Studies on the specific activity of [gamma-32P]ATP in adipose and other tissue preparations incubated with medium containing [32P]phosphate

Hepatic surgery-related hypophosphatemia

This review describes pathophysiology of post-surgical hypophosphatemia (HP), which has particularly high incidence following liver transplantation. HP remains poorly understood; and there is a lack of universally accepted guidelines for its investigation and management. The pathogenesis of HP following major liver surgery has been hypothesized as being due either to excessive utilization by regenerating liver or increased urinary losses of phosphate. This review provides evidence that excessive urinary loss rather than increased Pi uptake by the liver is the most likely mechanism, and this may be mediated by recently described phosphaturic factors, known as phosphatonins. Until recently blood Pi homeostasis had been explained solely in terms of classical hormones, i.e., vitamin D and PTH. It is however increasingly recognized that phosphatonins may play a critical role in the post-operative HP, but the exact mechanism and candidate phosphaturic factor has not yet been identified. In this review, we have described likely mechanisms and suggest candidate phosphatonins that may mediate urinary Pi loss following liver transplantation. We also discuss the biochemical consequences of cellular Pi depletion, which exposes some gaps in the utilization of established knowledge and therefore in the management of HP. The main aspects of pathophysiology of HP and cellular Pi depletion are presented to provide rational for novel biochemical investigations, which are likely to improve monitoring of HP associated metabolic stress as well as extent of severity of HP, and thereby enhance management of these patients.

Glucose stimulates the activation domain potential of the PDX-1 homeodomain transcription factor

Glucose-stimulated expression of the insulin gene in beta cells is mediated by the PDX-1 transcription factor. In this report, we show that stimulation results from effects on activation and DNA-binding potential. Thus, glucose specifically stimulated expression in MIN6 beta cells from chimeras of PDX-1 and the GAL4 DNA-binding domain which spanned the N-terminal PDX-1 activation domain located between amino acids 1 to 79. GAL4:PDX activity was induced over physiological glucose concentrations and was also regulated by effectors of this response. The level of endogenous PDX-1 binding and phosphorylation were also induced under these conditions. We discuss how changes in PDX-1 phosphorylation may influence activity in glucose-treated beta cells.

Phosphorylation and activation of hormone-sensitive adipocyte phosphodiesterase type 3B

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) include a large group of structurally related enzymes that belong to at least seven related gene families (PDEs 1-7) that differ in their primary structure, affinity for cAMP and cGMP, response to specific effectors, sensitivity to specific inhibitors, and regulatory mechanism. One characteristic of PDE3s involves their phosphorylation and activation in response to insulin as well as to agents that increase cAMP in adipocytes, hepatocytes, and platelets and in response to insulin-like growth factor 1 in pancreatic beta cells. In adipocytes, activation of the membrane-associated PDE3B is the major mechanism whereby insulin antagonizes catecholamine-induced lipolysis. PDE3B activation results in increased degradation of cAMP and, thereby, a lowering of the activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). The reduced activity of PKA leads to a net dephosphorylation and decreased activity of hormone-sensitive lipase and reduced hydrolysis of triglycerides. Activation of the rat adipocyte PDE3B by insulin is associated with phosphorylation of serine-302. The mechanism whereby insulin stimulation leads to phosphorylation/activation of PDE3B is only partly understood. In rat adipocytes, lipolytic hormones and other agents that increase cAMP, including isoproterenol, also induce rapid phosphorylation, presumably catalyzed by PKA, of serine-302 of PDE3B. The phosphorylation is associated with activation of the enzyme, most likely representing "feedback" regulation of cAMP, presumably allowing close coupling of the regulation of steady-state concentrations of both cAMP and PKA and, thereby, control of lipolysis. In the review we describe methods and strategies used in the authors' laboratories to study phosphorylation and activation of PDE3B in adipocytes and in vitro.

