Differential roles and regulation of the protein kinases PAK4, PAK5 and PAK6 in melanoma cells.

The protein kinases PAK4, PAK5 and PAK6 comprise a family of ohnologues. In multiple cancers including melanomas PAK5 most frequently carries non-synonymous mutations; PAK6 and PAK4 have fewer; and PAK4 is often amplified. To help interpret these genomic data, initially we compared the cellular regulation of the sister kinases and their roles in melanoma cells. In common with many ohnologue protein kinases, PAK4, PAK5 and PAK6 each have two 14-3-3-binding phosphosites of which phosphoSer99 is conserved. PAK4 localises to the leading edge of cells in response to phorbol ester-stimulated binding of 14-3-3 to phosphoSer99 and phosphoSer181, which are phosphorylated by two different PKCs or PKDs. These phosphorylations of PAK4 are essential for its phorbol ester-stimulated phosphorylation of downstream substrates. In contrast, 14-3-3 interacts with PAK5 in response to phorbol ester-stimulated phosphorylation of Ser99 and epidermal growth factor-stimulated phosphorylation of Ser288; whereas PAK6 docks onto 14-3-3 and is prevented from localising to cell-cell junctions when Ser133 is phosphorylated in response to cAMP-elevating agents via PKA and insulin-like growth factor 1 via PKB/Akt. Silencing of PAK4 impairs viability, migration and invasive behaviour of melanoma cells carrying BRAFV600E or NRASQ61K mutations. These defects are rescued by ectopic expression of PAK4, more so by a 14-3-3-binding deficient PAK4, and barely by PAK5 or PAK6. Together these genomic, biochemical and cellular data suggest that the oncogenic properties of PAK4 are regulated by PKC-PKD signalling in melanoma, while PAK5 and PAK6 are dispensable in this cancer.

Glucocorticoid receptor Thr524 phosphorylation by MINK1 induces interactions with 14-3-3 protein regulators.

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that plays a central role in inflammation. The GR activity is also modulated via protein-protein interactions, including binding of 14-3-3 proteins induced by GR phosphorylation. However, the specific phosphorylation sites on the GR that trigger these interactions and their functional consequences are less clear. Hence, we sought to examine this system in more detail. We used phosphorylated GR peptides, biophysical studies, and X-ray crystallography to identify key residues within the ligand-binding domain of the GR, T524 and S617, whose phosphorylation results in binding of the representative 14-3-3 protein 14-3-3ζ. A kinase screen identified misshapen-like kinase 1 (MINK1) as responsible for phosphorylating T524 and Rho-associated protein kinase 1 for phosphorylating S617; cell-based approaches confirmed the importance of both GR phosphosites and MINK1 but not Rho-associated protein kinase 1 alone in inducing GR-14-3-3 binding. Together our results provide molecular-level insight into 14-3-3-mediated regulation of the GR and highlight both MINK1 and the GR-14-3-3 axis as potential targets for future therapeutic intervention.

A PKB-SPEG signaling nexus links insulin resistance with diabetic cardiomyopathy by regulating calcium homeostasis.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a progressive disease in diabetic patients, and myocardial insulin resistance contributes to its pathogenesis through incompletely-defined mechanisms. Striated muscle preferentially expressed protein kinase (SPEG) has two kinase-domains and is a critical cardiac regulator. Here we show that SPEG is phosphorylated on Ser2461/Ser2462/Thr2463 by protein kinase B (PKB) in response to insulin. PKB-mediated phosphorylation of SPEG activates its second kinase-domain, which in turn phosphorylates sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium-ATPase 2a (SERCA2a) and accelerates calcium re-uptake into the SR. Cardiac-specific deletion of PKBα/ß or a high fat diet inhibits insulin-induced phosphorylation of SPEG and SERCA2a, prolongs SR re-uptake of calcium, and impairs cardiac function. Mice bearing a Speg3A mutation to prevent its phosphorylation by PKB display cardiac dysfunction. Importantly, the Speg3A mutation impairs SERCA2a phosphorylation and calcium re-uptake into the SR. Collectively, these data demonstrate that insulin resistance impairs this PKB-SPEG-SERCA2a signal axis, which contributes to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

SPEG Controls Calcium Reuptake Into the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Through Regulating SERCA2a by Its Second Kinase-Domain.

