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Research Paper

Inhibition of Aurora-A improves insulin resistance by ameliorating islet inflammation and controlling interleukin-6 in a diabetic mouse model

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Pages 609-619 | Received 19 Feb 2020, Accepted 22 Sep 2020, Published online: 11 Oct 2020
 

ABSTRACT

Aurora-A kinase, a serine/threonine mitotic kinase, is reportedly upregulated in skin tissues of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus , although its function in diabetes is unclear. C57BL/6 J mice were utilized to establish a type 2 diabetic model and explore the functions of Aurora-A in diabetes. Aurora-A was highly expressed in the pancreas of the diabetic mice as confirmed by western blot. Inhibition of Aurora-A did not affect fasting blood glucose and body weight, but did improve insulin resistance, as indicated by improved oral glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance, and the Homoeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance index. Blockade of Aurora-A dramatically decreased the number of infiltrating macrophages in the pancreas in parallel with decreases in the levels of serum insulin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA. The levels of phosphorylated forms of protein kinase B, which are the key mediators of in insulin resistance, were not induced in liver, adipocyte tissues, and skeletal muscle by alisertib treatment. Our findings indicate that suppression of Aurora-A could at least partially enhance insulin sensitivity by decreasing the number of infiltrating macrophages and IL-6 level in a type 2 diabetic mouse model.

Author contributions

F.D.M and Q.W.S performed the experiments and contributed equally to the preparation of the manuscript. D.M.Z analysed the data. Q.L performed the immunohistochemistry analysis. H. J. performed real-time RT-PCR analysis. D.S.L analysed the data. J.Y contributed to the conception and design of the study, performed the experiments, and analysed and interpreted the data.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Foundation for Key Program of Universities of Jiangsu Province (No. 17KJA320010) to J.Y, from the Xuzhou Science and Technology Project (KC17157) to F.D.M, and from the Jiangsu Shuangchuang Program and Jiangsu Distinguished Professorship Program to J.Y.