Differences in metabolic and mitogenic signallingof insulin glargine and AspB10 human insulin in rats [corrected].

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: In vitro, insulin glargine (A21Gly,B31Arg,B32Arg human insulin) has an insulin receptor (IR) profile similar to that of human insulin, but a slightly higher affinity for the IGF-1 receptor (IGF1R). AspB10 human insulin (AspB10), [corrected] the only insulin analogue with proven carcinogenic activity, has a greater affinity for IGF1R and IR, and a prolonged IR occupancy time. The pharmacological and signalling profile of therapeutic and suprapharmacological doses of glargine were analysed in different tissues of rats, and compared with human insulin and AspB10. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were injected s.c. with human insulin or insulin analogue at doses of 1 to 200 U/kg, and the effects on blood glucose and the phosphorylation status of IR, IGF1R, Akt and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 in muscle, fat, liver and heart samples were investigated. RESULTS: Glargine, AspB10 and human insulin lowered blood glucose, with the onset of action delayed with glargine. Glargine treatment resulted in phosphorylation levels of IR and Akt that were comparable with those achieved with human insulin, although delayed in time in some tissues. AspB10 treatment resulted in at least twofold higher phosphorylation levels and significantly longer duration of IR and Akt phosphorylation in most tissues. None of the insulin treatments resulted in detectable IGF1R phosphorylation in muscle or heart tissue, whereas intravenous injection of IGF-1 increased IGF1R phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The IR signalling pattern of AspB10 in vivo is distinctly different from that of human insulin and insulin glargine, and might challenge the notion that activation of IGF1R plays a role in the observed carcinogenic effect of AspB10.

Cannabinoid type 1 receptors in human skeletal muscle cells participate in the negative crosstalk between fat and muscle.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) antagonists such as rimonabant (Rim) represent a novel approach to treat obesity and related metabolic disorders. Recent data suggest that endocannabinoids are also produced by human adipocytes. Here we studied the potential involvement of endocannabinoids in the negative crosstalk between fat and muscle. METHODS: The protein level of CB1R in human skeletal muscle cells (SkM) during differentiation was analysed using western blotting. SkM were treated with adipocyte-conditioned medium (CM) or anandamide (AEA) in combination with the CB1R antagonists Rim or AM251, and insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation and glucose uptake were determined. Furthermore, signalling pathways of CB1R were investigated. RESULTS: We revealed an increase of CB1R protein in SkM during differentiation. Twenty-four hour incubation of SkM with CM or AEA impaired insulin-stimulated Akt(Ser473) phosphorylation by 60% and up to 40%, respectively. Pretreatment of cells with Rim or AM251 reduced the effect of CM by about one-half, while the effect of AEA could be prevented completely. The reduction of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by CM was completely prevented by Rim. Short-time incubation with AEA activated extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and impaired insulin-stimulated Akt(Ser473) phosphorylation, but had no effect on Akt(Thr308) and glycogen synthase kinase 3alpha/beta phosphorylation. In addition, enhanced IRS-1 (Ser307) phosphorylation was observed. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our results show that the CB1R system may play a role in the development of insulin resistance in human SkM. The results obtained with CM support the notion that adipocytes may secrete factors which are able to activate the CB1R. Furthermore, we identified two stress kinases in the signalling pathway of AEA and enhanced IRS-1(Ser307) phosphorylation, potentially underlying the development of insulin resistance.

Autophosphorylation of the two C-terminal tyrosine residues Tyr1316 and Tyr1322 modulates the activity of the insulin receptor kinase in vitro.

Previously, several studies have demonstrated that autophosphorylation of the C-terminal tyrosine residues (Tyr1316 and Tyr1322) affects the signaling properties of the insulin receptor in vivo. To assess the biochemical consequences of the C-terminal phosphorylation in vitro, we have constructed, purified and characterized 45 kDa soluble insulin receptor kinase domains (IRKD), either with (IRKD) or without (IRKD-Y2F) the two C-terminal tyrosine phosphorylation sites, respectively. According to HPLC phosphopeptide mapping, autophosphorylation of the three tyrosines in the activation loop of the IRKD-Y2F kinase (Tyr1146, Tyr1150, and Tyr1151) was not affected by the mutation. In addition, the Y2F mutation did not significantly change the Km values for exogenous substrates. However, the mutation in IRKD-Y2F resulted in a decrease in the maximum velocities of the phosphotransferase reaction in substrate phosphorylation reactions. Moreover, the exchange of the tyrosines in IRKD-Y2F led to an increase in the apparent Km values for ATP, suggesting a cross-talk of the C-terminus and the catalytic domain of the enzyme. In addition, as judged by size exclusion chromatography, conformational changes of the enzyme following autophosphorylation were abolished by the removal of the two C-terminal tyrosines. These data suggest a regulatory role of the two C-terminal phosphorylation sites in the phosphotransferase activity of the insulin receptor.