RATIONALE: SPEG (Striated muscle preferentially expressed protein kinase) has 2 kinase-domains and is critical for cardiac development and function. However, it is not clear how these 2 kinase-domains function to maintain cardiac performance. OBJECTIVE: To determine the molecular functions of the 2 kinase-domains of SPEG. METHODS AND RESULTS: A proteomics approach identified SERCA2a (sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2a) as a protein interacting with the second kinase-domain but not the first kinase-domain of SPEG. Furthermore, the second kinase-domain of SPEG could phosphorylate Thr484 on SERCA2a, promote its oligomerization and increase calcium reuptake into the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum in culture cells and primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Phosphorylation of SERCA2a by SPEG enhanced its calcium-transporting activity without affecting its ATPase activity. Depletion of Speg in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes inhibited SERCA2a-Thr484 phosphorylation and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium reuptake. Moreover, overexpression of SERCA2aThr484Ala mutant protein also slowed sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium reuptake in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. In contrast, domain mapping and phosphorylation analysis revealed that the first kinase-domain of SPEG interacted and phosphorylated its recently identified substrate JPH2 (junctophilin-2). An inducible heart-specific Speg knockout mouse model was generated to further study this SPEG-SERCA2a signal nexus in vivo. Inducible deletion of Speg decreased SERCA2a-Thr484 phosphorylation and its oligomerization in the heart. Importantly, inducible deletion of Speg inhibited SERCA2a calcium-transporting activity and impaired calcium reuptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiomyocytes, which preceded morphological and functional alterations of the heart and eventually led to heart failure in adult mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that the 2 kinase-domains of SPEG may play distinct roles to regulate cardiac function. The second kinase-domain of SPEG is a critical regulator for SERCA2a. Our findings suggest that SPEG may serve as a new target to modulate SERCA2a activation for treatment of heart diseases with impaired calcium homeostasis.

Modulators of 14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interactions.

Direct interactions between proteins are essential for the regulation of their functions in biological pathways. Targeting the complex network of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) has now been widely recognized as an attractive means to therapeutically intervene in disease states. Even though this is a challenging endeavor and PPIs have long been regarded as "undruggable" targets, the last two decades have seen an increasing number of successful examples of PPI modulators, resulting in growing interest in this field. PPI modulation requires novel approaches and the integrated efforts of multiple disciplines to be a fruitful strategy. This perspective focuses on the hub-protein 14-3-3, which has several hundred identified protein interaction partners, and is therefore involved in a wide range of cellular processes and diseases. Here, we aim to provide an integrated overview of the approaches explored for the modulation of 14-3-3 PPIs and review the examples resulting from these efforts in both inhibiting and stabilizing specific 14-3-3 protein complexes by small molecules, peptide mimetics, and natural products.

A Tbc1d1 Ser231Ala-knockin mutation partially impairs AICAR- but not exercise-induced muscle glucose uptake in mice.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: TBC1D1 (tre-2/USP6, BUB2, cdc16 domain family member 1) is a Rab GTPase-activating protein (RabGAP) that has been implicated in regulating GLUT4 trafficking. TBC1D1 can be phosphorylated by the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) on Ser231, which consequently interacts with 14-3-3 proteins. Given the key role for AMPK in regulating insulin-independent muscle glucose uptake, we hypothesised that TBC1D1-Ser231 phosphorylation and/or 14-3-3 binding may mediate AMPK-governed glucose homeostasis. METHODS: Whole-body glucose homeostasis and muscle glucose uptake were assayed in mice bearing a Tbc1d1 Ser231Ala-knockin mutation or harbouring skeletal muscle-specific Ampkα1/α2 (also known as Prkaa1/2) double-knockout mutations in response to an AMPK-activating agent, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-ß-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR). Exercise-induced muscle glucose uptake and exercise capacity were also determined in the Tbc1d1 Ser231Ala-knockin mice. RESULTS: Skeletal muscle-specific deletion of Ampkα1/a2 in mice prevented AICAR-induced hypoglycaemia and muscle glucose uptake. The Tbc1d1 Ser231Ala-knockin mutation also attenuated the glucose-lowering effect of AICAR in mice. Glucose uptake and cell surface GLUT4 content were significantly lower in muscle isolated from the Tbc1d1 Ser231Ala-knockin mice upon stimulation with a submaximal dose of AICAR. However, this Tbc1d1 Ser231Ala-knockin mutation neither impaired exercise-induced muscle glucose uptake nor affected exercise capacity in mice. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: TBC1D1-Ser231 phosphorylation and/or 14-3-3 binding partially mediates AMPK-governed glucose homeostasis and muscle glucose uptake in a context-dependent manner.