Identification of the site in the cGMP-inhibited phosphodiesterase phosphorylated in adipocytes in response to insulin and isoproterenol

Stimulation of rat adipocytes with insulin and isoproterenol results in serine phosphorylation and activation of the adipocyte cGMP-inhibited phosphodiesterase (cGI PDE), events believed to be important in the antilipolytic action of insulin (Degerman, E., Smith, C.J., Tornqvist, H., Vasta, V., Manganiello, V.C., and Belfrage, P. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87,533-537). Here we demonstrate, by two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping, that the major phosphopeptide generated by trypsin, or trypsin followed by Asp-N protease digestion of [32P]cGI PDE phosphorylated in adipocytes in response to isoproterenol and/or insulin, in each case co-migrates with the phosphopeptide released by the same treatment of M297FRRPS(P)LPCISREQ310. This peptide was synthesized based on the deduced sequence of the cloned rat adipocyte cGI PDE and phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A). Radiosequencing of authentic and synthetic tryptic 32P-peptides showed that a single site in cGI PDE (Ser302) was phosphorylated in adipocytes incubated with isoproterenol and/or insulin. The more than additive phosphorylation and activation of cGI PDE in response to the two hormones found in this report and previously (Smith, C.J., Vasta, V., Degerman, E., Belfrage, P., and Manganiello, V.C. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 13385-13390) is proposed to reflect cross-talk between their respective signal transduction pathways at the level of the cGI PDE serine protein kinase or upstream regulatory component(s).

Isoproterenol inhibits insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor without increasing its serine/threonine phosphorylation

The effect of a beta-adrenergic agonist (isoproterenol) on the tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor was studied in intact adipocytes. Isoproterenol treatment rapidly (5 min) inhibited the insulin-induced autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor on tyrosine residues in intact adipocytes. The effect of insulin on the phosphorylation of cellular proteins on tyrosine residues was also inhibited by isoproterenol. In order to understand the mechanism responsible for this inhibition, two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping of the insulin receptor was performed. The pattern of phosphorylation of the insulin receptor in freshly isolated adipocytes showed marked differences from that previously observed in cultured cells overexpressing insulin receptors. These differences include a larger proportion of receptors being phosphorylated on the three tyrosines from the kinase domain and no apparent phosphorylation of the two tyrosines close to the C-terminus after insulin stimulation. Isoproterenol markedly inhibited the effect of insulin on the phosphorylation of the three tyrosines from the kinase domain. However, this inhibition was not associated with an increase in the phosphorylation of serine/threonine peptides. Thus, this direct analysis of insulin receptor phosphorylation sites in intact adipocytes does no support the idea that beta-adrenegic agents inhibit the tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor through a serine/threonine phosphorylation-dependent mechanism.

Evidence for the key role of the adipocyte cGMP-inhibited cAMP phosphodiesterase in the antilipolytic action of insulin

Enhancement of cAMP degradation by increased cGMP-inhibited cAMP phosphodiesterase (cGI-PDE) activity is thought to be an important component of the mechanism whereby insulin counteracts catecholamine-induced lipolysis in adipocytes. In this study the selective cGI-PDE inhibitor OPC3911 was used to evaluate this role of cGI-PDE activation in intact rat adipocytes with special reference to changes in cAMP levels measured as cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAMP-PK) activity ratios. OPC3911 completely blocked (IC50 = 0.3 microM) the maximal inhibitory effect of insulin on noradrenaline-induced lipolysis and the net dephosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase and other intracellular target proteins for insulin action, whereas insulin-induced lipogenesis was not changed. The effect of OPC3911 on cAMP-PK activity ratios at different levels of lipolysis achieved by noradrenaline stimulation revealed that the reduction of cAMP-PK caused by 1 nM insulin was completely blocked by 3 microM OPC3911. The effect of OPC3911 was not due to an excessive increase in cellular cAMP resulting in 'supramaximal' lipolysis unresponsive to insulin. These data demonstrate that reduction in cAMP levels by the activation of cGI-PDE may be sufficient to account for the antilipolytic action of insulin.

Comparison of the effects of insulin and adrenergic agonists on the phosphorylation of an acid-soluble 22 kDa protein in rat epididymal fat-pads and isolated fat-cells

