Insulin-induced increases in the activity of the spontaneously active and ATP.Mg-dependent forms of phosphatase-1 in alloxan-diabetic rat liver

The structure, role, and regulation of type 1 protein phosphatases

Type 1 protein phosphatases (PP-1) comprise a group of widely distributed enzymes that specifically dephosphorylate serine and threonine residues of certain phosphoproteins. They all contain an isoform of the same catalytic subunit, which has an extremely conserved primary structure. One of the properties of PP-1 that allows one to distinguish them from other serine/threonine protein phosphatases is their sensitivity to inhibition by two proteins, termed inhibitor 1 and inhibitor 2, or modulator. The latter protein can also form a 1:1 complex with the catalytic subunit that slowly inactivates upon incubation. This complex is reactivated in vitro by incubation with MgATP and protein kinase FA/GSK-3. In the cell the type 1 catalytic subunit is associated with noncatalytic subunits that determine the activity, the substrate specificity, and the subcellular location of the phosphatase. PP-1 plays an essential role in glycogen metabolism, calcium transport, muscle contraction, intracellular transport, protein synthesis, and cell division. The activity of PP-1 is regulated by hormones like insulin, glucagon, alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists, glucocorticoids, and thyroid hormones.

Protein phosphatase-1 and -2A, kinase FA, and casein kinase II in skeletal muscle of streptozotocin diabetic rats

Protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1) and -2A (PP-2A), two regulatory subunits of PP-1, the glycogen-binding subunit G and inhibitor-2 (I-2), kinase FA, and casein kinase II (CK-II) were investigated in skeletal muscle of diabetic rats 2 days after streptozotocin injection. FA and CK-II activate PP-1 in vitro and might be involved in the activation of PP-1 by insulin. Following muscle fractionation we found that (1) diabetes decreased both basal and trypsin-stimulated PP-1 activities; the decrease was more significant in the glycogen-bound and microsomal fractions than in the cytosol (cytosolic PP-1 decreased as specific activity but not as activity/g of muscle); also PP-2A was lower in diabetic cytosols; (2) less G was immunoprecipitated from diabetic glycogen-bound fractions compared to controls, while I-2 was not significantly changed; (3) diabetes decreased also FA (assayed as PP-1 activator) and CK-II (assayed using a synthetic peptide as substrate); (4) diabetes did not have any effect on phosphorylase (a + b) activity in the glycogen-bound fraction. Altogether the data show that acute diabetes decreased PP-1, one of its regulatory subunits and two potentially physiological regulators of PP-1, in addition to PP-2A. This may indicate that insulin is responsible for the long-term regulation of the same enzymes that are also under acute insulin control.

Defective sarcolemmal phosphorylation associated with noninsulin-dependent diabetes

Noninsulin-dependent diabetes is associated with a decrease in the activity of sarcolemmal phosphatase 1, but no change in the activities of phosphatase 2A, 2B, or 2C. Also unaffected by diabetes were the activities of protein kinase C, cAMP-dependent protein kinase and calcium-calmodulin protein kinase. Because of the decrease in phosphatase 1 activity, 32P incorporation into sarcolemmal phosphoproteins catalyzed by either intrinsic protein kinases or extrinsic cAMP-dependent protein kinase was elevated in the diabetic. Among the proteins whose phosphorylation was elevated in diabetes was the phospholamban-like protein, which has been implicated in the regulation of ATP-dependent calcium transport. The phosphate-linked increase could be prevented by exposing the membranes to a phosphatase inhibitor and either extrinsic cAMP-dependent protein kinase or alamethicin. In addition to the phosphatase-linked effects, analysis of individual sarcolemmal phosphoproteins by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that diabetes caused a specific elevation in membrane phosphorylation of some proteins (43 kDa and 78 kDa), but a decrease in the phosphorylation state of other phosphoproteins (31 kDa and 49 kDa). The data indicate that membrane phosphorylation is dramatically altered by diabetes. The possibility that this contributes to altered myocardial function is discussed.

