Caveolae and non-caveolar lipid rafts are two types of membrane lipid microdomains that play important roles in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in adipocytes. In order to ascertain their specific functions in this process, caveolae were ablated by caveolin-1 RNA interference. In Cav-1 RNAi adipocytes, neither insulin-stimulated glucose uptake nor Glut-4 （glucose transporter 4） translocation to membrane lipid microdomains was affected by the ablation of caveolae. With a modified sucrose density gradient, caveolae and non-caveolar lipid rafts could be separated. In the wild-type 3T3- L l adipocytes, Glut-4 was found to be translocated into both caveolae and non-caveolar lipid rafts. However, in Cav1 RNAi adipocytes, Glut-4 was localized predominantly in non-caveolar lipid rafts. After the removal of insulin, caveolaelocalized Glut-4 was internalized faster than non-caveolar lipid raft-associated Glut-4. The internalization of Glut-4 from plasma membrane was significantly decreased in Cav-1 RNAi adipocytes. These results suggest that insulin-stimulated Glut-4 translocation and glucose uptake are caveolae-independent events. Caveolae play a role in the internalization of Glut-4 from plasma membrane after the removal of insulin.
Selectins are carbohydrate-binding cell adhesion molecules that play a major role in the initiation of inflammatory responses. Accumulaed evidence has suggested that heparin＇s anti-inflammatory effects are mainly mediated by blocking L-or P-selectin-initiated cell adhesion. Recently, we have reported that periodate-oxidized, borohydridereduced heparin （RO-heparln） can inhibit P-selectin-mediated acute inflammation. Here we further examined the effect of RO-heparin on the adhesion of L-selectin-mediated leukocytes to vascular endothelium under flow conditions in vivo and in vitro. The results show that RO-heparin with a low anticoagulant activity can effectively reduce leucocyte roiling on thioglycoUate-induced rat mesenterlc venules and L-selectin-metadiated neutrophil roiling on TNF-α-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells（HUVECs） under flow conditions. Our findings suggest that the effect of RO-heparin on inflammatory responses is mainly a result of its inhibiting the interaction between P- or L-selectin and its ligands. The findings also suggest that RO-heparin may be useful in preventing inflammation diseases.
