Insulin regulates hepatic apolipoprotein B production independent of the mass or activity of Akt1/PKBalpha

Insulin is known to be a downregulator of apolipoprotein B (apoB) via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Akt, also known as protein kinase B (PKB), is a serine/threonine kinase downstream target of PI3K. Recent studies in the fructose-fed hamster model of insulin resistance have shown that hepatic very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion is associated with reduced phosphorylation of Akt, suggesting a potential link between Akt expression and/or activity and apoB production in hepatocytes. We hypothesized that overexpression of Akt1 downregulates apoB production. An expression vector with a constitutively active form of Akt1 was transfected in the rat hepatoma McArdle cells (McA RH-7777), McA cells stably expressing human apoB-15 and apoB-48 (15% and 48% of total apoB length), and human hepatoma HepG2. The overexpressed Akt1 was phosphorylated at Ser473 independent of acute insulin stimulation, suggesting that it was catalytically active. Despite dosage-dependent overexpression of Akt1 in both McA and HepG2 cells, neither intracellular nor secreted protein mass of intact apoB or transfected human apoB-15/apoB-48 was significantly affected by high intracellular levels of Akt1. Radiolabeling experiments also yielded no difference in the amount of newly synthesized apoB when comparing transfected and mock-transfected cells. Transfection in conjunction with high-dose insulin did not significantly decrease the secretion of either apoB-100 or apoB-48 in McA cells, or apoB-100 in HepG2 cells. HepG2 cells were more sensitive to the inhibitory effects of insulin on apoB secretion compared to McA cells, but neither model responded to Akt1. Overall, the data suggest that acute insulin-mediated inhibition of apoB may not be mediated by Akt1 and that insulin signaling molecules upstream of Akt1 may be more important in mediating control of apoB secretion.