On the mechanism by which insulin stimulates protein synthesis in chick embryo fibroblasts

Stimulation by insulin of protein synthesis in cultured chick embryo fibroblasts

Insulin stimulates protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of young animals and has been reported to exert similar effects on a variety of mammalian cell types in culture. However, with chick embryo fibroblasts we found that the extent of this effect was very sensitive to the culture conditions of the cells prior to the insulin treatment. The most reproducible results were obtained with cells that had been sub-cultured into medium in which fetal calf serum was replaced with 2% horse serum. Insulin only stimulated protein synthesis when added at supra-physiological concentrations. Insulin-like growth factor 1 was effective at much lower concentrations. Since chick embryo fibroblasts can be obtained in good yield, they offer, if treated under appropriate conditions, a suitable system for study of the mechanisms by which insulin and IGF-1 promote the initiation of protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells.

Inhibition of gastrin gene expression by somatostatin

Previous studies performed in this laboratory have demonstrated somatostatin-containing cells in close proximity to gastrin cells in antral mucosa and have shown that somatostatin exerts a local regulatory effect on gastrin release. The present studies were directed to determine whether the effects of somatostatin on the antral gastrin cell involve pretranslational events. The effects of somatostatin on gastrin mRNA were determined by dot blot hybridization using a gastrin antisense RNA probe derived from human gastrin cDNA. Inclusion of somatostatin in the incubation medium caused a dose-dependent inhibition of steady-state gastrin mRNA. Conversely, when antral somatostatin was neutralized by the addition of specific somatostatin antibodies to the incubation medium, gastrin mRNA levels increased by 116 +/- 31% over control values (P less than 0.01). Northern blot hybridization of total antral RNA demonstrated a single major band with a molecular size of approximately 620 nucleotides, closely matching the predicted size of gastrin mRNA. The effect of somatostatin on the rate of gastrin gene transcription was examined using nuclear run-off transcription assays. Inclusion of antibodies to somatostatin in the incubation medium resulted in a 33.8 +/- 3.3% increase in gastrin gene transcriptional activity (P less than 0.01). These studies indicate that, in addition to its established effect on peptide release, somatostatin exerts inhibitory effects on antral gastrin cells at the pretranslational level. Although this inhibition appears to occur in part at the gene transcriptional level, the results also indicate that somatostatin may affect posttranscriptional processing of gastrin mRNA.

Control by insulin and insulin-related growth factor 1 of protein synthesis in a cell-free translational system from chick-embryo fibroblasts

Insulin and insulin-related growth factor 1 (IGF-1) increase by 1.5-1.6-fold the rate of [3H]leucine incorporation into protein in primary monolayer cultures of chick-embryo fibroblasts (CEF); half-maximal hormone concentrations are 10 and 0.25 nM respectively. To investigate the mechanism of this effect, a rapid method is used to prepare a lysate from CEF which is active in protein synthesis. Lysate derived from cells treated for 30-150 min with insulin synthesized protein at 1.8-3.0-fold greater rate than did controls; the increased rate persisted for 20 min in vitro. Pactamycin (0.5 microM), an inhibitor of peptide-chain initiation, inhibited protein synthesis by 50% in lysates derived from insulin-treated and control cells. Thus insulin and IGF-1 cause an increase in the protein-synthesis rate in vivo, which persists in cell-free protein-synthesizing lysates of CEF.

Insulin-stimulated protein synthesis in adipocytes. Enhanced rate of initiation associated with increased phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6

The mechanisms of insulin stimulation of protein synthesis in adipocytes are presently unknown. Addition of 10 nM insulin to isolated rat adipocytes caused a 1.5-2.5-fold increase in the protein synthetic rate and a corresponding increase in nascent chain level, indicating that the effect of insulin on protein synthesis in adipocytes is mediated by a stimulation of ribosomal initiation. The effect on protein synthesis exhibited a lag time of 6-8 min after insulin addition. A similar time dependence was also observed for the insulin-induced phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6. This supports the proposal that these two phenomena are causally linked.

Post-receptor actions of somatomedin on chondrocyte collagen biosynthesis

The anabolic effects of human somatomedin C on freshly isolated Swarm chondrosarcoma chondrocytes were studied. Physiological concentrations (2-34 nM) of somatomedin, but not growth hormone, stimulated the incorporation of radiolabeled precursors into collagen and non-collagen proteins, RNA and proteoglycans. The 120% increase in radiolabeling of collagen with [3H]proline by 10 nM somatomedin C was not due to changes in the rate of [3H]proline uptake. Similarly, the specific activity of newly synthesized [3H]proline-labeled collagen was not increased by 10 nM somatomedin C, indicating that changes in proline pool size or compartmentalization of [3H]proline were not involved. Somatomedin C had no effect on the rate of [3H]collagen degradation. The ability of somatomedin C to stimulate collagen synthesis was unaffected by concentrations of actinomycin D which inhibited chondrocyte RNA synthesis 90% or more. These results demonstrate that somatomedin exerts a general anabolic effect on chondrosarcoma chondrocyte metabolism. The fact that somatomedin C stimulates chondrocyte collagen synthesis in the absence of RNA synthesis suggests that this effect may be at the post-transcriptional level.

