Sam68 associates with the SH3 domains of Grb2 recruiting GAP to the Grb2-SOS complex in insulin receptor signaling

Role of Sam68 as an adaptor protein in inflammatory signaling

Sam68 is a ubiquitously expressed KH-domain containing RNA-binding protein highly studied for its involvement in regulating multiple steps of RNA metabolism. Sam68 also contains multiple protein-protein interaction regions such as proline-rich regions, tyrosine phosphorylation sites, and arginine methylation sites, all of which facilitate its participation as an adaptor protein in multiple signaling pathways, likely independent of its RNA-binding role. This review focuses on providing a comprehensive report on the adaptor roles of Sam68 in inflammatory signaling and inflammatory diseases. The insights presented here have the potential to open new avenues in inflammation research and justify targeting Sam68 to control aberrant inflammatory responses.

Decreased Expression of Sam68 Is Associated with Insulin Resistance in Granulosa Cells from PCOS Patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex metabolic disorder associated with ovulatory dysfunction, hyperandrogenism, obesity, and insulin resistance, which leads to subfertility. PCOS is the most frequent metabolic disorder in women and the major cause of infertility. Susceptibility to developing PCOS is determined by a complex interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Although different mechanisms have been proposed to explain PCOS manifestations, defects in insulin actions or in the insulin signaling pathways are central in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. However, the mechanisms (molecular players and signaling pathways) underlying its primary origin still remain an unsolved issue. Current research is increasingly focusing on the discovery of novel biomarkers to further elucidate the complex pathophysiology of PCOS. Sam68, an RNA-binding protein, is recruited to insulin signaling, mediating different insulin actions. We aimed to investigate the role of Sam68 in insulin signaling and the possible implications of Sam68 in the insulin resistance in PCOS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Granulosa cells were taken from women with PCOS (n = 25) and healthy donors (n = 25) and, within the age range of 20 to 42 years, from GINEMED, Assisted Reproduction Centre, Seville, Spain. The Sam68 expression level was analyzed both by qPCR and immunoblot. Statistical significance was assessed by one-way ANOVA, followed by a post-hoc test. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

We found that insulin stimulation increases the phosphorylation and expression level of Sam68 in granulosa cells from normal donors. The downregulation of Sam68 expression resulted in a lower activation of both the MAPK and the PI3K pathways in response to insulin. Moreover, the granulosa cells from the women with PCOS presented a lower expression of Sam68, as well as insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1). In these cells, the overexpression of Sam68 resulted in an increased activation of both the MAPK and the PI3K pathways in response to insulin.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest the participation of Sam68 in insulin receptor signaling, mediating the insulin effect in granulosa cells, and they suggest the possible role of Sam68 in the insulin resistance of PCOS.

Sam68 mediates leptin signaling and action in human granulosa cells: possible role in leptin resistance in PCOS

INTRODUCTION

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex metabolic disorder associated with ovulatory dysfunction, hyperandrogenism, obesity, and insulin resistance, that leads to subfertility. Sam68 is an RNA-binding protein with signaling functions that is ubiquitously expressed, including gonads. Sam68 is recruited to leptin signaling, mediating different leptin actions.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the role of Sam68 in leptin signaling, mediating the effect on aromatase expression in granulosa cells and the posible implication of Sam68 in the leptin resistance in PCOS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Granulosa cells were from healthy donors (n = 25) and women with PCOS (n = 25), within the age range of 20 to 40 years, from Valencian Infertility Institute (IVI), Seville, Spain. Sam68 expression was inhibited by siRNA method and overexpressed by expression vector. Expression level was analysed by qPCR and immunoblot. Statistical significance was assessed by ANOVA followed by different post-hoc tests. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

We have found that leptin stimulation increases phosphorylation and expression level of Sam68 and aromatase in granulosa cells from normal donors. Downregulation of Sam68 expression resulted in a lower activation of MAPK and PI3K pathways in response to leptin, whereas overexpression of Sam68 increased leptin stimulation of signaling, enhancing aromatase expression. Granulosa cells from women with PCOS presented lower expression of Sam68 and were resistant to the leptin effect on aromatase expression.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest the participation of Sam68 in leptin receptor signaling, mediating the leptin effect on aromatase expression in granulosa cells, and point to a new target in leptin resistance in PCOS.

