p38MAPK activation between diabetic and non-diabetic myoblasts and myotubes. This suggests that increased p38MAPK activation is restricted to a subgroup of T2D patients, which might be related to family history, diabetes durations or treatment types that might affect p38MAPK activation.

Funding source: Newcastle University

Supervisor: Prof. Mark Walker