Changes in insulin-receptor tyrosine, serine and threonine phosphorylation as a result of substitution of tyrosine-1162 with phenylalanine

Inhibition of neuraminidase-1 sialidase activity by interfering peptides impairs insulin receptor activity in vitro and glucose homeostasis in vivo

Neuraminidases (NEUs) also called sialidases are glycosidases which catalyze the removal of terminal sialic acid residues from glycoproteins, glycolipids, and oligosaccharides. Mammalian NEU-1 participates in regulation of cell surface receptors such as insulin receptor (IR), epithelial growth factor receptor, low-density lipoprotein receptor, and toll-like receptor 4. At the plasma membrane, NEU-1 can be associated with the elastin-binding protein and the carboxypeptidase protective protein/cathepsin A to constitute the elastin receptor complex. In this complex, NEU-1 is essential for elastogenesis, signal transduction through this receptor and for biological effects of the elastin-derived peptides on atherosclerosis, thrombosis, insulin resistance, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and cancers. This is why research teams are developing inhibitors targeting this sialidase. Previously, we developed interfering peptides to inhibit the dimerization and the activation of NEU-1. In this study, we investigated the effects of these peptides on IR activation in vitro and in vivo. Using cellular overexpression and endogenous expression models of NEU-1 and IR (COS-7 and HepG2 cells, respectively), we have shown that interfering peptides inhibit NEU-1 dimerization and sialidase activity which results in a reduction of IR phosphorylation. These results demonstrated that NEU-1 positively regulates IR phosphorylation and activation in our conditions. In vivo, biodistribution study showed that interfering peptides are well distributed in mice. Treatment of C57Bl/6 mice during 8 weeks with interfering peptides induces a hyperglycemic effect in our experimental conditions. Altogether, we report here that inhibition of NEU-1 sialidase activity by interfering peptides decreases IR activity in vitro and glucose homeostasis in vivo.

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.

Brazilin inhibits activities of protein kinase C and insulin receptor serine kinase in rat liver

Hypoglycemic action of brazilin was found to be based on the improvement of peripheral glucose utility, and this action might be correlated with the insulin action pathway. In the present study we investigated the effect of brazilin on the insulin receptor autophosphorylation, protein kinase C (PKC), protein phosphatase and insulin receptor serine kinase in order to confirm whether the hypoglycemic mechanism is concerned with insulin action pathway. Brazilin was found to inhibit PKC and insulin receptor serine kinase, which are involved in the regulation of insulin signal pathway. But any significant effect was not shown on insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activity, autophosphorylation and phosphatase activity. These findings suggest that brazilin might enhance insulin receptor function by decreasing serine phosphorylation, which might mediate hypoglycemic effect of brazilin.

Autophosphorylation of activation loop tyrosines regulates signaling by the TRK nerve growth factor receptor

Many receptor tyrosine kinases possess an "activation loop" containing three similarly placed tyrosine autophosphorylation sites. To examine their roles in the TRK NGF receptor, these residues (Tyr-670, Tyr-674, and Tyr-675) were mutated singly and in all combinations to phenylalanine and stably expressed in Trk-deficient PC12nnr5 cells. All mutant receptors showed significantly diminished nerve growth factor (NGF)-stimulated autophosphorylation, indicating impaired catalytic activity. NGF-induced neurite outgrowth exhibited dose-responsive behavior when transfectants were compared by relative receptor expression and exhibited a functional hierarchy: wild type > Y670F >/= Y674F >> Y675F >/= YY670/674FF = YY670/675FF >> YY674/675FF > YYY670/674/675FFF. NGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc, ERKs, and SNT and immediate early gene inductions generally paralleled neurogenic potential. However, activation of phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase and tyrosine phosphorylation of phospholipase Cgamma-1 was essentially abolished. The latter effect appears due to selective inability of the mutated TRKs to autophosphorylate the tyrosine residue (Tyr-785) required for binding phospholipase Cgamma-1 and indicates that the "activation loop" tyrosines participate in NGF-dependent changes in receptor conformation. Our findings stress the importance that expression levels play in assessing the consequences of receptor mutations and that all three activation loop tyrosines have roles regulating both overall and specific NGF-mediated signaling through TRK.

