Dephosphorylation of human insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) receptors by membrane-associated tyrosine phosphatases

Insulin-like growth factor inhibits vascular contraction to 5-hydroxytryptamine: involvement of tyrosine phosphatase

This study tests the hypothesis that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)-induced vasodilation is due to the stimulation of tyrosine phosphatase. Rat aortic segments (endothelium intact) were placed in muscle baths for force measurement. Segments were contracted to serotonin [5-hydroxytyptamine (5-HT), 10(-7)-10(-5) M] before and after incubation with IGF-1 (10-100 nM; 90 min). IGF-1 caused a 20% inhibition of 5-HT-induced contractions. This inhibition was reversed by the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors sodium orthovanadate and molybdate. Orthovanadate did not alter inhibitory properties of the calcium channel antagonist verapamil, suggesting that the phosphatase inhibitors were relatively specific. IGF-1-induced inhibition was not altered by blockade of nitric oxide synthase. Western blot analysis confirmed that the 5-HT-induced stimulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of the 42-kDa extracellular signal-regulated mitogen-activated protein kinase protein was reduced by IGF-1 (52% inhibition), an inhibition that was attenuated by orthovanadate. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the vasodilator activity of IGF-1 is mediated by the activation of a tyrosine phosphatase.

Pioglitazone attenuates the inhibitory effect of phorbol ester on epidermal growth factor receptor autophosphorylation and tyrosine kinase activity

A new anti-diabetic drug, pioglitazone, was tested as to whether it could ameliorate the decreased kinase activity of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor induced by phorbol ester (PMA) in A431 cells. The treatment of A431 cells with PMA decreased the tyrosine kinase activity of EGF receptors to 37% of normal in autophosphorylation and to 24% in tyrosine kinase activity toward Glu/Tyre synthetic polymers. Co-incubation of the cells with pioglitazone and PMA improved the receptor tyrosine kinase activity to 81% of control. Pioglitazone treatment alone did not change the kinase activity of EGF receptors. Pioglitazone did not decrease the PMA-activated protein kinase C activity and did not affect the protein tyrosine phosphatases activity in A431 cells. These results suggest that pioglitazone may act as a specific antagonist to the inhibitory effect by protein kinase C on the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase.

Insulin- and insulin-like growth-factor-I receptor tyrosine-kinase activities in human renal carcinoma

We studied expression and functional characteristics of the insulin- and insulin-like-growth-factor-I (IGF-I) receptors in human renal carcinoma. Ligand-binding properties and tyrosine-kinase activity of both receptors, as well as the expression of the 2 isoforms of the human insulin receptor (HIR-A and -B) were analyzed in renal carcinoma and normal adjacent kidney tissue of 8 adult patients. Partially purified insulin- and IGF-I receptors from normal and renal cell carcinoma tissue possessed identical affinities for their ligands. Renal cell carcinoma, however, contained 3- to 4-fold more specific insulin-binding sites and 2-fold more IGF-I binding sites than adjacent normal kidney tissue. In addition, we determined the relative content of insulin/IGF-I receptor hybrids in both tissues. Renal cell carcinoma and adjacent normal tissue revealed similar amounts of insulin/IGF-I receptor hybrids, i.e., 44 +/- 8.2% of tracer IGF-I binding in normal tissue and 46 +/- 12.0% in renal cell carcinoma. When equal amounts of insulin- and IGF-I receptor protein were studied, we found significantly increased receptor autophosphorylation and elevated substrate phosphorylation in carcinoma tissue. To assess whether the differences in insulin-receptor tyrosine-kinase activity were caused by an altered pattern of insulin receptor isoform expression, we determined mRNA levels for HIR-A and -B. The 2 insulin receptor isoforms were, however, expressed in highly variable ratios in both normal and tumor tissue. Our experiments show that renal carcinoma expresses an elevated amount of insulin- and IGF-I receptor protein with increased specific autophosphorylation and tyrosine-kinase activity each. The increase of insulin-receptor tyrosine-kinase activity in renal carcinoma cannot be explained by an altered expression pattern of insulin receptor isoforms.

