Kozui Shii

Tyrosine phosphorylation of p62 Dok induced by cell adhesion and insulin: possible role in cell migration

Dok, a 62‐kDa Ras GTPase‐activating protein (rasGAP)‐associated phosphotyrosyl protein, is thought to act as a multiple docking protein downstream of receptor or non‐receptor tyrosine kinases. Cell adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins induced marked tyrosine phosphorylation of Dok. This adhesion‐dependent phosphorylation of Dok was mediated, at least in part, by Src family tyrosine kinases. The maximal insulin‐induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Dok required a Src family kinase. A mutant Dok (DokΔPH) that lacked its pleckstrin homology domain failed to undergo tyrosine phosphorylation in response to cell adhesion or insulin. Furthermore, unlike the wild‐type protein, DokΔPH did not localize to subcellular membrane components. Insulin promoted the association of tyrosine‐phosphorylated Dok with the adapter protein NCK and rasGAP. In contrast, a mutant Dok (DokY361F), in which Tyr361 was replaced by phenylalanine, failed to bind NCK but partially retained the ability to bind rasGAP in response to insulin. Overexpression of wild‐type Dok, but not that of DokΔPH or DokY361F, enhanced the cell migratory response to insulin without affecting insulin activation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase. These results identify Dok as a signal transducer that potentially links, through its interaction with NCK or rasGAP, cell adhesion and insulin receptors to the machinery that controls cell motility.

Activation of Protein Kinase Cα Inhibits Signaling by Members of the Insulin Receptor Family

Stimulation of the activity of protein kinase C by pretreatment of cells with phorbol esters was tested for its ability to inhibit signaling by four members of the insulin receptor family, including the human insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I receptors, the human insulin receptor-related receptor, and the Drosophila insulin receptor. Activation of overexpressed protein kinase Cα resulted in a subsequent inhibition of the ligand-stimulated increase in antiphosphotyrosine-precipitable phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase mediated by the kinase domains of all four receptors. This inhibition varied from 97% for the insulin receptor-related receptor to 65% for the Drosophila insulin receptor. In addition, the activation of protein kinase Cα inhibited the in situ ligand-stimulated increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of the GTPase-activating protein-associated p60 protein as well as Shc mediated by these receptors. The mechanism for this inhibition was further studied in the case of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor. Although the in situ phosphorylation of insulin-receptor substrate-1 and p60 by this receptor was inhibited by prior stimulation of protein kinase Cα, the in vitro tyrosine phosphorylation of these two substrates by this receptor was not decreased by prior stimulation of the protein kinase Cα in the cells that served as a source of the substrates. Finally, the insulin-like growth factor-I-stimulated increase in cell proliferation was found to be inhibited by prior activation of protein kinase Cα. These results indicate that the ability of activated protein kinase Cα to antagonize signaling by the human insulin receptor is shared by the other members of the insulin receptor family despite their considerable differences in amino acid sequence. Moreover, the present study shows that this antagonism is exerted at a very early step, the initial tyrosine phosphorylation of three distinct endogenous substrates. Finally, the present study indicates that this inhibition is not caused by an increased Ser/Thr phosphorylation of these two substrates.

Purification and Characterization of Insulin-Degrading Enzyme From Human Erythrocytes

An insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) was purified from the cytosol of human erythrocytes via the use of ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatography on columns composed of DEAE-Sephadex, pentylagarose, hydroxylapatite, chromatofocusing resins, and Ultrogel AcA-34. The final preparation was purified >50,000-fold and exhibited a single protein band of Mr = 110,000 on reduced sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Cross-linking of 125I-labeled insulin to the enzyme preparation labeled a protein of the same molecular weight, indicating that this band was in fact the enzyme. Intact insulin, insulin B chain, andglucagon inhibited this cross-linking half-maximally at concentrations of 0.1,1, and 1.5 μM, respectively. Under nondenaturing conditions, the enzyme had an Mr, = 300,000, suggesting that the enzyme may exist under physiological conditions as a dimer or trimer. The purified enzyme was inhibited by both sulfhydrylmodifying reagents and chelating agents, indicating that a free thiol and metal were both required for the activity of the enzyme. The purified enzyme was found to degrade physiological concentrations of intact insulin more rapidly than insulin B chain,although at high substrate concentrations (>1 μM) the enzyme degraded B chain to a greater extent. Additional characteristics of the enzyme were a pl of 5.2 and a pH optimum of 7.0. These properties of the red blood cell (RBC) enzyme were very similar to those reported for IDEs from other tissues. Moreover, a polyclonal antiserum to the IDE from skeletal muscle was found to recognize the RBC enzyme. These results indicate that the human erythrocyte enzyme is very similar tothe enzyme in other tissues and that these cells are a good source of material for purification of the human IDE.