Phosphorylase phosphatase activities of rat liver in streptozotocin-diabetes

Protein phosphatase-1 and 2A, accounting for all the hepatic activity regulating phosphorylase, were assayed in streptozotocin-induced (8 weeks) diabetic Wistar rats. Cytosolic protein phosphatase-1 and 2A were distinguished by chromatography on heparin-Sepharose and by inhibition with inhibitor-2. Approx. 25-35% increases in type-1 phosphorylase phosphatase activity measured in cytosols were registered in diabetic rats when compared with control and 24 h fasting animals. The enrichment of protein phosphatase-1 in the cytosol of streptozotocin-treated rat livers could not be attributed to the reduced glycogen content with the onset of diabetes, since this elevated level of type-1 phosphatase was not observed in fasting rats with low glycogen content. The translocation of type-1 phosphatase from the particulate fraction into the cytosol was also recorded in trypsin-treated samples of diabetic rat livers. The apparent molecular weight of type-1 phosphatase in the cytosol of control and fasted rats was 160,000 as judged by gel filtration. The type-1 phosphatase activity that was released from the particulate fraction by streptozotocin-induced diabetes identified a further enzyme species (Mr 110,000) in the cytosol. Our data imply that the higher levels of cytosolic protein phosphatase-1 in diabetic rat liver could be a consequence of the dissociation of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase-1 and the glycogen-binding subunit in rat livers.

Increase in liver protein phosphatase-1 in spontaneously diabetic Chinese hamsters

Two broad-specifically protein phosphatases, termed protein phosphatase-1 (PrP-1) and protein phosphatase-2A (PrP-2A), accounting for all the hepatic activity regulating glycogen phosphorylase, were measured in spontaneously diabetic Chinese hamsters exhibiting persistent glycosuria. When compared with genetically related inbred sublines free of glycosuria, diabetic animals demonstrated approximately 25% increase in PrP-1 activity measured either in crude tissue extracts or in cytosols fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography. No significant alteration in total PrP-2A activity was observed in the diabetic animals. These findings indicate that a specific change in hepatic PrP-1 is associated with genetically acquired diabetes in Chinese hamsters. In contrast to reported data using animals with experimentally induced diabetes mellitus, hepatic PrP-1 was increased in the spontaneously diabetic Chinese hamsters. The data suggests that distinct alterations in PrP-1 and associated metabolic consequences are exhibited by different types of diabetes.

Control of glycogen synthesis in health and disease

Investigations in our laboratory have shown that the activity of glycogen synthase phosphatase in the liver is shared by at least two functionally distinct proteins: a G-component, which is tightly associated with glycogen particles, and a soluble S-component. Most preparations of glycogen synthase-b that are isolated from the liver of fed glucagon-treated animals require the presence of both components in order to be converted to synthase-a. The G-component is subject to control mechanisms that do not affect the S-component. Its activity is strongly inhibited by phosphorylase-a. This feature explains why glycogen synthesis and glycogenolysis do not normally occur simultaneously, except in the glycogen-depleted liver, where a futile cycle may occur. Experiments in vitro have shown that a minimal glycogen concentration is required to ensure the interaction between the G-component and phosphorylase-a. The G-component is also selectively inhibited by Ca2+, and the magnitude of this inhibition depends markedly on the glycogen concentration. The latter inhibition is probably one of the mechanisms by which cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-independent glycogenolytic agents achieve the inactivation of glycogen synthase in the liver. Glucocorticoid hormones and insulin are required for the induction and/or maintenance of the G-component in the liver. During the development of the fetal rat, glucocorticoids induce the G-component in the liver. This is an essential event in the glucocorticoid-triggered deposition of glycogen in the fetal liver. A functional adrenal cortex is also required in the adult animal to prevent a loss of the capacity for hepatic glycogen storage during starvation. The latter capacity depends on the concentration of functional G-component in the liver. Chronic diabetes causes a similar functional loss. However, the effect of glucocorticoids is not mediated by a putative secretion of insulin.

Effects of streptozotocin-diabetes, fasting and adrenaline on phosphorylase phosphatase activities of rat skeletal muscle

The distribution of the spontaneous and trypsin-stimulated phosphorylase phosphatase activities between glycogen particles and cytosol was examined in muscle extracts obtained from rats that had been fasted, made diabetic with streptozotocin or injected with adrenaline. In all conditions the particle-bound phosphatase activities decreased, glycogen was degraded and phosphorylase was released from the particles into the cytosol. However, in fasting and diabetes (but not after adrenaline) the combined glycogen particle + cytosolic phosphatase activities decreased, indicating that the activity lost from the particles was not simply shifted to the cytosol. Fasting and diabetes (but not adrenaline) also decreased the phosphatase-activating ability of the muscle extracts, which was, at least in part, attributable to the protein kinase FA. These data indicate the presence of at least two different mechanisms affecting the phosphatase system, one modified by fasting and diabetes, the other by adrenaline.