Insulin infusion is linked to increased NPPC expression in muscle and plasma C-type natriuretic peptide levels in dogs

The purpose of this study was to assess insulin-stimulated gene expression in canine skeletal muscle with a particular focus on NPPC, the gene that encodes C-type natriuretic peptide, a key hormonal regulator of cardiometabolic function. Four conscious canines underwent hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic clamp studies. Skeletal muscle biopsy and arterial plasma samples were collected under basal and insulin-stimulated conditions. Bulk RNA sequencing of muscle tissue was performed to identify differentially expressed genes between these two steady-state conditions. Our results showed that NPPC was the most highly expressed gene in skeletal muscle in response to insulin infusion, rising fourfold between basal and insulin-stimulated conditions. In support of our RNA-sequencing data, we found that raising the plasma insulin concentration 15-fold above basal elicited a 2-fold (p = 0.0001) increase in arterial plasma concentrations of N-terminal prohormone C-type natriuretic peptide. Our data sugge...