The impact of increased GlcN availability on insulinstimulated p85/p110 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity in skeletal muscle was examined in relation to GlcN-induced defects in peripheral insulin action. Primed continuous GlcN infusion (750 mol/kg bolus; 30 mol/kg⅐min) in conscious rats limited both maximal stimulation of muscle PI3K by acute insulin (I) (1 unit/kg) bolus (I ؉ GlcN ؍ 1.9-fold versus saline ؍ 3.3-fold above fasting levels; p < 0.01) and chronic activation of PI3K following 3-h euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic (18 milliunits/kg⅐min) clamp studies (I ؉ GlcN ؍ 1.2-fold versus saline ؍ 2.6-fold stimulation; p < 0.01). To determine the time course of GlcN-induced defects in insulin-stimulated PI3K activity and peripheral insulin action, GlcN was administered for 30, 60, 90, or 120 min during 2-h euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp studies. Activation of muscle PI3K by insulin was attenuated following only 30 min of GlcN infusion (GlcN 30 min ؍ 1.5-fold versus saline ؍ 2.5-fold stimulation; p < 0.05). In contrast, the first impairment in insulin-mediated glucose uptake (Rd) developed following 110 min of GlcN infusion (110 min ؍ 39.9 ؎ 1.8 versus 30 min ؍ 42.8 ؎ 1.4 mg/kg⅐min, p < 0.05). However, the ability of insulin to stimulate phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate production and to activate glycogen synthase in skeletal muscle was preserved following up to 180 min of GlcN infusion. Thus, increased GlcN availability induced (a) profound and early inhibition of proximal insulin signaling at the level of PI3K and (b) delayed effects on insulin-mediated glucose uptake, yet (c) complete sparing of insulin-mediated glycogen synthase activation. The pattern and time sequence of GlcN-induced defects suggest that the etiology of peripheral insulin resistance may be distinct from the rapid and marked impairment in insulin signaling.The hexosamine biosynthetic pathway in skeletal muscle serves a vital role in the production of the amino sugars that are utilized in multiple glycosylation pathways. Increased biosynthetic activity within the hexosamine pathway is associated with the development of insulin resistance (1-5). In fact, increasing the amount of flux into the GlcN pathway by various means has been shown to induce defects in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (1, 2, 4 -6), GLUT4 translocation (3), and glycogen synthase activation (5,7,8).Entry into the hexosamine pathway involves the conversion of fructose 6-phosphate to glucosamine 6-phosphate via the rate-limiting enzyme glutamine fructose-6-P-amidotransferase (9). The principal end product of the pathway is UDP-GlcNAc (10), which modifies intracellular proteins by glycosylation. Thus, even modest perturbations of the amount of flux through the hexosamine pathway could have diverse effects on protein functions. The amount of flux into the pathway, estimated by the accumulation of UDP-GlcNAc in muscle, is strongly correlated with the degree of impairment in peripheral insulin action (5).The mechanism(s) of GlcN-induced defect...