Identification of Ser-1275 and Ser-1309 as autophosphorylation sites of the insulin receptor.

We have identified Ser-1275 and Ser-1309 as novel serine autophosphorylation sites by direct sequencing of HPLC-purified tryptic phosphopeptides of the histidine-tagged insulin receptor kinase IRKD-HIS. The corresponding peptides (Ser-1275, amino acids 1272-1292; Ser-1309, amino acids 1305-1313) have been detected in the HPLC profiles of both the soluble kinase IRKD, which contains the entire cytoplasmic domain of the insulin receptor beta-subunit, and the insulin receptor purified from human placenta. In contrast, a kinase negative mutant, IRKD-K1018A, did not undergo phosphorylation at either the tyrosine or serine residues, strongly suggesting that insulin receptor kinase has an intrinsic activity to autophosphorylate serine residues.

Gene expression profiling in skeletal muscle of Zucker diabetic fatty rats: implications for a role of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 in insulin resistance.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, we sought to identify and validate genes involved in the development of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. MATERIALS: Differentially regulated genes in skeletal muscle of male obese insulin-resistant, and lean insulin-sensitive Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats were determined using Affymetrix microarrays. Based on these data, various aspects of glucose disposal, insulin signalling and fatty acid composition were analysed in a muscle cell line overexpressing stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1). RESULTS: Gene expression profiling in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle revealed the most pronounced changes in gene expression for genes involved in lipid metabolism. Among these, Scd1 showed increased expression in insulin-resistant animals, correlating with increased amounts of palmitoleoyl-CoA. This was further investigated in a muscle cell line that overexpressed SCD1 and accumulated lipids, revealing impairments of glucose uptake and of different steps of the insulin signalling cascade. We also observed differential effects of high-glucose and fatty acid treatment on glucose uptake and long-chain fatty acyl-CoA profiles, and in particular an accumulation of palmitoleoyl-CoA in cells overexpressing SCD1. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Insulin-resistant skeletal muscle of ZDF rats is characterised by a specific gene expression profile with increased levels of Scd1. An insulin-resistant phenotype similar to that obtained by treatment with palmitate and high glucose can be induced in vitro by overexpression of SCD1 in muscle cells. This supports the hypothesis that elevated SCD1 expression is a possible cause of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

A single substitution of the insulin receptor kinase inhibits serine autophosphorylation in vitro: evidence for an interaction between the C-terminus and the activation loop.

We examined the effects of mutations of tyrosine and serine autophosphorylation sites on the dual specificity of the insulin receptor kinase (IRKD) in vitro using autophosphorylation and substrate phosphorylation and phosphopeptide mapping. For comparable studies, the recombinant kinases were overexpressed in the baculovirus system, purified, and analyzed. The phosphate incorporation into the enzymes was in the range of 3-4.5 mol/mol, and initial velocities of autophosphorylation were reduced up to 2-fold. However, the mutation Y1151F in the activation loop inhibited phosphate incorporation in the C-terminal serine residues 1275 and 1309, due to a 10-fold decrease of the initial velocity of serine autophosphorylation. Although the K(M) and V(MAX) values of this mutant were only slightly altered in substrate phosphorylation reactions using a recombinant C-terminal insulin receptor peptide (K(M): Y1151F, 9.9 +/- 0.4 microM; IRKD, 6.1 +/- 0.2 microM; V(MAX): Y1151F, 72 +/- 4 nmol min(-)(1) mg(-)(1); IRKD, 117 +/- 6 nmol min(-)(1) mg(-)(1)), diminished phosphate incorporation into serine residues of the peptide was observed. In contrast, the phosphorylation of a recombinant IRS-1 fragment, which was shown to be phosphorylated markedly on serine residues by IRKD, was not affected by any kinase mutation. These results underline that IRKD is a kinase with dual specificity. The substrate specificity toward C-terminal serine phosphorylation sites can be modified by a single amino acid substitution in the activation loop, whereas the specificity toward IRS-1 is not affected, suggesting that the C-terminus and the activation loop interact.

