GSK-3beta activity is increased in skeletal muscle after burn injury in rats.

Previous reports suggest that burn-induced muscle proteolysis can be inhibited by treatment with GSK-3beta inhibitors, suggesting that burn injury may be associated with increased GSK-3beta activity. The influence of burn injury on muscle GSK-3beta activity, however, is not known. We determined the effect of a 30% total body surface full-thickness burn injury in rats on muscle GSK-3beta activity by measuring GSK-3beta activity and tissue levels of serine 9 phosphorylated GSK-3beta, p(Ser9)-GSK-3beta, by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Because burn-induced muscle wasting is, at least in part, mediated by glucocorticoids, we used dexamethasone-treated cultured muscle cells in which GSK-3beta expression was reduced with small interfering RNA (siRNA) to further assess the role of GSK-3beta in muscle atrophy. Burn injury resulted in a seven-fold increase in GSK-3beta activity in skeletal muscle. This effect of burn was accompanied by reduced tissue levels of p(Ser9)-GSK-3beta, suggesting that burn injury stimulates GSK-3beta in skeletal muscle secondary to inhibited phosphorylation of the enzyme. In addition, burn injury resulted in inhibited phosphorylation and activation of Akt, an upstream regulatory mechanism of GSK-3beta activity. Reducing the expression of GSK-3beta in cultured muscle cells with siRNA inhibited dexamethasone-induced protein degradation by approximately 50%. The results suggest that burn injury stimulates GSK-3beta activity in skeletal muscle and that GSK-3beta may, at least in part, regulate glucocorticoid-mediated muscle wasting.

Insulin-like growth factor-I inhibits dexamethasone-induced proteolysis in cultured L6 myotubes through PI3K/Akt/GSK-3beta and PI3K/Akt/mTOR-dependent mechanisms.

We and others reported previously that IGF-I inhibits dexamethasone-induced proteolysis in cultured L6 myotubes. Recent evidence suggests that this effect of IGF-I at least in part reflects PI3K/Akt-mediated inhibition of Foxo transcription factors. The potential role of other mechanisms, downstream of PI3K/Akt, is not well understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that PI3K/Akt-mediated inactivation of GSK-3beta and activation of mTOR contribute to the anabolic effects of IGF-I in dexamethasone-treated myotubes. Cultured L6 myotubes were treated with 1 microM dexamethasone in the absence or presence of 0.1 microg/ml of IGF-I and inhibitors of GSK-3beta and mTOR. Protein degradation was measured by determining the release of trichloroacetic acid soluble radioactivity from myotubes that had been prelabeled with (3)H-tyrosine for 48 h. IGF-I reduced basal protein breakdown rates and completely abolished the dexamethasone-induced increase in myotube proteolysis. These effects of IGF-I were associated with increased phosphorylation of Akt, GSK-3beta, and the mTOR downstream targets p70(S6K) and 4E-BP1. The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 and the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin reversed the anabolic effect of IGF-I in dexamethasone-treated myotubes. In addition, the GSK-3beta inhibitors LiCl and TDZD-8 reduced protein degradation in a similar fashion as IGF-I. Our results suggest that PI3K/Akt-mediated inactivation of GSK-3beta and activation of mTOR contribute to the anabolic effects of IGF-I in dexamethasone-treated myotubes.

Protein breakdown in muscle from burned rats is blocked by insulin-like growth factor i and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta inhibitors.

