Serine phosphorylation proximal to its phosphotyrosine binding domain inhibits insulin receptor substrate 1 function and promotes insulin resistance.

Ser/Thr phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins negatively modulates insulin signaling. Therefore, the identification of serine sites whose phosphorylation inhibit IRS protein functions is of physiological importance. Here we mutated seven Ser sites located proximal to the phosphotyrosine binding domain of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) (S265, S302, S325, S336, S358, S407, and S408) into Ala. When overexpressed in rat hepatoma Fao or CHO cells, the mutated IRS-1 protein in which the seven Ser sites were mutated to Ala (IRS-1(7A)), unlike wild-type IRS-1 (IRS-1(WT)), maintained its Tyr-phosphorylated active conformation after prolonged insulin treatment or when the cells were challenged with inducers of insulin resistance prior to acute insulin treatment. This was due to the ability of IRS-1(7A) to remain complexed with the insulin receptor (IR), unlike IRS-1(WT), which underwent Ser phosphorylation, resulting in its dissociation from IR. Studies of truncated forms of IRS-1 revealed that the region between amino acids 365 to 430 is a main insulin-stimulated Ser phosphorylation domain. Indeed, IRS-1 mutated only at S408, which undergoes phosphorylation in vivo, partially maintained the properties of IRS-1(7A) and conferred protection against selected inducers of insulin resistance. These findings suggest that S408 and additional Ser sites among the seven mutated Ser sites are targets for IRS-1 kinases that play a key negative regulatory role in IRS-1 function and insulin action. These sites presumably serve as points of convergence, where physiological feedback control mechanisms, which are triggered by insulin-stimulated IRS kinases, overlap with IRS kinases triggered by inducers of insulin resistance to terminate insulin signaling.

A novel domain mediates insulin-induced proteasomal degradation of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1).

Insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) plays a pivotal role in insulin signaling, therefore its degradation is exquisitely regulated. Here, we show that insulin-stimulated degradation of IRS-1 requires the presence of a highly conserved Ser/Thr-rich domain that we named domain involved in degradation of IRS-1 (DIDI). DIDI (amino acids 386-430 of IRS-1) was identified by comparing the intracellular degradation rate of several truncated forms of IRS-1 transfected into CHO cells. The isolated DIDI domain underwent insulin-stimulated Ser/Thr phosphorylation, suggesting that it serves as a target for IRS-1 kinases. The effects of deletion of DIDI were studied in Fao rat hepatoma and in CHO cells expressing Myc-IRS-1(WT) or Myc-IRS-1(Δ386-430). Deletion of DIDI maintained the ability of IRS-1(Δ386-434) to undergo ubiquitination while rendering it insensitive to insulin-induced proteasomal degradation, which affected IRS-1(WT) (80% at 8 h). Consequently, IRS-1(Δ386-434) mediated insulin signaling (activation of Akt and glycogen synthesis) better than IRS-1(WT). IRS-1(Δ386-434) exhibited a significant greater preference for nuclear localization, compared with IRS-1(WT). Higher nuclear localization was also observed when cells expressing IRS-1(WT) were incubated with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132. The sequence of DIDI is conserved more than 93% across species, from fish to mammals, as opposed to approximately 40% homology of the entire IRS-1. These findings implicate DIDI as a novel, highly conserved domain of IRS-1, which mediates its cellular localization, rate of degradation, and biological activity, with a direct impact on insulin signal transduction.

Elimination of negative feedback control mechanisms along the insulin signaling pathway improves beta-cell function under stress.

OBJECTIVE: Cellular stress and proinflammatory cytokines induce phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins at Ser sites that inhibit insulin and IGF-1 signaling. Here, we examined the role of Ser phosphorylation of IRS-2 in mediating the inhibitory effects of proinflammatory cytokines and cellular stress on beta-cell function. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Five potential inhibitory Ser sites located proximally to the P-Tyr binding domain of IRS-2 were mutated to Ala. These IRS-2 mutants, denoted IRS-2(5A), and their wild-type controls (IRS-2(WT)) were introduced into adenoviral constructs that were infected into Min6 cells or into cultured murine islets. RESULTS: When expressed in cultured mouse islets, IRS-2(5A) was better than IRS-2(WT) in protecting beta-cells from apoptosis induced by a combination of IL-1beta, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and Fas ligand. Cytokine-treated islets expressing IRS2(5A) secreted significantly more insulin in response to glucose than did islets expressing IRS-2(WT). This could be attributed to the higher transcription of Pdx1 in cytokine-treated islets that expressed IRS-2(5A). Accordingly, transplantation of 200 islets expressing IRS2(5A) into STZ-induced diabetic mice restored their ability to respond to a glucose load similar to naïve mice. In contrast, mice transplanted with islets expressing IRS2(WT) maintained sustained hyperglycemia 3 days after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Elimination of a physiological negative feedback control mechanism along the insulin-signaling pathway that involves Ser/Thr phosphorylation of IRS-2 affords protection against the adverse effects of proinflammatory cytokines and improves beta-cell function under stress. Genetic approaches that promote IRS2(5A) expression in pancreatic beta-cells, therefore, could be considered a rational treatment against beta-cell failure after islet transplantation.