1. Earlier studies have shown that exposure of fat-cells to insulin results in the rapid increased phosphorylation of an acid-soluble 22 kDa protein and that increases in phosphorylation were also evident in cells exposed to adrenaline [Belsham & Denton (1980) Biochem. Soc. Trans. 8, 382-383; Belsham, Brownsey, Hughes & Denton (1980) Diabetologia 18, 307-312]. 2. The effects of adrenaline are shown to be brought about through beta-adrenergic receptors and to be mimicked by other agents which increase cell cyclic AMP concentrations. The maximum extent of phosphorylation is about 60% of that observed with insulin. Increased phosphorylation is also observed in fat-cells exposed to vasopressin, oxytocin and phorbol esters, but not to alpha-adrenergic agonists. 3. No changes in the phosphorylation of the protein are evident in epididymal fat-pads from fat-fed, starved or starved/refed animals, despite the large changes in protein composition of fat-cells which accompany these nutritional alterations. This suggests that the protein is not closely involved in lipogenesis or associated metabolic pathways, but rather that it may play a more general regulatory role. 4. The 22 kDa protein migrates as a doublet on SDS/PAGE even after purification to apparent homogeneity by sequential use of Mono Q chromatography, SDS/PAGE and h.p.l.c. The amino acid compositions of the two components are very similar and share features in common with a number of proteins, including inhibitor-1, inhibitor-2, dopamine- and cyclic-AMP-regulated phosphoprotein (DARPP-32), and G-substrate, which may be involved in the regulation of protein phosphatase activity. 5. Phosphopeptide mapping and phosphoamino acid analysis reveals that insulin increases the phosphorylation of two distinct peptides within the protein (in one peptide insulin increases the amount of phosphothreonine, whereas in the other the hormone increases the amounts of phosphothreonine and phosphoserine). Both components of the doublet exhibit similar changes in phosphorylation, and hence the differences in migration are not the result of differences in phosphorylation, as suggested previously [Blackshear, Nemenoff & Avruch (1983) Biochem. J. 214, 11-19]. The pattern of phosphorylation observed with the beta-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline was similar to that observed with insulin. 6. The possible role and regulation of the 22 kDa protein are discussed.

Phosphorylation state of the GLUT4 isoform of the glucose transporter in subfractions of the rat adipose cell: effects of insulin, adenosine, and isoproterenol

The acute effects of insulin, adenosine, and isoproterenol on the activity, subcellular distribution, and phosphorylation state of the GLUT4 glucose transporter isoform were investigated in rat adipocytes under conditions carefully controlled to monitor changes in cAMP-dependent protein kinase (A-kinase) activity. In contrast to GLUT1, which has not been shown to be phosphorylated even when cells are exposed to any of the above agents, GLUT4 was partially phosphorylated (0.1-0.2 mol/mol) when the activity of the A-kinase was suppressed, and remained unchanged in response to insulin. Isoproterenol elicited a 64% inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity in the absence, but not the presence, of adenosine receptor agonists. However, in either the presence or the absence of agonists, A-kinase was activated as assessed by examining the phosphorylation of the major adipocyte A-kinase substrate, perilipin. Similarly, under either condition, phosphorylation of GLUT4 was enhanced 1.4-fold in the intracellular membranes, but no significant change was observed in the plasma membrane. In the absence of adenosine receptor agonists, isoproterenol exerted a small (14%) but significant inhibition of the insulin-induced translocation of GLUT4 but had no effect on the translocation of GLUT1. Thus, changes in the phosphorylation state and/or subcellular distribution of GLUT4 cannot account for the inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose activity induced by isoproterenol.

Analysis of insulin receptor phosphorylation sites in intact rat liver cells by two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping. Predominance of the tris-phosphorylated form of the kinase domain after stimulation by insulin

1. Insulin receptors were partially purified from rat liver by chromatography on wheat-germ-lectin-Sepharose. Incubation with [gamma-32P]ATP in the presence of insulin resulted in increased phosphorylation of the beta-subunit on both tyrosine and serine residues. Two-dimensional mapping of tryptic peptides showed that, in agreement with previous studies using preparations of receptors from other sources, the tyrosine residues involved were the three tyrosines in the kinase domain (corresponding to tyrosines 1158, 1162 and 1163 of the human receptor) plus two tyrosines close to the C-terminus (corresponding to tyrosines 1328 and 1334). 2. The effects of insulin on the phosphorylation of receptors within intact rat liver cells were determined by incubating cells in the presence of [32P]Pi for 50 min and then with or without insulin for a further 10 min. The labelled receptors were then rapidly isolated by sequential use of wheat-germ-lectin-Sepharose chromatography and immuno-isolation using a monoclonal antibody to the C-terminal end of the beta-subunit. 3. Insulin was found to increase overall phosphorylation of the receptor nearly 3-fold. Two-dimensional mapping was then carried out in combination with phosphoamino acid analysis. This revealed that the pattern of phosphorylation of the receptors in cells incubated in the absence and presence of insulin exhibited a number of marked differences from that observed in previous studies on intact cells, which had been restricted to cells expressing very high levels of insulin receptors such as certain hepatoma-derived cells or cells transfected with insulin receptor cDNA. The differences in the effects of insulin included a larger increase in the proportion of receptors being phosphorylated on the three tyrosine residues of the kinase domain, no apparent phosphorylation of the two tyrosine residues close to the C-terminus and no increase in either threonine or overall serine phosphorylation. 4. The receptors appeared to be phosphorylated on a number of different serine residues in cells incubated in the absence of insulin. Evidence for both increases and decreases in the phosphorylation of specific serine residues on addition of insulin was obtained. 5. It is concluded that care should be taken when extrapolating findings on the phosphorylation of the insulin receptor within cultured cells to more physiological situations.