Adiponectin counteracts cytokine- and fatty acid-induced apoptosis in the pancreatic beta-cell line INS-1.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis is a common feature of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and leptin exerts an anti-apoptotic function in these cells. The beta-cell line INS-1 was used to test the hypothesis that the adipocyte hormone adiponectin might mediate an anti-apoptotic effect comparable to leptin. METHODS: Apoptosis was induced by culturing cells with a cytokine combination (interleukin-1beta/interferon-gamma) or palmitic acid in absence or presence of leptin or the globular domain of adiponectin (gAcrp30), respectively. RESULTS: INS-1 cells had a prominent sensitivity towards cytokine- and fatty acid-induced apoptosis, resulting in about three- and six-fold increases in caspase 3 activation and DNA fragmentation, respectively. gAcrp30 strongly (50-60%) inhibited palmitic acid-induced apoptosis, with a weaker effect against cytokine-induced apoptosis (35%). The same result was observed for leptin with both adipokines being non-additive. Reduction of apoptosis by an inhibitor of IkappaB-kinase (IKK) indicated the involvement of the nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB pathway in both cytokine- and fatty acid-induced apoptosis, however, leptin and gAcrp30 were unable to block NF-kappaB activation. Cytokine- and fatty-acid-induced suppression of glucose/forskolin-stimulated insulin secretion was completely prevented through the action of gAcrp30, whereas leptin was only effective against lipotoxicity-mediated beta-cell dysfunction. CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: Our data show that gAcrp30 partially rescues beta cells from cytokine- and fatty-acid-induced apoptosis and completely restores autoimmune- and lipotoxicity-induced dysfunction of insulin-producing cells. We suggest that gAcrp30 exerts its anti-apoptotic function without modulating NF-kappaB activation. This novel beta cell protective function of gAcrp30 might serve to counteract autoimmune- and lipotoxicity-induced beta-cell destruction.

Identification of Ser(1275) and Ser(1309) as autophosphorylation sites of the human insulin receptor in intact cells.

In a previous report we described Ser(1275) and Ser(1309) as autophosphorylation sites of the human insulin receptor (IR) tyrosine kinase (TK) in vitro. The question remained whether the observed phosphorylation was exclusive for the in vitro activated receptor or a more general, mechanism of the activated receptor in situ. In this study, we determined the intrinsic activity of the IR to phosphorylate both serine residues in intact cells. For this purpose CHO-09 and NIH-3T3 derived cell-lines expressing the human IR were metabolically labelled with [(32)P]orthophosphate, followed by hormone stimulation of the receptor. The IR was isolated by immunoprecipitation and SDS-PAGE and subsequently analysed for serine phosphorylation by phosphopeptide mapping of HPLC-purified tryptic phosphopeptides. Activation of the IR in the intact cell appeared to result in phosphate incorporation into Ser(1275) and Ser(1309), providing strong evidence that both serine residues are phosphorylation sites of the activated receptor in intact cells.

Inhibitor kappaB kinase is involved in the paracrine crosstalk between human fat and muscle cells.

OBJECTIVE: Adipose tissue is now considered as an endocrine and secretory organ, and some adipocyte factors are thought to play a major role in the induction of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. Here we tested the hypothesis that the crosstalk between fat and muscle involves activation of inhibitor kappaB Kinase (IKK) in the myocytes. MEASUREMENTS: Adipocyte-conditioned culture medium was added to the muscle cells overnight, or human fat and muscle cells were kept in co-culture. Insulin signalling was subsequently analysed in the myocytes. Involvement of IKK was assessed using I229, a highly specific inhibitor of the IKK complex. RESULTS: Adipocyte-conditioned medium strongly inhibited insulin-induced serine phosphorylation of Akt in myocytes with a rapid parallel activation of the nuclear factor kappaB pathway in these cells. Conditioned medium lacking the perturbation of insulin signalling did not activate NF-kappaB. Insulin signalling to Akt was completely abrogated under co-culture conditions. The IKK inhibitor I229 did not affect protein expression of Akt, but fully restored insulin action in myocytes subjected to co-culture. CONCLUSION: These data show that the release of fat cell factors may rapidly induce insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle cells. This process appears to be mediated by an IKK/NF-kappaB dependent pathway. We suggest that inhibitors of IKK would be of use to counteract the negative crosstalk between fat and muscle.

Expression, purification, and characterization of the cytoplasmic domain of the human IGF-1 receptor using a baculovirus expression system.

The cytoplasmatic domain of the beta-subunit of the human IGF-1 receptor (residues 929-1337) has been overexpressed in insect cells using the baculovirus expression system. Synthesis of the soluble protein (IGFK, M(r) 46 kDa) in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells was detected 24 h after infection and maximal accumulation was achieved 40-48 h postinfection. Rapid purification to near homogeneity (>/=95% pure protein) was accomplished by sequential chromatography on Resource-Q and phenyl-Sepharose with a specific activity of 142 nmol/min/mg using poly[Glu:Tyr] as substrate. The purified IGFK showed a preference for Mn(2+) ions and a linear incorporation of (32)P from [gamma-(32)P]ATP over a 20-fold dilution of the protein and was stimulated 20-fold by the polycation poly-L-lysine. Interestingly, the kinase autophosphorylated on tyrosine and serine residues. In contrast, a kinase-negative mutant, IGFK-K1003A, did not undergo phosphorylation on tyrosine or serine residues, respectively, suggesting that IGF-1 receptor kinase is a dual specific kinase.