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

Figure 4

Effects of etifoxine on the insulin-mediated IRS-1/Akt signals under HCV infection. (a and b) Huh7.5-SEAP cells (7 x 10⁵) were infected with 0.01 MOI of HCV and treated with etifoxine (0.01-1 μM) or insulin (100 nM) in a 6-well plate. In some experiments, cells were treated with 0.01-1 μM of etifoxine for 1 h before treatments of insulin. Cell lysates were collected at day 6 and the phospho-IRS-1 (Tyr896), IRS-1, phospho-Akt (Ser473), Akt, and β-actin levels were detected by Western blot. Data are expressed as mean ±SD obtained from three individual experiments. < 0.01 vs. the medium control group; ^##p < 0.01 vs. the HCV-infected Huh 7.5-SEAP group; ^&p < 0.05 and ^&&p < 0.01 vs. the insulin-treated group.

(a)

(b)