Estrogen Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Suppresses Gluconeogenesis via the Transcription Factor Foxo1

Abstract

Premenopausal women exhibit enhanced insulin sensitivity and reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with age-matched men, but this advantage disappears after menopause with disrupted glucose homeostasis, in part owing to a reduction in circulating 17β-estradiol (E2). Fasting hyperglycemia is a hallmark of T2D derived largely from dysregulation of hepatic glucose production (HGP), in which Foxo1 plays a central role in the regulation of gluconeogenesis. Here, we investigated the action of E2 on glucose homeostasis in male and ovariectomized (OVX) female control and liver-specific Foxo1 knockout (L-F1KO) mice and sought to understand the mechanism by which E2 regulates gluconeogenesis via an interaction with hepatic Foxo1. In both male and OVX female control mice, subcutaneous E2 implant improved insulin sensitivity and suppressed gluconeogenesis; however, these effects of E2 were abolished in L-F1KO mice of both sexes. In our use of mouse primary hepatocytes, E2 suppressed HGP and gluconeogenesis in hepatocytes from control mice but failed in hepatocytes from L-F1KO mice, suggesting that Foxo1 is required for E2 action on the suppression of gluconeogenesis. We further demonstrated that E2 suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis through activation of estrogen receptor (ER)α–phosphoinositide 3-kinase–Akt–Foxo1 signaling, which can be independent of insulin receptor substrates 1 and 2 (Irs1 and Irs2), revealing an important mechanism for E2 in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. These results may help explain why premenopausal women have lower incidence of T2D than age-matched men and suggest that targeting ERα can be a potential approach to modulate glucose metabolism and prevent diabetes.