Common inhibitory serine sites phosphorylated by IRS-1 kinases, triggered by insulin and inducers of insulin resistance.

The Insulin Receptor Substrate (IRS) proteins are key players in insulin signal transduction and are the best studied targets of the insulin receptor. Ser/Thr phosphorylation of IRS proteins negatively modulates insulin signaling; therefore, the identification of IRS kinases and their target Ser phosphorylation sites is of physiological importance. Here we show that in Fao rat hepatoma cells, the IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta) is an IRS-1 kinase activated by selected inducers of insulin resistance, including sphingomyelinase, ceramide, and free fatty acids. Moreover, IKKbeta shares a repertoire of seven potential target sites on IRS-1 with protein kinase C zeta (PKCzeta), an IRS-1 kinase activated both by insulin and by inducers of insulin resistance. We further show that mutation of these seven sites (Ser-265, Ser-302, Ser-325, Ser-336, Ser-358, Ser-407, and Ser-408) confers protection from the action of IKKbeta and PKCzeta when they are overexpressed in Fao cells or primary hepatocytes. This enables the mutated IRS proteins to better propagate insulin signaling. These findings suggest that insulin-stimulated IRS kinases such as PKCzeta overlap with IRS kinases triggered by inducers of insulin resistance, such as IKKbeta, to phosphorylate IRS-1 on common Ser sites.

Antidepressants induce cellular insulin resistance by activation of IRS-1 kinases.

Certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) induce the clinical and biochemical manifestations of a metabolic syndrome by as yet unknown mechanism. Here we demonstrate that incubation (1 h) of rat hepatoma Fao cells with the SSRIs paroxetine and sertraline, but not with the atypical antipsychotic drug olanzapine, inhibited the insulin-stimulated Tyr phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) with half-maximal effects at approximately 10 microM. This inhibition correlated with a rapid phosphorylation and activation of a number of Ser/Thr IRS-1 kinases including JNK, S6K1, ERK and p38 MAPK, but not PKB (Akt). JNK appears as a key player activated by SSRIs because specific JNK inhibitors partially eliminated the effects of these drugs. The SSRIs induced the phosphorylation of IRS-1 on S307 and S408, which inhibits IRS-1 function and insulin signaling. These results implicate selected SSRIs as inhibitors of insulin signaling and as potential inducers of cellular insulin resistance.

The involvement of CD44 and its novel ligand galectin-8 in apoptotic regulation of autoimmune inflammation.

The synovial fluid (SF) cells of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients express a specific CD44 variant designated CD44vRA. Using a cellular model of this autoimmune disease, we show in this study that the mammalian lectin, galectin-8 (gal-8), is a novel high-affinity ligand of CD44vRA. By affinity chromatography, flow cytometry, and surface plasmon resonance, we demonstrate that gal-8 interacts with a high affinity (K(d), 6 x 10(-9) M) with CD44vRA. We further demonstrate that SF cells from RA patients express and secrete gal-8, to a concentration of 25-65 nM, well within the concentration of gal-8 required to induce apoptosis of SF cells. We further show that not all gal-8 remains freely soluble in the SF and at least part forms triple complexes with CD44 and fibrinogen that can be detected, after fibrinogen immunoprecipitation, with Abs against fibrinogen, gal-8 and CD44. These triple complexes may therefore increase the inflammatory reaction by sequestering the soluble gal-8, thereby reducing its ability to induce apoptosis in the inflammatory cells. Our findings not only shed light on the receptor-ligand relationships between CD44 and gal-8, but also underline the biological significance of these interactions, which may affect the extent of the autoimmune inflammatory response in the SF of RA patients.

It depends on the hinge: a structure-functional analysis of galectin-8, a tandem-repeat type lectin.

Galectin-8, a member of the galectin family of mammalian lectins, is made of two carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs), joined by a "hinge" region. Ligation of integrins by galectin-8 induces a distinct cytoskeletal organization, associated with activation of the extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling cascades. We show that these properties of galectin-8 are mediated by the concerted action of its two CRDs and involve both protein-sugar and protein-protein interactions. Accordingly, the isolated N- or C-CRD domains of galectin-8 or galectin-8 mutated at selected residues implicated in sugar binding (E251Q; W85Y, W248Y, W[85,248]Y) exhibited reduced sugar binding, which was accompanied by severe impairment in the capacity of these mutants to promote the adhesive, spreading, and signaling functions of galectin-8. Other mutations that did not impair sugar binding (e.g. E88Q) still impeded the signaling and cell-adherence functions of galectin-8. Deletion of the "hinge" region similarly impaired the biological effects of galectin-8. These results provide evidence that cooperative interactions between the two CRDs and the "hinge" domain are required for the proper functioning of galectin-8.