Recent advances in understanding the roles of whole genome duplications in evolution.

Ancient whole-genome duplications (WGDs)- paleopolyploidy events-are key to solving Darwin's 'abominable mystery' of how flowering plants evolved and radiated into a rich variety of species. The vertebrates also emerged from their invertebrate ancestors via two WGDs, and genomes of diverse gymnosperm trees, unicellular eukaryotes, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians and even a rodent carry evidence of lineage-specific WGDs. Modern polyploidy is common in eukaryotes, and it can be induced, enabling mechanisms and short-term cost-benefit assessments of polyploidy to be studied experimentally. However, the ancient WGDs can be reconstructed only by comparative genomics: these studies are difficult because the DNA duplicates have been through tens or hundreds of millions of years of gene losses, mutations, and chromosomal rearrangements that culminate in resolution of the polyploid genomes back into diploid ones (rediploidisation). Intriguing asymmetries in patterns of post-WGD gene loss and retention between duplicated sets of chromosomes have been discovered recently, and elaborations of signal transduction systems are lasting legacies from several WGDs. The data imply that simpler signalling pathways in the pre-WGD ancestors were converted via WGDs into multi-stranded parallelised networks. Genetic and biochemical studies in plants, yeasts and vertebrates suggest a paradigm in which different combinations of sister paralogues in the post-WGD regulatory networks are co-regulated under different conditions. In principle, such networks can respond to a wide array of environmental, sensory and hormonal stimuli and integrate them to generate phenotypic variety in cell types and behaviours. Patterns are also being discerned in how the post-WGD signalling networks are reconfigured in human cancers and neurological conditions. It is fascinating to unpick how ancient genomic events impact on complexity, variety and disease in modern life.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase ZNRF2 is a substrate of mTORC1 and regulates its activation by amino acids.

The mechanistic Target of Rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) senses intracellular amino acid levels through an intricate machinery, which includes the Rag GTPases, Ragulator and vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase). The membrane-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase ZNRF2 is released into the cytosol upon its phosphorylation by Akt. In this study, we show that ZNRF2 interacts with mTOR on membranes, promoting the amino acid-stimulated translocation of mTORC1 to lysosomes and its activation in human cells. ZNRF2 also interacts with the V-ATPase and preserves lysosomal acidity. Moreover, knockdown of ZNRF2 decreases cell size and cell proliferation. Upon growth factor and amino acid stimulation, mTORC1 phosphorylates ZNRF2 on Ser145, and this phosphosite is dephosphorylated by protein phosphatase 6. Ser145 phosphorylation stimulates vesicle-to-cytosol translocation of ZNRF2 and forms a novel negative feedback on mTORC1. Our findings uncover ZNRF2 as a component of the amino acid sensing machinery that acts upstream of Rag-GTPases and the V-ATPase to activate mTORC1.

Disruption of the AMPK-TBC1D1 nexus increases lipogenic gene expression and causes obesity in mice via promoting IGF1 secretion.