Prevention of Cyclophosphamide-Induced and Spontaneous Diabetes in NOD/Shi/Kbe Mice by Anti-MHC Class I Kd Monoclonal Antibody

The immune mechanisms directly responsible for β-cell destruction in insulin-dependent diabetes are undefined. We studied the role of MHC class I–restricted T lymphocytes in the development of diabetes in cyclophosphamide (CY)-treated male and untreated female NOD mice (H-2Kd,Db). After administration of CY to 10-wk-old male NOD/Shi/Kbe mice, 37 of 64 (58%) phosphate-buffered saline–injected control mice and 13 of 22 (59%) anti-Kb and 12 of 27 (44%) anti-Db monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-injected mice became diabetic by 14 wk of age, whereas only 3 of 38 (8%) anti-Kd and 2 of 13 (15%) anti-Lyt-2 MoAb-injected mice did. In untreated female NOD/Shi/Kbe mice, 30 of 46 (65%) mice developed spontaneous diabetes by 30 wk of age, whereas none of 9 anti-Kd MoAb-injected mice became diabetic. Immunohistochemical studies showed that islet-infiltrating cells in CY-treated control mice were composed mainly of both L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ T lymphocytes, whereas many L3T4+ and very few Lyt-2+ lymphocytes infiltrated within the islets in anti-Kd MoAb-injected mice. Administration of anti-Lyt-2 MoAb induced the absence of Lyt-2+ T lymphocytes in the islet and spleen. However, anti-Kd MoAb did not change the number of spleen cells or the T-lymphocyte subset and response to concanavalin A. These results suggest that MHC class I Kd-restricted Lyt-2+ T lymphocytes play an important role as direct effector cells in destruction of β-cells in NOD/Shi/Kbe mice.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Method for Human Autophosphorylated Insulin Receptor: Applicability to Insulin-Resistant States

The insulin receptors from erythrocytes of 50 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were tested for their ability to autophosphorylate. The assay was performed by a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system that used monoclonal anti-insulin receptor antibodies absorbed to microtiter plates as a first antibody and polyclonal antiphosphotyrosine antibody as a labeled second antibody. By this assay, 3 patients were identified with defects in their insulin receptor kinase, although their defects appeared heterogeneous. Patient 1 had 85% less maximal autophosphorylation with a normal ED50 (1.6 × 10−9 M insulin). Patient 2, who had polycystic ovary disease, had a 49.2% decrease in maximal autophosphorylation of insulin receptors, and the ED50 was shifted to the right (5.6 × 10−8 M). Patient 3 with acanthosis nigricans had a normal maximal autophosphorylation, but the ED50 shifted to the right (2.9 × 10−8 M). The mechanisms for the diversity detected in this assay is not known, but this technique has sufficient specificity and sensitivity to be used to screen for insulin-resistant patients who have a lack of kinase activity.

Natural regulatory mechanisms of insulin degradation by insulin degrading enzyme

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) accounts for most of the insulin degrading activity in extracts of several tissues and plays an important role in the intracellular degradation of insulin. Using newly developed sandwich radioimmunoassay for rat IDE, this enzyme was detectable in all tissues we examined and liver had the highest level of IDE. The ratio of insulin degrading activity to IDE concentration was roughly the same in liver, brain and muscle, however, twice as high in kidney as compared with other tissues. On the contrary, its degrading activity in these tissue extracts, including kidney, was completely lost after immunoprecipitation of IDE. These results suggest that IDE degrades insulin in the initial step of cleavage and that there are some mechanisms to regulate insulin degrading activity by IDE in the tissues.

Impaired mitogen-induced expression of high-affinity interleukin 2 receptors on spleen cells from NOD/Shi/Kbe mice.