Changes in the phosphorylation state of the inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding protein Gi-2 in hepatocytes from lean (Fa/Fa) and obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats

Treatment of intact, 32Pi-labelled hepatocytes from lean Zucker rats with a range of agents including 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol 13-acetate (TPA), vasopressin, and angiotensin II elicited substantial increases in the phosphorylation of the alpha-subunit of the inhibitory G protein of adenylate cyclase (alpha Gi-2). These agonist-induced phosphorylations of alpha Gi-2 were associated with loss of Gi function as assessed by the ability of low concentrations of guanylyl 5'-[beta,gamma imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG) to inhibit forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Hepatocytes from obese Zucker rats displayed a resistance to both agonist-induced phosphorylation of alpha Gi-2 and to p[NH]ppG-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase. The basal level of alpha Gi-2 phosphorylation in hepatocytes from obese Zucker rats was considerably greater at 1.06 +/- 0.09 mol phosphate/mol alpha Gi-2 than in hepatocytes from lean animals which gave 0.54 +/- 0.09 mol phosphate/mol alpha Gi-2. Incubation with TPA (10 ng/ml, 15 min) approximately doubled the level of phosphorylation of alpha Gi-2 in the hepatocytes from lean animals but had little effect on the phosphorylation of alpha Gi-2 in hepatocytes from obese animals. Incubation of hepatocytes from lean animals with ligands which lead to the phosphorylation of alpha Gi-2 abolished the ability of low concentrations of p[NH]ppG to inhibit adenylate cyclase expressed in isolated membranes. Treatment of hepatocyte plasma membranes from lean but not obese Zucker rats with pure protein kinase C led to the phosphorylation of alpha Gi-2. The resistance to protein-kinase-C-mediated phosphorylation in hepatocyte membranes from obese animals could be overcome by treatment of the membranes with alkaline phosphatase. These results indicate that the defect in guanine-nucleotide-mediated 'Gi function' seen in obese Zucker rats may be due to an inactivating phosphorylation of alpha Gi-2.

The binding of Ca2+ ions to pig heart NAD+-isocitrate dehydrogenase and the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex

1. The binding of Ca2+ ions to purified pig heart NAD+-isocitrate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, freed of contaminating Ca2+ by parvalbumin/polyacrylamide chromatography, has been studied by flow dialysis and by the use of fura-2. 2. For the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, 3.5 mol of Ca2+-binding sites/mol of complex were apparent, with an apparent dissociation constant (Kd value) for Ca2+ of 2.0 microM. These values were little affected by Mg2+ ions, ADP or 2-oxoglutarate. 3. By contrast, binding of Ca2+ to NAD+-isocitrate dehydrogenase (Kd = 14 microM) required ADP, isocitrate and Mg2+ ions. The number of Ca2+-binding sites associated with NAD+-isocitrate dehydrogenase was then 0.9 mol/mol of tetrameric enzyme. 4. The 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex bound ADP (as ADP3-) to a group of tight-binding sites (Kd = 3.1 microM) with a stoichiometry, 3.3 mol/mol of complex, similar to that for the binding of Ca2+; a variable number of much weaker sites (Kd = 100 microM) for ADP3- was also apparent.