Tre-2/USP6, BUB2, cdc16 domain family member 1 (the TBC domain is the GTPase activating protein domain) (TBC1D1) is a Rab GTPase activating protein that is phosphorylated on Ser(231) by the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in response to intracellular energy stress. However, the in vivo role and importance of this phosphorylation event remains unknown. To address this question, we generated a mouse model harboring a TBC1D1(Ser231Ala) knockin (KI) mutation and found that the KI mice developed obesity on a normal chow diet. Mechanistically, TBC1D1 is located on insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) storage vesicles, and the KI mutation increases endocrinal and paracrinal/autocrinal IGF1 secretion in an Rab8a-dependent manner. Hypersecretion of IGF1 causes increased expression of lipogenic genes via activating the protein kinase B (PKB; also known as Akt)-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in adipose tissues, which contributes to the development of obesity, diabetes, and hepatic steatosis as the KI mice age. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the AMPK-TBC1D1 signaling nexus interacts with the PKB-mTOR pathway via IGF1 secretion, which consequently controls expression of lipogenic genes in the adipose tissue. These findings also have implications for drug discovery to combat obesity.

AMP-activated protein kinase: a cellular energy sensor that comes in 12 flavours.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of cellular energy status that is expressed in essentially all eukaryotic cells, suggesting that it arose during early eukaryotic evolution. It occurs universally as heterotrimeric complexes containing catalytic α subunits and regulatory ß and γ subunits. Although Drosophila melanogaster contains single genes encoding each subunit, in mammals, each subunit exists as multiple isoforms encoded by distinct genes, giving rise to up to 12 heterotrimeric combinations. The multiple isoforms of each subunit are 2R-ohnologues generated by the two rounds of whole genome duplication that occurred at the evolutionary origin of the vertebrates. Although the differential roles of these isoform combinations remain only partly understood, there are indications that they may have different subcellular locations, different inputs and outputs, and different functions. The multiple isoforms are of particular interest with respect to the roles of AMPK in cancer because the genes encoding some isoforms, such as PRKAA1 and PRKAB2 (encoding α1 and ß2), are quite frequently amplified in tumour cells, whereas the genes encoding others, such as PRKAA2 (encoding α2), tend to be mutated, which, in some but not all cases, may result in a loss of function. Thus, although AMPK acts downstream of the tumour suppressor liver kinase B1, and some of its isoform combinations may act as tumour suppressors that restrain the growth and proliferation of tumour cells, other isoform combinations may paradoxically act as oncogenes, perhaps by aiding the survival of tumour cells undergoing environmental stresses such as hypoxia or nutrient deprivation.

Fasting and Systemic Insulin Signaling Regulate Phosphorylation of Brain Proteins That Modulate Cell Morphology and Link to Neurological Disorders.

Diabetes is strongly associated with cognitive decline, but the molecular reasons are unknown. We found that fasting and peripheral insulin promote phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, respectively, of specific residues on brain proteins including cytoskeletal regulators such as slit-robo GTPase-activating protein 3 (srGAP3) and microtubule affinity-regulating protein kinases (MARKs), in which deficiency or dysregulation is linked to neurological disorders. Fasting activates protein kinase A (PKA) but not PKB/Akt signaling in the brain, and PKA can phosphorylate the purified srGAP3. The phosphorylation of srGAP3 and MARKs were increased when PKA signaling was activated in primary neurons. Knockdown of PKA decreased the phosphorylation of srGAP3. Furthermore, WAVE1, a protein kinase A-anchoring protein, formed a complex with srGAP3 and PKA in the brain of fasted mice to facilitate the phosphorylation of srGAP3 by PKA. Although brain cells have insulin receptors, our findings are inconsistent with the down-regulation of phosphorylation of target proteins being mediated by insulin signaling within the brain. Rather, our findings infer that systemic insulin, through a yet unknown mechanism, inhibits PKA or protein kinase(s) with similar specificity and/or activates an unknown phosphatase in the brain. Ser(858) of srGAP3 was identified as a key regulatory residue in which phosphorylation by PKA enhanced the GAP activity of srGAP3 toward its substrate, Rac1, in cells, thereby inhibiting the action of this GTPase in cytoskeletal regulation. Our findings reveal novel mechanisms linking peripheral insulin sensitivity with cytoskeletal remodeling in neurons, which may help to explain the association of diabetes with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer disease.

14-3-3-Pred: improved methods to predict 14-3-3-binding phosphopeptides.