Site-specific anti-phosphopeptide antibodies: use in assessing insulin receptor serine/threonine phosphorylation state and identification of serine-1327 as a novel site of phorbol ester-induced phosphorylation

Rabbit antisera were raised against synthetic phosphopeptides corresponding to defined or putative sites of insulin receptor serine/threonine phosphorylation (Ser-1305, Ser-1327, Thr-1348). All of these antibodies bound specifically to the immunogenic phosphopeptide but not to the non-phosphorylated form of the peptide or to other phosphopeptides, in a microtitre plate competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-PS1327 antibody reacted well with native insulin receptor prepared from phorbol ester-treated transfected CHO.T cells, but showed little reaction with receptor from untreated cells. Anti-PT1348 antibody in crude form reacted substantially with receptor from both phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-treated and untreated cells, but displayed specificity for phosphoreceptor after adsorption to remove antibodies reactive with dephosphopeptide. The ability to discriminate between receptor from cells treated with or without phorbol ester was retained when these antibodies were used to probe denatured receptor on Western blots. Thus anti-PS1327 and anti-PT1348 react with insulin receptor in a site-specific and phosphorylation-state-dependent manner. Anti-PT1348, but not anti-PS1327, also showed increased reactivity with receptor prepared from insulin-treated cells. The third antibody, anti-PS1305, did not react with intact insulin receptor under any conditions. It is concluded that serine 1327 is a major, previously unrecognized, site of phorbol ester-induced receptor phosphorylation, and that anti-phosphopeptide antibodies will be valuable reagents with which to examine the serine/threonine phosphorylation state of receptor extracted from tissues.

Characterization of phorbol ester-stimulated serine phosphorylation of the human insulin receptor

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated phosphorylation of the human insulin receptor (IR) was characterized and compared in two cell types of different lineage: normal rat kidney epithelial (NRK) cells and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) fibroblasts. PMA stimulation increased IR beta-subunit phosphorylation to 252 +/- 43 and 25- +/- 47% (+/- S.D.) of the unstimulated control in NRK and CHO cells respectively. Tryptic phosphopeptide analysis by Tricine/SDS/PAGE revealed significant differences in the PMA-stimulated phosphorylation of the IR in these two cell types. This phosphorylation of the IR was predominantly located in two tryptic phosphopeptides, and these phosphopeptides were absent in an IR mutant truncated by 43 C-terminal amino acids. The major PMA-stimulated tryptic phosphopeptide from in vivo-labelled CHO/IR was immunoprecipitated with an antibody against residues Ser1315 to Lys1329, and this precipitation was blocked with excess unlabelled peptide containing this sequence. Radiosequencing by manual Edman degradation revealed that this tryptic phosphopeptide was phosphorylated at Ser1315. This PMA-stimulated phosphorylation did not inhibit autophosphorylation of the IR in vivo. These results demonstrate that PMA-stimulated phosphorylation of the IR can exhibit significant differences when expressed in different cell types, and that Ser1315 is a major PMA-stimulated phosphorylation site on the human IR.

Insulin receptor mutation at tyrosines 1162 and 1163 alters both receptor serine phosphorylation and desensitization

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing human insulin receptor (hIR) of the wild-type (CHO R) or hIR mutated at tyrosines 1162 and 1163 (CHO Y2) were compared for agonist-induced receptor phosphorylation of serine/threonine residues and receptor desensitization. Relative to CHO R cells, CHO Y2 cells exhibited a marked decrease in their response to insulin and 4 beta-phorbol 12 beta-myristate 13 alpha-acetate (PMA) for hIR phosphorylation on serine residues. Moreover, the tyr1162,1163 mutant hIR could not be normally phosphorylated by purified protein kinase C (PKC) in vitro. Finally, in contrast to CHO R cells, CHO Y2 cells were refractory to PMA-induced IR desensitization for subsequent activation by insulin of exogenous tyrosine kinase and glycogen synthesis. These results strongly suggest that the replacement of tyrosines 1162 and 1163 by phenylalanine residues changes the IR beta-subunit conformation and thus impedes phosphorylation of the IR at crucial serine residues and prevents PMA-induced desensitization. This supports the hypothesis that IR serine phosphorylation and desensitization are related.

An assessment of human insulin receptor phosphorylation and exogenous kinase activity following deletion of 69 residues from the carboxyl-terminus of the receptor beta-subunit

A mutant human insulin receptor with a carboxyl-terminal deletion of 69 amino acids (proreceptor residues 1287-1355) is expressed as a stable protein in transiently transfected COS cells. We find that in intact cells this mutant is phosphorylated in an insulin-dependent manner on core tyrosines 1158, 1163 and 1163. As expected, the carboxyl-terminal beta-subunit phosphorylation sites (serines 1305/6, tyrosines 1328/34 and threonine 1348) are absent from this mutant. However, the two major insulin-stimulated serine phosphopeptides remain. In intact cells, insulin stimulates exogenous substrate phosphorylation by the truncated receptor only approximately 1.9-fold (cf. approximately 9-fold for the wild-type receptor in these cells), a consequence of a approximately 4.8-fold elevation in basal insulin-independent kinase activity.

