Ablation of PDK1 in pancreatic beta cells induces diabetes as a result of loss of beta cell mass.

The total mass of islets of Langerhans is reduced in individuals with type 2 diabetes, possibly contributing to the pathogenesis of this condition. Although the regulation of islet mass is complex, recent studies have suggested the importance of a signaling pathway that includes the insulin or insulin-like growth factor-1 receptors, insulin receptor substrate and phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase. 3-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) is a serine-threonine kinase that mediates signaling downstream of PI 3-kinase. Here we show that mice that lack PDK1 specifically in pancreatic beta cells (betaPdk1-/- mice) develop progressive hyperglycemia as a result of a loss of islet mass. The mice show reductions in islet density as well as in the number and size of cells. Haploinsufficiency of the gene for the transcription factor Foxo1 resulted in a marked increase in the number, but not the size, of cells and resulted in the restoration of glucose homeostasis in betaPdk1-/- mice. These results suggest that PDK1 is important in maintenance of pancreatic cell mass and glucose homeostasis.

Proline cis/trans-isomerase Pin1 regulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma activity through the direct binding to the activation function-1 domain.

The important roles of a nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) are widely accepted in various biological processes as well as metabolic diseases. Despite the worldwide quest for pharmaceutical manipulation of PPARgamma activity through the ligand-binding domain, very little information about the activation mechanism of the N-terminal activation function-1 (AF-1) domain. Here, we demonstrate the molecular and structural basis of the phosphorylation-dependent regulation of PPARgamma activity by a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase, Pin1. Pin1 interacts with the phosphorylated AF-1 domain, thereby inhibiting the polyubiquitination of PPARgamma. The interaction and inhibition are dependent upon the WW domain of Pin1 but are independent of peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans-isomerase activity. Gene knockdown experiments revealed that Pin1 inhibits the PPARgamma-dependent gene expression in THP-1 macrophage-like cells. Thus, our results suggest that Pin1 regulates macrophage function through the direct binding to the phosphorylated AF-1 domain of PPARgamma.

Molecular signals of Mammalian circadian clock.

The circadian rhythm is originally generated by a transcription-translation based oscillatory loop composed of a set of clock genes in most organisms. The clock gene oscillation is generated by the core loop in each neuron of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus. Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of clock proteins play the crucial role for the rhythmic transcription of clock genes. The core clock oscillation is conducted at the cellular levels by E-box or by D-box of clock controlled genes.

Transportin 1 in the mouse brain: appearance in regions of neurogenesis, cerebrospinal fluid production/sensing, and circadian clock.

Transportin1 (Tnpo1) is a carrier protein belonging to the importin-ß family, which transports substrates between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. To gain insight into the role of Tnpo1 gene in the brain, we investigated the localization of Tnpo1-, Tnpo2-, and Tnpo3-expressing cells by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Tnpo1 mRNA-positive cells were distributed throughout the brain from the olfactory bulb to the medulla oblongata. The cells in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle, where neurogenesis occurs even in the adult, and its progeny neurons in the granular cells of the olfactory bulb and the islands of Calleja were strongly labeled. It is also noteworthy that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-generating epithelial cells in the choroid plexus and CSF-contacting and -sensing circumventricular organs, including organum vasculosum lamina terminalis, subfornical organ, and subcommissural organ, expressed high amounts of Tnpo1. The strongest signals were found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), where the biological clock resides, which prompted us to examine the circadian characteristics of Tnpo1. Under constant-dark conditions, the circadian expression profiles of Tnpo1 mRNA in the SCN showed a peak in the subjective night and a trough in the subjective day. Tnpo2 and Tnpo3 showed similar patterns of expression, except in the choroids plexus, the subventricular zone, and the SCN, where the expression was notably weaker. These findings suggest that Tnpo1 is involved in a variety of functions in the adult brain, including neurogenesis, CSF production and sensing, and circadian rhythms.

Structural insight into PPARgamma activation through covalent modification with endogenous fatty acids.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma is a nuclear receptor that regulates lipid homeostasis, and several fatty acid metabolites have been identified as PPARgamma ligands. Here, we present four crystal structures of the PPARgamma ligand binding domain (LBD) covalently bound to endogenous fatty acids via a unique cysteine, which is reportedly critical for receptor activation. The structure analyses of the LBD complexed with 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2) (15d-PGJ(2)) revealed that the covalent binding of 15d-PGJ(2) induced conformational changes in the loop region following helix H2', and rearrangements of the side-chain network around the created covalent bond in the LBD. Point mutations of these repositioned residues on the loop and helix H3 almost completely abolished PPARgamma activation by 15d-PGJ(2), indicating that the observed structural alteration may be crucial for PPARgamma activation by the endogenous fatty acid. To address the issue of partial agonism of endogenous PPARgamma ligands, we took advantage of a series of oxidized eicosatetraenoic acids (oxoETEs) as covalently bound ligands to PPARgamma. Despite similar structural and chemical properties, these fatty acids exhibited distinct degrees of transcriptional activity. Crystallographic studies, using two of the oxoETE/PPARgamma LBD complexes, revealed that transcriptional strength of each oxoETE is associated with the difference in the loop conformation, rather than the interaction between each ligand and helix H12. These results suggest that the loop conformation may be responsible for the modulation of PPARgamma activity. Based on these results, we identified novel agonists covalently bound to PPARgamma by in silico screening and a cell-based assay. Our crystallographic study of LBD complexed with nitro-233 demonstrated that the expected covalent bond is indeed formed between this newly identified agonist and the cysteine. This study presents the structural basis for the activation and modulation mechanism of PPARgamma through covalent modification with endogenous fatty acids.

Does mPER2 protein oscillate without its coding mRNA cycling?: post-transcriptional regulation by cell clock.

Does the mammalian oscillatory protein mPER2 show the rhythm without its coding mRNA cycling? Here we answer this question by inserting a single copy of exogenous mPer2 gene to a NIH3T3 fibroblasts cell line, using Flp-In system. We generated the stable cell lines which constantly express mRNAs coding either N-terminal FLAG-tagged full length mPER2 (FLAG-mPER2(full)) or its C-terminal deleted form (FLAG-mPER2(1-1068)), which lacks the binding site to mCRY proteins, under the control of human EF-1alpha promoter. Although serum shock induced the rhythm of endogenous clock machinery in these cell lines, it did not initiate the rhythm of exogenously inserted FLAG-mPer2 genes at the mRNA level. In contrast, FLAG-mPER2(full) proteins showed the rhythm without their coding mRNA cycling. Since cells expressing FLAG-mPER2(1-1068) also showed the rhythm of FLAG-mPER2(1-1068) proteins, the direct binding of mCRY and mPER2 seems not necessary for this protein oscillation. This system clearly demonstrates that the intracellular endogenous clock system has an ability to modify the mPer2 gene post-transcriptionally to make mPER2 proteins oscillate without its coding mRNA cycling.