MOTIVATION: The 14-3-3 family of phosphoprotein-binding proteins regulates many cellular processes by docking onto pairs of phosphorylated Ser and Thr residues in a constellation of intracellular targets. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop new prediction methods that use an updated set of 14-3-3-binding motifs for the identification of new 14-3-3 targets and to prioritize the downstream analysis of >2000 potential interactors identified in high-throughput experiments. RESULTS: Here, a comprehensive set of 14-3-3-binding targets from the literature was used to develop 14-3-3-binding phosphosite predictors. Position-specific scoring matrix, support vector machines (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) classification methods were trained to discriminate experimentally determined 14-3-3-binding motifs from non-binding phosphopeptides. ANN, position-specific scoring matrix and SVM methods showed best performance for a motif window spanning from -6 to +4 around the binding phosphosite, achieving Matthews correlation coefficient of up to 0.60. Blind prediction showed that all three methods outperform two popular 14-3-3-binding site predictors, Scansite and ELM. The new methods were used for prediction of 14-3-3-binding phosphosites in the human proteome. Experimental analysis of high-scoring predictions in the FAM122A and FAM122B proteins confirms the predictions and suggests the new 14-3-3-predictors will be generally useful. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: A standalone prediction web server is available at http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/1433pred. Human candidate 14-3-3-binding phosphosites were integrated in ANIA: ANnotation and Integrated Analysis of the 14-3-3 interactome database.

Phosphoproteomics combined with quantitative 14-3-3-affinity capture identifies SIRT1 and RAI as novel regulators of cytosolic double-stranded RNA recognition pathway.

Viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is the most important viral structure recognized by cytosolic pattern-recognition receptors of the innate immune system, and its recognition results in the activation of signaling cascades that stimulate the production of antiviral cytokines and apoptosis of infected cells. 14-3-3 proteins are ubiquitously expressed regulatory molecules that participate in a variety of cellular processes, and 14-3-3 protein-mediated signaling pathways are activated by cytoplasmic dsRNA in human keratinocytes. However, the functional role of 14-3-3 protein-mediated interactions during viral dsRNA stimulation has remained uncharacterized. Here, we used functional proteomics to identify proteins whose phosphorylation and interaction with 14-3-3 is modulated by dsRNA and to characterize the signaling pathways activated during cytosolic dsRNA-induced innate immune response in human HaCaT keratinocytes. Phosphoproteome analysis showed that several MAPK- and immune-response-related signaling pathways were activated after dsRNA stimulation. Interactome analysis identified RelA-associated inhibitor, high-mobility group proteins, and several proteins associated with host responses to viral infection as novel 14-3-3 target proteins. Functional studies showed that RelA-associated inhibitor regulated dsRNA-induced apoptosis and TNF production. Integrated network analyses of proteomic data revealed that sirtuin1 was a central molecule regulated by 14-3-3s during dsRNA stimulation. Further experiments showed that sirtuin 1 negatively regulated dsRNA-induced NFκB transcriptional activity, suppressed expression of antiviral cytokines, and protected cells from apoptosis in dsRNA-stimulated and encephalomyocarditis-virus-infected keratinocytes. In conclusion, our data highlight the importance of 14-3-3 proteins in antiviral responses and identify RelA-associated inhibitor and sirtuin 1 as novel regulators of antiviral innate immune responses.

Identification of 2R-ohnologue gene families displaying the same mutation-load skew in multiple cancers.

The complexity of signalling pathways was boosted at the origin of the vertebrates, when two rounds of whole genome duplication (2R-WGD) occurred. Those genes and proteins that have survived from the 2R-WGD-termed 2R-ohnologues-belong to families of two to four members, and are enriched in signalling components relevant to cancer. Here, we find that while only approximately 30% of human transcript-coding genes are 2R-ohnologues, they carry 42-60% of the gene mutations in 30 different cancer types. Across a subset of cancer datasets, including melanoma, breast, lung adenocarcinoma, liver and medulloblastoma, we identified 673 2R-ohnologue families in which one gene carries mutations at multiple positions, while sister genes in the same family are relatively mutation free. Strikingly, in 315 of the 322 2R-ohnologue families displaying such a skew in multiple cancers, the same gene carries the heaviest mutation load in each cancer, and usually the second-ranked gene is also the same in each cancer. Our findings inspire the hypothesis that in certain cancers, heterogeneous combinations of genetic changes impair parts of the 2R-WGD signalling networks and force information flow through a limited set of oncogenic pathways in which specific non-mutated 2R-ohnologues serve as effectors. The non-mutated 2R-ohnologues are therefore potential therapeutic targets. These include proteins linked to growth factor signalling, neurotransmission and ion channels.

