Etifoxine, a TSPO Ligand, Worsens Hepatitis C-Related Insulin Resistance but Relieves Lipid Accumulation

Figure 3

Effects of etifoxine on the insulin-mediated glucose uptake under HCV infection. (a and b) Huh7.5-SEAP cells (1 x 10⁴) were infected with 0.01 MOI of HCV and treated with etifoxine (0.01-1 μM) or insulin (100 nM) in a 96-well plate. In some experiments, cells were treated with 0.01-1 μM of etifoxine for 1 h before treatments of insulin. 6 days after treatment, cell culture media were replaced with glucose-free culture medium and incubated with 2-NBDG before the fluorescent detection at 485/535 nm. Data are expressed as mean ±SD obtained from three individual experiments. < 0.05 and < 0.01 vs. the medium control group; ^#p < 0.05 and ^##p < 0.01 vs. the HCV-infected Huh 7.5-SEAP group; ^&p < 0.05 vs. the insulin-treated group.

(a)

(b)