We reported previously that IGF-I inhibits burn-induced muscle proteolysis. Recent studies suggest that activation of the phosphotidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway with downstream phosphorylation of Forkhead box O transcription factors is an important mechanism of IGF-I-induced anabolic effects in skeletal muscle. The potential roles of other mechanisms in the anabolic effects of IGF-I are less well understood. In this study we tested the roles of mammalian target of rapamycin and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) phosphorylation as well as MAPK- and calcineurin-dependent signaling pathways in the anticatabolic effects of IGF-I by incubating extensor digitorum longus muscles from burned rats in the presence of IGF-I and specific signaling pathway inhibitors. Surprisingly, the PI3K inhibitors LY294002 and wortmannin reduced basal protein breakdown. No additional inhibition by IGF-I was noticed in the presence of LY294002 or wortmannin. Inhibition of proteolysis by IGF-I was associated with phosphorylation (inactivation) of GSK-3beta. In addition, the GSK-3beta inhibitors, lithium chloride and thiadiazolidinone-8, reduced protein breakdown in a similar fashion as IGF-I. Lithium chloride, but not thiadiazolidinone-8, increased the levels of phosphorylated Foxo 1 in incubated muscles from burned rats. Inhibitors of mammalian target of rapamycin, MAPK, and calcineurin did not prevent the IGF-I-induced inhibition of muscle proteolysis. Our results suggest that IGF-I inhibits protein breakdown at least in part through a PI3K/Akt/GSK3beta-dependent mechanism. Additional experiments showed that similar mechanisms were responsible for the effect of IGF-I in muscle from nonburned rats. Taken together with recent reports in the literature, the present results suggest that IGF-I inhibits protein breakdown in skeletal muscle by multiple mechanisms, including PI3K/Akt-mediated inactivation of GSK-3beta and Foxo transcription factors.

Insulin-like growth factor-I blocks dexamethasone-induced protein degradation in cultured myotubes by inhibiting multiple proteolytic pathways: 2002 ABA paper.

In previous studies, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) inhibited glucocorticoid-induced muscle protein breakdown, but the intracellular mechanisms of this effect of IGF-I are not well understood. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that IGF-I inhibits multiple proteolytic pathways in dexamethasone-treated cultured L6 myotubes. Myotubes were treated with 1 microM dexamethasone for 6 hours in the absence or presence of 0.1 microg/ml of IGF-I. Protein degradation was determined by measuring the release of trichloroacetic acid-soluble radioactivity from proteins prelabeled with 3H-tyrosine. The contribution of lysosomal, proteasomal-dependent, and calpain-dependent proteolysis to the inhibitory effect of IGF-I on protein degradation was assessed by using inhibitors of the individual proteolytic pathways (methylamine, beta-lactone, and E64, respectively). In addition, the influence of IGF-I on cathepsin B, proteasome, and calpain activities was determined. Treatment of L6 myotubes with dexamethasone resulted in an approximately 20% increase in protein degradation. This effect of dexamethasone was completely blocked by IGF-I. When the different protease inhibitors were used, results showed that IGF-I inhibited lysosomal, proteasomal-dependent, and calpain-dependent proteolysis by 70, 44, and 41%, respectively. Additionally, IGF-I blocked the dexamethasone-induced increase in cathepsin B, proteasome, and calpain activities. The present results suggest that IGF-I inhibits glucocorticoid-induced muscle proteolysis by blocking multiple proteolytic pathways.

Insulin-like growth factor-I inhibits lysosomal and proteasome-dependent proteolysis in skeletal muscle after burn injury.

Previous studies suggest that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) inhibits burn-induced muscle wasting mainly by reducing muscle protein degradation. The intracellular mechanisms of this effect of IGF-I are not known. In the present study, we examined the influence of IGF-I on individual proteolytic pathways in muscles from burned rats. Extensor digitorum longus muscles from burned rats were incubated with specific blockers of lysosomal, calcium-calpain-dependent, and ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent proteolytic pathways in the absence or presence of IGF-I. In addition, cathepsin B and L activities and 20S proteasome activity were determined. IGF-I inhibited lysosomal and ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent protein breakdown in skeletal muscle from burned rats by 70 and 90%, respectively, but did not influence calcium-calpain-dependent protein breakdown. The hormone blocked the burn-induced increase in cathepsin B and L activities but did not reduce 20S proteasome activity. Results are important because they provide novel information about intracellular mechanisms by which IGF-I inhibits the catabolic response to burn injury in skeletal muscle.