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and JNK act as molecular switches, regulating the choice between growth arrest and apoptosis induced by galectin-8.

Galectin-8, a mammalian beta-galactoside binding lectin, functions as an extracellular matrix protein that forms high affinity interactions with integrins. Here we demonstrated that soluble galectin-8 inhibits cell cycle progression and induces growth arrest. These effects cannot be attributed to interference with cell adhesion but can be attributed to a 4-5-fold increase in the cellular content of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21, which was already evident following a 4-h incubation of H1299 cells with galectin-8. The increase in p21 levels was preceded by a 3-5-fold increase in JNK and protein kinase B (PKB) activities. Accordingly, SP600125, the inhibitor of JNK, and wortmannin, the inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, which is the upstream activator of PKB, inhibited the increase in the cellular content of p21. Furthermore, overexpression of a dominant inhibitory form of SEK1, the upstream kinase regulator of JNK, inhibited both JNK activation and p21 accumulation. When p21 expression was inhibited by cycloheximide, galectin-8 directed the cells toward apoptosis, which involves induction of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. Indeed, galectin-8-induced apoptosis was 2-fold higher in HTC (p21-null) cells when compared with parental HTC cells. Because overexpression of galectin-8 attenuates the rate of DNA synthesis, stable colonies that overexpress and secrete galectin-8 can be generated only in cells overexpressing a growth factor receptor, such as the insulin receptor. These results implicate galectin-8 as a modulator of cellular growth through up-regulation of p21. This process involves activation of JNK, which enhances the synthesis of p21, combined with the activation of PKB, which inhibits p21 degradation. These effects of the lectin depended upon protein-sugar interactions and were induced when galectin-8 was present as a soluble ligand or when it was overexpressed in cells.

Sustained induction of ERK, protein kinase B, and p70 S6 kinase regulates cell spreading and formation of F-actin microspikes upon ligation of integrins by galectin-8, a mammalian lectin.

Galectin-8, a member of the galectin family of mammalian lectins, is a secreted protein that promotes cell adhesion and migration upon binding to a subset of integrins through sugar-protein interactions. Ligation of integrins by galectin-8 triggers a distinct pattern of cytoskeletal organization, including formation of F-actin-containing microspikes. This is associated with activation of integrin-mediated signaling cascades (ERK and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)) that are much more robust and are of longer duration than those induced upon cell adhesion to fibronectin. Indeed, formation of microspikes is enhanced 40% in cells that overexpress protein kinase B, the downstream effector of PI3K. Inhibition of PI3K activity induced by wortmannin partially inhibits cell adhesion and spreading while largely inhibiting microspike formation in cells adherent to galectin-8. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of wortmannin are markedly accentuated in cells overexpressing PKB or p70S6K (CHO(PKB) and CHO(p70S6K) cells), whose adhesion and spreading on galectin-8 (but not on fibronectin) is inhibited approximately 25-35% in the presence of wortmannin. The above results suggest that galectin-8 is an extracellular matrix protein that triggers a unique repertoire of integrin-mediated signals, which leads to a distinctive cytoskeletal organization and microspike formation. They further suggest that downstream effectors of PI3K, including PKB and p70 S6 kinase, in part mediate cell adhesion, spreading, and microspike formation induced by galectin-8.

Role of galectin-8 as a modulator of cell adhesion and cell growth.

Galectin-8 belongs to the family of tandem-repeat type galectins. It consists as several isoforms, each made of two domains of approximately 140 amino-acids, both having a carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). These domains are joined by a 'link peptide' of variable length. The human galectin-8 gene covers 33 kbp of genomic DNA. It is localized on chromosome 1 (1q42.11) and contains 11 exons. The gene produces by alternative splicing 14 different transcripts, altogether encoding 6 proteins. Galectin-8, like other galectins, is a secreted protein. Upon secretion galectin-8 acts as a physiological modulator of cell adhesion. When immobilized, it functions as a matrix protein equipotent to fibronectin in promoting cell adhesion by ligation and clustering of a selective subset of cell surface integrin receptors. Complex formation between galectin-8 and integrins involves sugar-protein interactions and triggers integrin-mediated signaling cascades such as Tyr phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin. In contrast, when present in excess as a soluble ligand, galectin-8 (like fibronectin) forms a complex with integrins that negatively regulates cell adhesion. Such a mechanism allows local signals emitted by secreted galectin-8 to specify territories available for cell adhesion and migration. Due to its dual effects on the adhesive properties of cells and its association with fibronectin, galectin-8 might be considered as a novel type of a matricellular protein. Galectin-8 levels of expression positively correlate with certain human neoplasms, prostate cancer being the best example studied thus far. The overexpressed lectin might give these neoplasms some growth and metastasis related advantages due to its ability to modulate cell adhesion and cellular growth. Hence, galectin-8 may modulate cell-matrix interactions and regulate cellular functions in a variety of physiological and pathological conditions.