Thiazolidine derivatives ameliorate high glucose-induced insulin resistance via the normalization of protein-tyrosine phosphatase activities

The mechanisms for the insulin resistance induced by hyperglycemia were investigated by studying the effect of high glucose concentration (HG) and its modulation by thiazolidine derivatives, on insulin signaling using Rat 1 fibroblasts expressing human insulin receptors (HIRc). Incubating HIRc cells in 27 mM D-glucose for 4 days impaired the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of pp185 and receptor beta-subunits. Both protein kinase C activities and phorbol dibutyrate binding to intact cells were unchanged; however, cytosolic protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) activity increased within 1 h prior to the impairment of insulin receptor kinase in HG cells (Maegawa, H., Tachikawa-Ide, R., Ugi, S., Iwanishi, M., Egawa, K., Kikkawa, R., Shigeta, Y., and Kashiwagi, A. (1993) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 197, 1078-1082). Increased PTPase activity was consistent with a 2-fold increase in the amount of PTP1B, and anti-PTP1B antibody inhibited this increment of cytosolic PTPase activity in HG cells. Co-incubating cells with pioglitazone prevented these abnormalities in cytosolic PTPase, the PTP1B content and the impaired phosphorylation of pp185 and receptor beta subunits in HG cells. Finally, HG cells had impaired insulin-stimulated alpha-amino-isobutyric acid uptake, which was ameliorated by exposure to thiazolidine derivatives. In conclusion, exposing cells to high glucose levels desensitizes insulin receptor function, and thiazolidine derivatives can reverse the process via the normalization of cytosolic PTPase, but not of protein kinase C.

Tyrosine phosphorylation in the human duodenum

Many growth factor receptors including the epidermal growth factor receptor function through tyrosine kinase activity. The aim of this study was to examine the constitutive level of tyrosine phosphorylation in the normal duodenum and in the hyperproliferative coeliac duodenum. A flow cytometric assay was devised using monoclonal antibody to phosphorylated (but not native) tyrosine residues to determine the levels of tyrosine phosphorylation in both CD3 positive intraepithelial lymphocytes and CD3 negative epithelial cells obtained by EDTA treatment of endoscopically obtained duodenal biopsy specimens. In addition, immunohistochemistry was performed on 18 formalin fixed coeliac duodenal biopsy specimens and eight control specimens. Tyrosine phosphorylation could be detected by flow cytometry on duodenal enterocytes and this expression was up regulated by pretreatment with epidermal growth factor. Tyrosine phosphorylation decreased with progression from the villus to the crypt, however, and was virtually undetectable on crypt enterocytes. Immunohistochemistry of the coeliac duodenum showed virtually absent tyrosine phosphorylation in the crypt. Increased tyrosine phosphorylation was detected in the infiltrating T cells. In conclusion, tyrosine phosphorylation in the duodenum is confined to the non-proliferative villous epithelium and is virtually undetectable in the proliferative crypt compartment. These findings suggest that tyrosine kinase activity is not a significant factor in the regulation of crypt cell proliferation in the human duodenum either in normal subjects or in coeliac disease patients.

Interleukin-1 modulates phosphorylation of proteins in human osteoblastic cells

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a potent bone resorbing cytokine with diverse biological effects. We previously reported that IL-1 inhibits PDGF-AA-induced biological activities including PDGF-AA-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation. In the present studies, we first investigated and compared the tyrosyl phosphorylation pattern induced by EGF, IGF-1, PDGF-AA, and bFGF in human osteoblastic cells. We then examined the effect of IL-1 on the tyrosyl phosphoproteins induced by each ligand. Immunoblot analyses show that EGF, IGF-1, and PDGF-AA each elicit a different pattern of tyrosyl phosphorylated proteins in normal human osteoblastic cells. IL-1 beta inhibits PDGF-AA induced autophosphorylation by down-regulation of the PDGF-alpha receptor, as demonstrated by immunoprecipitation experiments. For other ligand-induced tyrosyl phosphoproteins, IL-1 beta reduced the intensity of EGF-induced pp55,000, and IGF-1 induced pp185,000 and pp175,000. These experiments indicate that IL-1 inhibits phosphorylation of specific proteins induced by growth factors. By using inhibitors of secondary message pathways, we determined that the inhibitory effect of IL-1 beta on PDGF-AA receptor binding and receptor tyrosyl autophosphorylation was not dependent on protein kinase A, protein kinase C, or the formation of prostaglandins. These data suggest the existence of an alternative pathway that may participate in IL-1 beta signaling.

