Aucubin Ameliorated Insulin Resistance in HepG2 Cells by Regulating miR-373-3p/IRS2/PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Aucubin is a hypoglycaemic active ingredient in many herbal medicines, but its specific mechanism regarding the miRNA-based regulation of glucose metabolism has not been elucidated. Here, the improvement effect of aucubin on glucose metabolism was confirmed in insulin-induced IR-HepG2 cells by glucose consumption and glycogen content. The 172 differentially expressed miRNAs and 4,539 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified. They were enriched in FOXO, T2DM, and the insulin signaling pathway. Moreover, 11 miRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs linked to glucose metabolism were screened. Cell transfection further demonstrated that aucubin could improve glucose metabolism by mediating miR-373-3p targeted regulation of IRS2. Furthermore, protein expression levels of IRS2 and its downstream PI3K and AKT were significantly upregulated by aucubin intervention. Collectively, this study revealed that aucubin ameliorates IR in HepG2 cells by regulating miR-373-3p mediated IRS2/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.