GARNL1, a major RalGAP α subunit in skeletal muscle, regulates insulin-stimulated RalA activation and GLUT4 trafficking via interaction with 14-3-3 proteins.

Insulin and muscle contraction each stimulate translocation of the glucose transporter GLUT4 to the plasma membrane in skeletal muscle, an important process regulating whole-body glucose homeostasis. RalA mediates insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation; however, it is unclear how this small GTPase is regulated in skeletal muscle in response to insulin. Here, we identified GARNL1/RalGAPα1, a major α subunit of the Ral-GTPase activating protein in skeletal muscle, as a protein whose phosphorylation and binding to the regulatory 14-3-3 proteins is stimulated by insulin and also by muscle contraction. The insulin-stimulated interaction with 14-3-3 involved PKB/Akt-mediated phosphorylation of Thr(735) on GARNL1/RalGAPα1. Knockdown of GARNL1/RalGAPα1 increased, while overexpression of GARNL1/RalGAPα1(Thr735Ala) mutant protein decreased, the RalA activation and the RalA-dependent GLUT4 translocation in response to insulin in muscle cells. These findings show that GARNL1/RalGAPα1 is the missing link that connects the insulin-PKB/Akt signaling pathway with the activation of the RalA small GTPase in muscle cells. GARNL1/RalGAPα1 and its phosphorylation and/or binding to 14-3-3s are critical for GLUT4 trafficking through RalA in muscle cells.

ANIA: ANnotation and Integrated Analysis of the 14-3-3 interactome.

The dimeric 14-3-3 proteins dock onto pairs of phosphorylated Ser and Thr residues on hundreds of proteins, and thereby regulate many events in mammalian cells. To facilitate global analyses of these interactions, we developed a web resource named ANIA: ANnotation and Integrated Analysis of the 14-3-3 interactome, which integrates multiple data sets on 14-3-3-binding phosphoproteins. ANIA also pinpoints candidate 14-3-3-binding phosphosites using predictor algorithms, assisted by our recent discovery that the human 14-3-3-interactome is highly enriched in 2R-ohnologues. 2R-ohnologues are proteins in families of two to four, generated by two rounds of whole genome duplication at the origin of the vertebrate animals. ANIA identifies candidate 'lynchpins', which are 14-3-3-binding phosphosites that are conserved across members of a given 2R-ohnologue protein family. Other features of ANIA include a link to the catalogue of somatic mutations in cancer database to find cancer polymorphisms that map to 14-3-3-binding phosphosites, which would be expected to interfere with 14-3-3 interactions. We used ANIA to map known and candidate 14-3-3-binding enzymes within the 2R-ohnologue complement of the human kinome. Our projections indicate that 14-3-3s dock onto many more human kinases than has been realized. Guided by ANIA, PAK4, 6 and 7 (p21-activated kinases 4, 6 and 7) were experimentally validated as a 2R-ohnologue family of 14-3-3-binding phosphoproteins. PAK4 binding to 14-3-3 is stimulated by phorbol ester, and involves the 'lynchpin' site phosphoSer99 and a major contribution from Ser181. In contrast, PAK6 and PAK7 display strong phorbol ester-independent binding to 14-3-3, with Ser113 critical for the interaction with PAK6. These data point to differential 14-3-3 regulation of PAKs in control of cell morphology. Database URL: https://ania-1433.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/prediction/webserver/index.py.

Effect of IRS4 levels on PI 3-kinase signalling.

Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and IRS2 are well-characterized adapter proteins that relay signals from receptor tyrosine kinases to downstream components of signalling pathways. In contrast, the function of IRS4 is not well understood. IRS4 overexpression has been associated with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and subungual exostosis, while point mutations of IRS4 have been found in melanomas. Here, we show that while IRS4 expression is low in most cancer cell lines, IRS4 mRNA and protein levels are markedly elevated in certain cells including the NCI-H720, DMS114, HEK293T and HEK293AAV lines. Surprisingly, IRS4 expression was also strongly induced when HEK293 cells were infected with retroviral particles and selected under puromycin, making IRS4 expression a potential off-target effect of retroviral expression vectors. Cells with high expression of IRS4 displayed high phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) levels, as well as elevated Akt and p70 S6 kinase activities, even in the absence of growth factors. PI 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling in these cells depends on IRS4, even though these cells also express IRS1/2. Knockdown of IRS4 also inhibited cell proliferation in cells with high levels of IRS4. Together, these findings suggest IRS4 as a potential therapeutic target for cancers with high expression of this protein.

AS160 deficiency causes whole-body insulin resistance via composite effects in multiple tissues.

AS160 (Akt substrate of 160 kDa) is a Rab GTPase-activating protein implicated in insulin control of GLUT4 (glucose transporter 4) trafficking. In humans, a truncation mutation (R363X) in one allele of AS160 decreased the expression of the protein and caused severe postprandial hyperinsulinaemia during puberty. To complement the limited studies possible in humans, we generated an AS160-knockout mouse. In wild-type mice, AS160 expression is relatively high in adipose tissue and soleus muscle, low in EDL (extensor digitorum longus) muscle and detectable in liver only after enrichment. Despite having lower blood glucose levels under both fasted and random-fed conditions, the AS160-knockout mice exhibited insulin resistance in both muscle and liver in a euglycaemic clamp study. Consistent with this paradoxical phenotype, basal glucose uptake was higher in AS160-knockout primary adipocytes and normal in isolated soleus muscle, but their insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and overall GLUT4 levels were markedly decreased. In contrast, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT4 levels were normal in EDL muscle. The liver also contributes to the AS160-knockout phenotype via hepatic insulin resistance, elevated hepatic expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase isoforms and pyruvate intolerance, which are indicative of increased gluconeogenesis. Overall, as well as its catalytic function, AS160 influences expression of other proteins, and its loss deregulates basal and insulin-regulated glucose homoeostasis, not only in tissues that normally express AS160, but also by influencing liver function.

Identification of the amino acids 300-600 of IRS-2 as 14-3-3 binding region with the importance of IGF-1/insulin-regulated phosphorylation of Ser-573.

Phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-2 on tyrosine residues is a key event in IGF-1/insulin signaling and leads to activation of the PI 3-kinase and the Ras/MAPK pathway. Furthermore, phosphorylated serine/threonine residues on IRS-2 can induce 14-3-3 binding. In this study we searched IRS-2 for novel phosphorylation sites and investigated the interaction between IRS-2 and 14-3-3. Mass spectrometry identified a total of 24 serine/threonine residues on IRS-2 with 12 sites unique for IRS-2 while the other residues are conserved in IRS-1 and IRS-2. IGF-1 stimulation led to increased binding of 14-3-3 to IRS-2 in transfected HEK293 cells and this binding was prevented by inhibition of the PI 3-kinase pathway and an Akt/PKB inhibitor. Insulin-stimulated interaction between endogenous IRS-2 and 14-3-3 was observed in rat hepatoma cells and in mice liver after an acute insulin stimulus and refeeding. Using different IRS-2 fragments enabled localization of the IGF-1-dependent 14-3-3 binding region spanning amino acids 300-600. The 24 identified residues on IRS-2 included several 14-3-3 binding candidates in the region 300-600. Single alanine mutants of these candidates led to the identification of serine 573 as 14-3-3 binding site. A phospho-site specific antibody was generated to further characterize serine 573. IGF-1-dependent phosphorylation of serine 573 was reduced by inhibition of PI 3-kinase and Akt/PKB. A negative role of this phosphorylation site was implicated by the alanine mutant of serine 573 which led to enhanced phosphorylation of Akt/PKB in an IGF-1 time course experiment. To conclude, our data suggest a physiologically relevant role for IGF-1/insulin-dependent 14-3-3 binding to IRS-2 involving serine 573.