Vanadium compounds. Their action on alkaline phosphatase activity

The direct effect of different vanadium compounds upon alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was investigated. Vanadate and vanadyl inhibited both the soluble and particulate ALP activity from UMR.106 cells and from bovine intestinal ALP. We have also shown the inhibition of ALP activity in the soluble fraction of osteoblasts by peroxo and hydroperoxo vanadium compounds. ALP activity in the particulate fraction was not inhibited by these species; nor was the bovine intestinal ALP. Using inhibitors of Tyr-phosphatase (PTPases), the soluble ALP was partially characterized as a PTPase. The major activity in the particulate fraction represents the bone-specific ALP-activity. This study demonstrates that different forms of vanadium are direct inhibitors of ALP activity. This effect is dependent on the enzymatic activity investigated and on the origin of the ALP.

Insulin receptor dephosphorylation by phosphotyrosine phosphatases obtained from insulin-resistant obese mice

To study the possible involvement of phosphotyrosine phosphatases in insulin resistance, the ability of cytosolic and membrane preparations to dephosphorylate insulin receptors was examined in lean and goldthioglucose-treated insulin-resistant and obese mice. Preparations were obtained from liver, heart, diaphragm and hindleg muscle and their phosphotyrosine phosphatase activities were measured using an immunoenzymatic assay with phosphorylated insulin receptors as substrate. Liver cytosolic and particulate phosphotyrosine phosphatases were more potent than preparations from other tissues and were able to almost completely dephosphorylate the insulin receptor in a dose- and time-dependent manner. No change was observed in cytosolic and membrane-associated phosphotyrosine phosphatases in liver, diaphragm, and heart of obese mice compared with lean mice. In contrast, cytosolic, but not membrane-associated, phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity was decreased in hindleg muscles of obese mice. These results suggest that the regulation of phosphotyrosine phosphatases is tissue-specific. In addition, alterations in total phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity do not appear to play an important role in insulin resistance in all tissues of obese mice, although specific changes cannot be excluded.

The 'cerebral diabetes' paradigm for unipolar depression

Unipolar depression, alcoholism and suicide have become more common over the past decades. Genetic studies have attempted to link (bipolar) affective disorder to the short arm of chromosome 11 (where the loci for insulin, insulin growth factor (IGF), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and h-ras-oncogene are located) but these have failed. Since TH and the insulin receptor require phosphorylation by protein kinases, then a defect of the h-ras-oncogene or its products (p21) could disorder both these systems and compromise catecholaminergic transmission in neurones and energy flow in glial cells. This could lead not only to a predisposition to depression ('trait markers') but to neurotoxic damage, predisposed by inadequate cytosol Mg2+ levels of hypometabolism. Tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine hydroxylases all require tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) which allosterically regulates its own activity as well as that of these enzymes. Anything which impairs this cofactor could lead to overt depression in predisposed individuals, and the heterocyclic amines are being increasingly implicated. These substances are derived from fried and broiled meats, azo food dyes, soft drinks and hard candies, but particularly from cigarette and petroleum fumes. The heterocyclic amines can inhibit aromatic-l-amino-acid-decarboxylase (AADC) as well as the hydroxylases reversibly, but BH4 is inhibited noncompetitively. Thus, susceptible individuals (those with inherited defective protein kinase phosphorylation) might be 'tipped over' by chronic exposure to these neurotoxins. The rising incidence of unipolar depression-associated morbidity could be significantly linked to increasing levels of heterocyclic amines in the developed nations.