Sam68 Mediates the Activation of Insulin and Leptin Signalling in Breast Cancer Cells

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for breast cancer development in postmenopausal women. High insulin and leptin levels seem to have a role modulating the growth of these tumours. Sam68 is an RNA-binding protein with signalling functions that has been found to be overexpressed in breast cancer. Moreover, Sam68 may be recruited to insulin and leptin signalling pathways, mediating its effects on survival, growth and proliferation in different cellular types. We aimed to study the expression of Sam68 and its phosphorylation level upon insulin and leptin stimulation, and the role of Sam68 in the proliferative effect and signalling pathways that are activated by insulin or leptin in human breast adenocarcinoma cells. In the human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines MCF7, MDA-MB-231 and BT-474, Sam68 protein quantity and gene expression were increased upon leptin or insulin stimulation, as it was checked by qPCR and immunoblot. Moreover, both insulin and leptin stimulation promoted an increase in Sam68 tyrosine phosphorylation and negatively regulated its RNA binding capacity. siRNA was used to downregulate Sam68 expression, which resulted in lower proliferative effects of both insulin and leptin, as well as a lower activation of MAPK and PI3K pathways promoted by both hormones. These effects may be partly explained by the decrease in IRS-1 expression by down-regulation of Sam68. These results suggest the participation of Sam68 in both leptin and insulin receptor signaling in human breast cancer cells, mediating the trophic effects of these hormones in proliferation and cellular growth.

Role of Sam68 in post-transcriptional gene regulation

The STAR family of proteins links signaling pathways to various aspects of post-transcriptional regulation and processing of RNAs. Sam68 belongs to this class of heteronuclear ribonucleoprotein particle K (hnRNP K) homology (KH) single domain-containing family of RNA-binding proteins that also contains some domains predicted to bind critical components in signal transduction pathways. In response to phosphorylation and other post-transcriptional modifications, Sam68 has been shown to have the ability to link signal transduction pathways to downstream effects regulating RNA metabolism, including transcription, alternative splicing or RNA transport. In addition to its function as a docking protein in some signaling pathways, this prototypic STAR protein has been identified to have a nuclear localization and to take part in the formation of both nuclear and cytosolic multi-molecular complexes such as Sam68 nuclear bodies and stress granules. Coupling with other proteins and RNA targets, Sam68 may play a role in the regulation of differential expression and mRNA processing and translation according to internal and external signals, thus mediating important physiological functions, such as cell death, proliferation or cell differentiation.

Comprehensive analysis of interactions between the Src-associated protein in mitosis of 68 kDa and the human Src-homology 3 proteome

The protein Sam68 is involved in many cellular processes such as cell-cycle regulation, RNA metabolism, or signal transduction. Sam68 comprises a central RNA-binding domain flanked by unstructured tails containing docking sites for signalling proteins including seven proline-rich sequences (denoted P0 to P6) as potential SH3-domain binding motifs. To comprehensively assess Sam68-SH3-interactions, we applied a phage-display screening of a library containing all approx. 300 human SH3 domains. Thereby we identified five new (from intersectin 2, the osteoclast stimulating factor OSF, nephrocystin, sorting nexin 9, and CIN85) and seven already known high-confidence Sam68-ligands (mainly from the Src-kinase family), as well as several lower-affinity binders. Interaction of the high-affinity Sam68-binders was confirmed in independent assays in vitro (phage-ELISA, GST-pull-down) and in vivo (FACS-based FRET-analysis with CFP- and YFP-tagged proteins). Fine-mapping analyses with peptides established P0, P3, P4, and P5 as exclusive docking-sites for SH3 domains, which showed varying preferences for these motifs. Mutational analyses identified individual residues within the proline-rich motifs being crucial for the interactions. Based on these data, we generated a Sam68-mutant incapable of interacting with SH3 domains any more, as subsequently demonstrated by FRET-analyses. In conclusion, we present a thorough characterization of Sam68's interplay with the SH3 proteome. The observed interaction between Sam68 and OSF complements the known Sam68-Src and OSF-Src interactions. Thus, we propose, that Sam68 functions as a classical scaffold protein in this context, assembling components of an osteoclast-specific signalling pathway.

Sam68 interacts with IRS1

Sam68 (Src associated in mitosis) is a RNA binding protein that links cellular signaling to RNA processing. In previous studies we found that insulin promotes Sam68 relocalization in the cytoplasm allowing Sam68 to associate with p85PI3K, Grb2, GAP and probably the insulin receptor (IR), modulating insulin action positively. In the present work, we wanted to define the role of Sam68 in the first stages of IR signaling. Both BRET and co-immunoprecipitation assays have been used for the study of Sam68 binding to IR, IRS1 and p85-PI3K. BRET saturation experiments indicated, for the first time, that Sam68 associates with IRS1 in basal condition. To map the region of Sam68 implicated in the interaction with IRS1, different Sam68 mutants deleted in the proline-rich domains were used. The deletion of P0, P1 and P2 proline rich domains in N-terminus as well as P4 and P5 in C-terminus of Sam68 increased BRET(50), thus indicating that the affinity of Sam68 for IRS1 is lower when these domains are missing. Moreover, in IR-transfected HEK-293 cells, BRET saturation experiment indicated that insulin increases the affinity between Sam68-Rluc and IRS1-YFP. In conclusion, our data indicate that Sam68 interacts with IRS-1 in basal conditions, and insulin increases the affinity between these two partners.