Insulin stimulates the tyrosyl phosphorylation and activation of the 52 kDa peripheral plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase in intact hepatocytes

The 52 kDa subunit of the peripheral-plasma-membrane insulin-stimulated high-affinity cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase can be specifically detected by the antibody PM1 by Western-blotting procedures and also can be immunoprecipitated from a hepatocyte extract. PM1-mediated immunoprecipitation from hepatocyte extracts showed that insulin treatment of intact 32P-labelled hepatocytes caused the rapid phosphorylation of the peripheral-plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. Phosphoamino acid analysis and the use of a phosphotyrosine-specific antibody indicated that phosphorylation occurred on tyrosyl residue(s) of this phosphodiesterase. Prior treatment of hepatocytes with glucagon (10 nM) completely blocked the insulin-mediated tyrosyl phosphorylation of this 52 kDa protein, as detected with both the PM1 and the anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. Treatment of hepatocytes with glucagon alone did not increase the phosphorylation state of the peripheral-plasma-membrane cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. The specific anti-phosphotyrosine antibody also detected the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of proteins of 180 kDa, 95 kDa and 39 kDa. Prior treatment of hepatocytes with glucagon decreased the ability of insulin to phosphorylate the 180 kDa and 39 kDa species, but not the 95 kDa species.

Insulin-induced dephosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase. Correlation with lipolysis and cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity

The effect of insulin on the state of phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase, cellular cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity and lipolysis was investigated in isolated adipocytes. Increased phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase in response to isoproterenol stimulation was closely paralleled by increased lipolysis. Maximal phosphorylation and lipolysis was obtained when the cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity ratio was greater than or equal to 0.1, and this corresponded to a 50% increase in the state of phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase. Insulin (1 nM) reduced cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity and also reduced lipolysis with both cAMP-dependent and cAMP-independent antilipolytic effects up to an activity ratio of approximately 0.4, above which the antilipolytic effect was lost. Insulin caused a decrease in the state of phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase at all levels of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. Under basal conditions, with cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity at a minimum, this reflected a dephosphorylation of the basal phosphorylation site of hormone-sensitive lipase in a manner not mediated by cAMP. When the cAMP-dependent protein kinase was stimulated to phosphorylate the regulatory phosphorylation site of hormone-sensitive lipase, the insulin-induced dephosphorylation occurred both at the basal and regulatory sites. At low levels of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity ratios (0.05-0.1), dephosphorylation of the regulatory site correlated with reduced cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity, but not at higher activity ratios (greater than 0.1). Stimulation of cells with isoproterenol produced a transient (1-5 min) peak of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity and of phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase. The state of phosphorylation also showed a transient peak when the protein kinase was maximally and constantly activated. In the presence of raised levels of cellular cAMP, insulin (1 nM) caused a rapid (t1/2 approximately 1 min) dephosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase. In unstimulated cells the reduction in phosphorylation caused by insulin was distinctly slower (t1/2 approximately 5 min). These findings are interpreted to suggest that insulin affects the state of phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase and lipolysis through a cAMP-dependent pathway, involving reduction of cAMP, and through a cAMP-independent pathway, involving activation of a protein phosphatase activity that dephosphorylates both the regulatory and basal phosphorylation sites of hormone-sensitive lipase.

Activation and phosphorylation of the 'dense-vesicle' high-affinity cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase

Incubation of a hepatocyte particulate fraction with ATP and the isolated catalytic unit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (A-kinase) selectively activated the high-affinity 'dense-vesicle' cycle AMP phosphodiesterase. Such activation only occurred if the membranes had been pre-treated with Mg2+. Mg2+ pre-treatment appeared to function by stimulating endogenous phosphatases and did not affect phosphodiesterase activity. Using the antiserum DV4, which specifically immunoprecipitated the 51 and 57 kDa components of the 'dense-vesicle' phosphodiesterase from a detergent-solubilized membrane extract, we isolated a 32P-labelled phosphoprotein from 32P-labelled hepatocytes. MgCl2 treatment of such labelled membranes removed 32P from the immunoprecipitated protein. Incubation of the Mg2+-pre-treated membranes with [32P]ATP and A-kinase led to the time-dependent incorporation of label into the 'dense-vesicle' phosphodiesterase, as detected by specific immunoprecipitation with the antiserum DV4. The time-dependences of phosphodiesterase activation and incorporation of label were similar. It is suggested (i) that phosphorylation of the 'dense-vesicle' phosphodiesterase by A-kinase leads to its activation, and that such a process accounts for the ability of glucagon and other hormones, which increase intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations, to activate this enzyme, and (ii) that an as yet unidentified kinase can phosphorylate this enzyme without causing any significant change in enzyme activity but which prevents activation and phosphorylation of the phosphodiesterase by A-kinase.