Characterization of insulin-stimulated protein serine/threonine kinases in CHO cells expressing human insulin receptors with point and deletion mutations

The activation of insulin-stimulated protein-serine/threonine kinases has been investigated in CHO cell lines transfected with cDNAs encoding either wild-type or mutant human insulin receptors. (1) Insulin treatment of CHO cells over-expressing wild-type insulin receptors resulted in the rapid and substantial (5-10-fold) activation of cytosolic protein kinases which phosphorylated myelin basic protein, Kemptide and two peptide substrates based on sites phosphorylated on ribosomal protein S6 in vivo. (2) Further fractionation of cytosolic extracts by MonoQ chromatography revealed two peaks of insulin-stimulated myelin basic protein kinase activity which were highly related to the previously described mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases ERK1 and ERK2. In addition, at least two major peaks of S6 kinase activity were resolved, which exhibited properties similar to the 70 kDa and 90 kDa S6 kinases described by others; the predominant effect of insulin was on the activity of the 90 kDa enzyme and was in excess of 10-fold. (3) MonoQ fractionation of extracts from parental CHO cells, or cells expressing kinase-deficient receptors, showed all insulin-stimulated peaks of activity to be almost completely absent. (4) Further studies demonstrated that substitution of tyrosine residues 1162 and 1163 (or 1162 alone) with phenylalanine led to a substantial reduction in the ability of insulin to stimulate these protein kinase activities when assayed in cytosolic extracts. In contrast, deletion of 69 amino acids from the C-terminus of the insulin receptor beta-subunit caused a leftward shift in the insulin dose-response curve of the MAP kinase activity, but apparently not in that of the 90 kDa S6 kinase activity.

Catalysis of serine and tyrosine autophosphorylation by the human insulin receptor

The protein kinase activity of human insulin receptors purified from Sf9 insect cells after infection with a recombinant baculovirus was evaluated. The following experimental observations led to the unexpected conclusion that this receptor protein catalyzes both serine and tyrosine autophosphorylation at significant stoichiometries. (i) Phosphorylation of lectin-purified insulin receptors with [gamma-32P]ATP resulted in rapid receptor tyrosine phosphorylation (7 mol of P per high-affinity binding site) and the delayed onset of insulin-stimulated receptor serine phosphorylation (about 7% of total phosphorylation). The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (hydroxy-2-naphthalenylmethyl)phosphonic acid (HNMPA), which has no effect on protein kinase C or cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activities, inhibited both the receptor serine and tyrosine phosphorylation. (ii) Phosphorylation of a synthetic peptide substrate composed of insulin receptor residues 1290-1319 on serines-1305/1306 by partially purified insulin receptors was also inhibited by HNMPA. (iii) Insulin receptors sequentially affinity-purified on immobilized wheat germ agglutinin and immobilized insulin showed no apparent contaminant proteins on silver-stained SDS/polyacrylamide gels yet catalyzed autophosphorylation on receptor serine and tyrosine residues when incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. These results suggest that the catalytic site of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase also recognizes receptor serine residues as substrates for the phosphotransfer reaction. Furthermore, insulin-stimulated receptor serine phosphorylation in intact cells may occur in part by an autophosphorylation mechanism subsequent to tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor.

Analysis of the order of autophosphorylation of human insulin receptor tyrosines 1158, 1162 and 1163

Insulin receptor tyrosines 1158, 1162 and 1163 are the most rapidly autophosphorylated residues following insulin binding. Although progression of these tyrosines from a bis- to tris-phosphorylated state leads to activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase towards added substrates, rather paradoxically, a receptor with a Y1158F mutation has been reported to be capable of normal activation. In the present study we demonstrate that autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor probably initiates on either of tyrosines 1158 and 1162 while autophosphorylation of tyrosine 1163 occurs predominantly late in the autophosphorylation cascade. Our results are compatible with tyrosines 1162 and 1163 being the major determinants of kinase activity and explain why wild-type insulin receptors only become active after all three of tyrosines 1158, 1162 and 1163 have been phosphorylated.

Insulin-stimulated serine/threonine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor: paucity of threonine 1348 phosphorylation in vitro indicates the involvement of more than one serine/threonine kinase in vivo

Immunoaffinity-purified insulin receptors were used to analyse and compare the serine/threonine sites phosphorylated on the insulin receptor in vitro (isolated receptor) with the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation in vivo (intact cells in culture). In vivo, insulin-stimulation resulted in the appearance of three phosphoserine-containing phosphopeptides and a distinct phosphothreonine peptide (threonine 1348). In vitro, similar phosphoserine peptides were observed but the phosphothreonine peptide was absent. These results indicate that multiple serine sites are phosphorylated in vivo and in vitro and that an additional protein kinase mediates insulin-stimulated insulin receptor threonine phosphorylation in vivo.