The anabolic effects of insulin on type II collagen synthesis of Swarm rat chondrosarcoma chondrocytes

The anabolic effects of insulin on collagen production of freshly isolated Swarm rat chondrosarcoma chondrocytes were investigated. The specific radioactivity of newly synthesized collagen was not increased by insulin, indicating that the hormone has no effect on the specific radioactivity of the aminoacyl tRNA pool. Results of further studies obtained from collagen degradation experiments demonstrated that insulin did not alter the rate of [3H]collagen degradation. Together, these results clearly indicate that insulin stimulates collagen biosynthesis. Polyacrylamide gel analysis of the newly synthesized collagen of both control and insulin-stimulated cells revealed a large-molecular-weight component which migrated with authentic alpha 1(II) collagen and was collagenase-sensitive. Additional studies showed that, although insulin increased the processing and secretion of collagen, the hormone did not cause a shift in the distribution of the extracellular and intracellular collagen pools. Finally, results of studies conducted with the transcriptional inhibitor, actinomycin D, indicated that the anabolic effects of insulin on collagen and non-collagen proteins were mediated at a post-transcriptional site.

Regulation of ribosome synthesis in Tetrahymena pyriformis. 3. Analysis by translation in vitro of RNA isolated during nutritional shift-down and nutritional shift-up

We have measured the levels of translatable total mRNA and ribosomal protein (r-protein) mRNAs in Tetrahymena pyriformis during nutritional shifts. After 15 min of starvation total mRNA is reduced 2-fold, and after 24 h 7.5-fold, relative to exponentially growing cells. Upon refeeding total mRNA increases rapidly reaching the level of exponentially growing cells after 2.5 h. The levels of the individual r-protein mRNAs are coordinately regulated throughout a starvation-refeeding cycle. The relative levels of r-protein mRNAs remain virtually unchanged during the first hour of starvation and then decrease gradually to 30% of the relative levels in exponentially growing cells. Following refeeding the relative levels of r-protein mRNAs increase 6-fold. Taking into account the changes in whole cell RNA, we have calculated that long-time-starved Tetrahymena cells contain only 4%, whereas cells after 3 h of refeeding contain 200% of the amount of r-protein mRNA in exponentially growing cells. The amount of r-protein mRNA thus increases 50-fold during the first 3 h of refeeding. A comparison between the relative levels of r-protein mRNAs and the relative rate of r-protein synthesis in vivo indicates that Tetrahymena employs a combination of control of translation and control of the level of r-protein mRNAs to ensure a rapid reduction in the rate of r-protein synthesis during the early period of starvation. In this period translation of r-protein mRNAs is preferentially inhibited. During refeeding the increase in the rate of r-protein synthesis parallels the increase in the abundance of r-protein mRNAs.

The possible involvement of prostaglandin F2 alpha in the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis by insulin

The addition of insulin (8 ng/ml) in vitro to muscles from fasted rabbits increased protein synthesis (+80%) to a value similar to that found in muscles from fed donors. The addition of either indomethacin or meclofenamate completely blocked this effect of insulin. Muscles from fasted rabbits released less prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha into the medium and the presence of insulin increased and indomethacin and meclofenamate reduced PGF2 alpha release. Other conditions (work load and leucocyte pyrogen) which increase protein synthesis in muscle also stimulate PGF2 alpha release. As both arachidonic acid and PGF2 alpha in themselves increase protein synthesis we suggest that accelerated phospholipolysis and PG synthesis have a general role in the control of muscle protein turnover.

Insulin affects only initiation and not elongation in protein synthesis in soleus muscles of lean and obese mice

The effect of insulin on polypeptide chain initiation and elongation has been studied in soleus muscles isolated from lean and goldthioglucose-obese mice. Insulin increased the amount of radioactivity present in nascent chains by approximately 30% in muscles from both lean and obese mice, indicating that it stimulates peptide chain initiation. In contrast, elongation rates, estimated by measurement of half transit time, were similar in basal conditions and insulin-treated muscles of lean and obese animals. Thus, insulin increased the initiation without modifying the elongation rates. Obesity did not affect either basal rates of initiation and elongation or the effect of insulin.

Variations in some molecular events during the early phases of the Reuber H35 hepatoma cell cycle. III. Role of protein synthesis in the initiation of DNA synthesis and the mechanism of stimulation of protein synthesis by serum

Induction of DNA synthesis by serum and amino acids has been investigated in cultured Reuber H35 hepatoma cells. Commitment of DNA synthesis was found to occur 6-8 hours before the actual start of this synthesis. The rate of initiation of DNA synthesis is proportional to the stimulation of protein synthesis by serum and/or amino acids. The increased protein synthesis is important for the proliferation only during the early period after serum addition. The withdrawal of serum and the inhibition by cycloheximide confirm this finding. Actinomycin D hardly influenced the early effect of serum on protein synthesis and it is concluded that the serum-stimulated protein synthesis is carried out on pre-existing mRNA's. The mechanism of stimulation of protein synthesis by serum has been studied by determination of the polyribosome size, the number of growing polypeptide chains, and the ribosomal transit time. The rate of the initiation of translation has been found to be specifically enhanced while the rate of elongation remained unchanged. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that the early stimulation of protein synthesis by serum involves all types of major cellular proteins, and no new proteins could be detected.