Skeletal muscle is a primary organ responsible for the majority of insulin-induced glucose metabolism and plays a critical role in systemic glycemic regulation. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) leads to various complications due to chronic hyperglycemi...
Skeletal muscle is a primary organ responsible for the majority of insulin-induced glucose metabolism and plays a critical role in systemic glycemic regulation. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) leads to various complications due to chronic hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, with diabetic muscle atrophy being a representative consequence. Muscle atrophy is triggered by various pathological factors and is characterized by accelerated muscle protein degradation and a reduction in skeletal muscle mass. Meanwhile, vitamin D acts as a factor that maintains energy metabolic homeostasis in skeletal muscle and promotes muscle protein synthesis. Although numerous studies have reported that vitamin D supplementation improves insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism efficiency in T2DM, conflicting results remain regarding its actual effects on increasing skeletal muscle mass and its underlying molecular mechanisms. In particular, since diabetic muscle atrophy is a complication that develops over a long period, there is a lack of understanding regarding the protective effects of vitamin D supplementation according to the progression stages of diabetes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the efficacy of vitamin D according to the progression of diabetes by supplementing vitamin D from the early stages of life and to precisely analyze its time-dependent effects by dividing the intervention into several periods. Male offspring obtained by mating female and male BKS.Cg-Dock7m +/+ Leprdb/+/J mice were used. Male Lepr+/+ (Wild-type, WT) and Leprdb/db (Diabetic, DB) mice were provided with either a control diet (fat 10 kcal%, 1,008 IU vitamin D3/kg diet; vDC) or a vitamin D-supplemented diet (fat 10 kcal%, 9,538 IU vitamin D3/kg diet; vDS) for 3, 6, or 9 weeks starting from the time of weaning. Following the dietary intervention, body weight and fasting blood glucose were measured. Serum, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, gastrocnemius, soleus, quadriceps femoris, and tibialis anterior muscles were collected. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured, and RT-qPCR was performed to assess expression of genes related to muscle atrophy, glucose metabolism, inflammation, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Skeletal muscle mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) were determined to evaluate muscle atrophy. At the 6-week time point, the DB-vDS group exhibited lower fasting plasma glucose level and visceral fat weight compared to the DB-vDC group. At the 6-week and 9-week intervention points, the DB-vDC group had higher dietary and energy intake compared to the WT-vDC and WT-vDS groups, whereas the DB-vDS group showed no significant difference from the WT groups. At all intervention points, the skeletal muscle mass of the DB groups was lower than that of the WT groups. While there were no differences in muscle fiber CSA between groups at the 3-week point, the WT-vDS group showed the highest CSA at the 6-week point, and the WT groups were higher than the DB groups at the 9-week point. The expression of Fbxo32 showed no significant differences at the 3-week and 9-week points; however, it was significantly higher in the WT-vDS group compared to all other experimental groups at the 6-week point. Although there was no significant difference in the expression of Slc2a4 between groups, Hk2 expression was higher in the DB-vDS group than in the DB-vDC group at the 6-week point, whereas it was lower in the DB-vDS group compared to the DB-vDC group at the 9-week point. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the effects of vitamin D supplementation vary depending on the duration of the intervention. 3 weeks of supplementation exerted no significant metabolic changes across all groups regardless of diabetic status, whereas 6 weeks of vitamin D supplementation promoted anabolic muscle growth under normal physiological conditions and induced the recovery of systemic metabolic homeostasis in a diabetic pathophysiological environment. 9-week supplementation appeared to trigger intrinsic protective mechanisms to preserve energy homeostasis in the skeletal muscle of the diabetic group.