Sam68 mediates leptin-stimulated growth by modulating leptin receptor signaling in human trophoblastic JEG-3 cells

BACKGROUND

Sam68, a member of the signal transduction and activation of RNA metabolism (STAR) family of RNA-binding proteins, has been previously implicated as an adaptor molecule in different signaling systems, including leptin receptor (LEPR) signaling. LEPR activation is known to stimulate JAK-STAT, MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways, thus mediating the biological effects of leptin in different cell types, including trophoblastic cells. We have recently found that leptin stimulation also promotes the overexpression and tyrosine phosphorylation of Sam68 in human trophoblastic JEG-3 cells, suggesting a role for Sam68 in leptin signaling and action in these cells. In the present work, we have studied the participation of Sam68 in the main signaling pathways activated by LEPR to increase growth and proliferation in trophoblastic JEG-3 cells.

METHODS

We used an antisense strategy to down-regulate Sam68 expression in these cells, and we studied LEPR signaling by immunoprecipitation and poly-U affinity precipitation and by analyzing phosphorylation levels of signaling proteins by immunoblot. The effect of leptin on protein synthesis and proliferation was studied by ³[H]-leucine and ³[H]-thymidine incorporation.

RESULTS

Sam68 knockdown impaired leptin activation of JAK-STAT, PI3K and MAPK signaling pathways in JEG-3 cells. We have also found that leptin-stimulated Sam68 tyrosine phosphorylation is dependent on JAK-2 activity, since the pharmacological inhibitor AG490 prevents the phosphorylation of Sam68 in JEG-3 cells. Finally, the trophic and proliferative effect of leptin in trophoblastic cells is dependent on Sam68 expression, since its down-regulation impaired the leptin-stimulated DNA and protein synthesis.

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate that Sam68 participates in the main signaling pathways of LEPR to mediate the trophic and proliferative effect of leptin in human trophoblastic cells.

Leptin receptor activation increases Sam68 tyrosine phosphorylation and expression in human trophoblastic cells

Leptin is produced in placenta where it has been found to be an important autocrine signal for trophoblastic growth during pregnancy, promoting antiapoptotic and trophic effects. Leptin receptor is present in trophoblastic cells and leptin may fully activate signaling. We have previously implicated the RNA-binding protein Sam68 in leptin signal transduction in immune cells. In the present work, we have studied the possible role of Sam68 in leptin receptor signaling in trophoblastic cells (JEG-3 cells). Leptin dose-dependently stimulated Sam68 phosphorylation in JEG-3 cells, as assessed by immunoprecipitation and immunoblot with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. As previously observed in other systems, tyrosine phosphorylation of Sam68 in response to leptin inhibits its RNA binding capacity. Besides, leptin stimulation dose-dependently increases Sam68 expression in JEG-3 cells, as assessed by quantitative PCR. Consistently, the amount of Sam68 protein is increased after 24h of leptin stimulation of trophoblastic cells. In order to study the possible role of Sam68 on leptin receptor synthesis, we employed antisense strategy to knockdown the expression of Sam68. We have found that a decrease in Sam68 expression leads to a decrease in leptin receptor amount in JEG-3 cells, as assessed both by quantitative PCR and immunoblot. These results strongly suggest the participation of Sam68 in leptin receptor signaling in human trophoblastic cells, and therefore, Sam68 may mediate some of the leptin effects in placenta.

Sam68, the KH domain-containing superSTAR

Sam68 is one of the most studied members of the STAR family of RNA-binding proteins since its identification over a decade ago. Since its ascension into prominence, enormous progress has been made to unmask the link between the RNA-binding properties of Sam68 and the regulation of cellular processes including signal transduction, cell cycle regulation and tumorigenesis and RNA biogenesis in general. In this review we provide a detailed description of the functional domains of Sam68 and the possible biological roles that justify its superSTAR status.

Gene expression profiling identifies molecular subtypes of gliomas

Identification of distinct molecular subtypes is a critical challenge for cancer biology. In this study, we used Affymetrix high-density oligonucleotide arrays to identify the global gene expression signatures associated with gliomas of different types and grades. Here, we show that the global transcriptional profiles of gliomas of different types and grades are distinct from each other and from the normal brain. To determine whether our data could be used to uncover molecular subtypes without prior knowledge of pathologic type and grade, we performed K-means clustering analysis and found evidence for three clusters with the aid of multidimensional scaling plots. These clusters corresponded to glioblastomas, lower grade astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas (P<0.00001). A predictor constructed from the 170 genes that are most differentially expressed between the subsets correctly identified the type and grade of all samples, indicating that a relatively small number of genes can be used to distinguish between these molecular subtypes. These results further define molecular subsets of gliomas which may potentially be used for patient stratification, and suggest potential targets for treatment.