Janne R. Hingst

A single bout of exercise improves muscle insulin sensitivity for up to 48 hours via AMPK. Limb ischemia activates AMPK in muscle, and subsequent reperfusion enhances insulin-stimulated vasodilation, potentially eliciting a more pronounced exercise effect with reduced workload. We investigated the combined effect of upper leg intermittent ischemia/reperfusion (IIR) and continuous knee-extension exercise on muscle insulin sensitivity regulation. We found that IIR exercise potentiated AMPK activation and muscle insulin sensitivity. The potentiating effect of IIR exercise on muscle insulin sensitivity was associated with increased insulin-stimulated blood flow in parallel with enhanced phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Metabolomics analyses demonstrated a suppression of muscle medium-chain acylcarnitines during IIR exercise, which correlated with insulin sensitivity and was consistent with findings in isolated rat muscle treated with decanoyl-l-carnitine. Collectively, combining IIR with low- to moderate-intensity exercise may represent a promising intervention to effectively enhance muscle insulin sensitivity. This approach could offer potential for mitigating muscle insulin resistance in clinical settings and among individuals with lower physical activity levels.

Background and Objective Icodec is a once-weekly insulin being developed to provide basal insulin coverage in diabetes mellitus. This study evaluated the effects of renal or hepatic impairment on icodec pharmacokinetics. Methods Two open-label, parallel-group, single-dose (1.5 U/kg subcutaneously) trials were conducted. In a renal impairment trial, 58 individuals were allocated to normal renal function (measured glomerular filtration rate ≥ 90 mL/min), mild (60 to < 90 mL/min), moderate (30 to < 60 mL/min) or severe (< 30 mL/min) renal impairment or end-stage renal disease. In a hepatic impairment trial, 25 individuals were allocated to normal hepatic function or mild (Child-Pugh Classification grade A), moderate (grade B) or severe (grade C) hepatic impairment. Blood was sampled frequently for a pharmacokinetic analysis until 35 days post-dose. Results The shape of the icodec pharmacokinetic profile was not affected by renal or hepatic impairment. Total icodec exposure was greater for mild (estimated ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.12 [1.01; 1.24]), moderate (1.24 [1.12; 1.37]) and severe (1.28 [1.16; 1.42]) renal impairment, and for end-stage renal disease (1.14 [1.03; 1.28]), compared with normal renal function. It was also greater for mild (1.13 [1.00; 1.28]) and moderate (1.15 [1.02; 1.29]) hepatic impairment versus normal hepatic function. There was no statistically significant difference between severe hepatic impairment and normal hepatic function. Serum albumin levels (range 2.7–5.1 g/dL) did not statistically significantly influence icodec exposure. Conclusions The clinical relevance of the slightly higher icodec exposure with renal or hepatic impairment is limited as icodec should be dosed according to individual need. No specific icodec dose adjustment is required in renal or hepatic impairment. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT03723785 and NCT04597697.