The immune abnormalities of NOD mice, a model of human type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes, have been postulated to be T-lymphocyte dependent. We measured responsiveness to exogenous interleukin 2 (IL-2) and IL-2 production in spleen mononuclear cells from female NOD/Shi/Kbe mice after stimulating the cells with concanavalin A (ConA blasts) or phytohemagglutinin (PHA blasts). Exogenous IL-2 produced significantly lower proliferative responses in each blast from 3- and 10-wk-old NOD/Shi/Kbe mice than from control strains. IL-2 production in NOD/Shi/Kbe mice was inclined to decrease but not significantly compared with controls. Even sufficient amounts of recombinant IL-2 (rlL-2) or IL-1 (rlL-1), added with mitogens to the preculture medium, failed to provoke normal proliferative responses from NOD/Shi/Kbe mouse cells. To clarify the reason for this defect, we investigated the expression of IL-2 receptors (IL-2Rs) on mitogen-activated cells with anti- IL-2R monoclonal antibody (PC61) and radiolabeled IL-2. Cytofluorometry showed no significant difference between strains in the number of PC61+ ConA and PHA blasts. However, Scatchard analysis with 125I-labeled IL-2 showed that the number of high-affinity IL-2Rs (H-IL-2Rs), the mediators of the biological activity of IL-2, was decreased in NOD/Shi/Kbe mice compared with controls, whereas the number of lowaffinity IL-2Rs (L-IL-2Rs) was not different. Separating the L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ populations of T lymphocytes by cell sorting showed both to be deficient in H-IL-2Rs. Chemical cross-linking of 125I-IL-2 bound to H-IL-2Rs on ConA blasts generated the labeling of both IL-2R p70 and p55 proteins (proteins of 70,000 and 55,000 Mr, respectively). These proteins were quantifiably less radioactive in the NOD/Shi/Kbe mice. These studies suggest that the impaired H-IL-2R expression on mitogen-activated splenic T lymphocytes may be involved in the pathogenesis of type I diabetes in NOD/Shi/Kbe mice.

Development of vanadate sensitive human erythrocytes insulin receptor tyrosine phosphatase assay

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium orthovanadate on the alterations of human erythrocytes insulin receptor autophosphorylation. Human erythrocytes were incubated with insulin in a cell system and then lysed. The autophosphorylated insulin receptors were measured with the aid of a two-site immunofluorometric assay and using a monoclonal anti-insulin receptor antibody to label the insulin receptors and a monoclonal anti-phosphotyrosine antibody to assess tyrosine phosphorylation. When the erythrocytes were treated with insulin and then reincubated in insulin-free medium, vanadate completely inhibited insulin receptor dephosphorylation, although it had no effect on in vitro receptor autophosphorylation. Thus insulin receptor tyrosine phosphatase activity is postulated to be [% (autophosphorylated insulin receptors with vanadate - autophosphorylated insulin receptors without vanadate)/total insulin receptors] under overall steady conditions in a cell system. Using this assay, the insulin receptor tyrosine phosphatase activities of 25 control and 32 diabetic subjects were studied. There was no significant difference in insulin receptor tyrosine phosphatase activity between control subjects and diabetic subjects (0.173 +/- 0.062 vs 0.209 - +/- 0.057 autophosphorylated insulin receptors units/insulin receptors units). The assay used in this study requires only 0.6 ml of whole blood, and so should be a useful tool for detecting patients who are insulin-resistant due to abnormal insulin receptor tyrosine phosphatase activity.

CELLULAR IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION IN THE NOD MOUSE

It is generally accepted that T lymphocyte-mediated autoimmunity contributes to the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes in humans and animals. Using spleen cells from nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, a model of human Type 1 diabetes, we have analyzed the subset of T lymphocytes by flow cytometry and investigated concanavalin A (Con A)-induced interleukin 2 (IL-2) production and cell proliferation. NOD mice showed a higher percentage of Thy1.2+, L3T4+, and Lyt2+ T lymphocytes than did control ICR mice through the whole age examined. Spleen cells from a large majority of NOD mice were found to generate very low IL-2 production and cell proliferation in response to Con A. However, a few mice preserved their responsiveness to Con A. The following reasons may indicate that macrophage-mediated suppression participates in the deficient function of NOD spleen cells. (a) Macrophage depletion from NOD spleen cells retrieved Con A-induced IL-2 production. (b) Thioglycollate-induced peritoneal exudate cells containing many activated macrophages could completely suppress cell proliferation. (c) Prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor indomethacin reversed the suppression of IL-2 production by macrophages. (d) Conversely, exogenous prostaglandins could show the partial suppression of IL-2 production. These results suggest that activated macrophages suppress the response of NOD spleen cells to Con A mostly through prostaglandins. This impairment may contribute to the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes in NOD mice.