The protective effect of silk fibroin on high glucose induced insulin resistance in HepG2 cells

•Investigate the protective effect of SF on insulin resistant HepG2 cells.•SF may serve as an adjunct therapy to enhance metformin effectiveness.•SF or metformin inhibit of oxidant processes in insulin resistant HepG2 cells.•The combination of SF and metformin may prove more effective therapeutically. The therapeutic use of silk-derived materials such as fibroin in biomedicine is well-established in Southeast Asian countries. Studies indicated that silk fibroin (SF) peptide enhances insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism phenomena associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) suggesting this peptide may be beneficial to treat this disease. However, the mechanisms underlying protective effect of SF in insulin-mediated hepatic metabolic dysfunction remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of SF on insulin resistant HepG2 cells which were used a model of T2DM. Treatment of cells with 30 mmol/L of glucose and 10−6 mol/L insulin for 48 h significantly reduced glucose consumptions and intracellular glycogen levels but increased triglyceride (TG) levels. SF or metformin alone elevated glucose consumptions and glycogen accumulation accompanied by lower TG content. Greater effects in these metabolic parameters were found when SF and metformin were combined. Treatment of insulin resistant cells with SF or metformin alone decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6); whereas antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, as well as total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) ability increased. The combination of SF and metformin produced greater changes in these parameters compared to metformin alone. Data indicated that the protective effect of SF or metformin in insulin resistant HepG2 cells involves inhibition of oxidant processes and that the combination of agents may prove more effective therapeutically.