Steven E. Shoelson

Inflammation and insulin resistance

Over a hundred years ago, high doses of salicylates were shown to lower glucose levels in diabetic patients. This should have been an important clue to link inflammation to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the antihyperglycemic and antiinflammatory effects of salicylates were not connected to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance until recently. Together with the discovery of an important role for tissue macrophages, these new findings are helping to reshape thinking about how obesity increases the risk for developing T2D and the metabolic syndrome. The evolving concept of insulin resistance and T2D as having immunological components and an improving picture of how inflammation modulates metabolism provide new opportunities for using antiinflammatory strategies to correct the metabolic consequences of excess adiposity.

SH2 Domains Recognize Specific Phosphopeptide Sequences

A phosphopeptide library was used to determine the sequence specificity of the peptide-binding sites of SH2 domains. One group of SH2 domains (Src, Fyn, Lck, Fgr, Abl, Crk, and Nck) preferred sequences with the general motif pTyr-hydrophilic-hydrophilic-Ile/Pro while another group (SH2 domains of p85, phospholipase C-gamma, and SHPTP2) selected the general motif pTyr-hydrophobic-X-hydrophobic. Individual members of these groups selected unique sequences, except the Src subfamily (Src, Fyn, Lck, and Fgr), which all selected the sequence pTyr-Glu-Glu-Ile. The variability in SH2 domain sequences at likely sites of contact provides a structural basis for the phosphopeptide selectivity of these families. Possible in vivo binding sites of the SH2 domains are discussed.

Type 2 diabetes as an inflammatory disease

Components of the immune system are altered in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), with the most apparent changes occurring in adipose tissue, the liver, pancreatic islets, the vasculature and circulating leukocytes. These immunological changes include altered levels of specific cytokines and chemokines, changes in the number and activation state of various leukocyte populations and increased apoptosis and tissue fibrosis. Together, these changes suggest that inflammation participates in the pathogenesis of T2D. Preliminary results from clinical trials with salicylates and interleukin-1 antagonists support this notion and have opened the door for immunomodulatory strategies for the treatment of T2D that simultaneously lower blood glucose levels and potentially reduce the severity and prevalence of the associated complications of this disease.

Lean, but not obese, fat is enriched for a unique population of regulatory T cells that affect metabolic parameters.

Obesity is accompanied by chronic, low-grade inflammation of adipose tissue, which promotes insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. These findings raise the question of how fat inflammation can escape the powerful armamentarium of cells and molecules normally responsible for guarding against a runaway immune response. CD4+ Foxp3+ T regulatory (Treg) cells with a unique phenotype were highly enriched in the abdominal fat of normal mice, but their numbers were strikingly and specifically reduced at this site in insulin-resistant models of obesity. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments revealed that these Treg cells influenced the inflammatory state of adipose tissue and, thus, insulin resistance. Cytokines differentially synthesized by fat-resident regulatory and conventional T cells directly affected the synthesis of inflammatory mediators and glucose uptake by cultured adipocytes. These observations suggest that harnessing the anti-inflammatory properties of Treg cells to inhibit elements of the metabolic syndrome may have therapeutic potential.

IKKβ/NF-κB Activation Causes Severe Muscle Wasting in Mice

Muscle wasting accompanies aging and pathological conditions ranging from cancer, cachexia, and diabetes to denervation and immobilization. We show that activation of NF-kappaB, through muscle-specific transgenic expression of activated IkappaB kinase beta (MIKK), causes profound muscle wasting that resembles clinical cachexia. In contrast, no overt phenotype was seen upon muscle-specific inhibition of NF-kappaB through expression of IkappaBalpha superrepressor (MISR). Muscle loss was due to accelerated protein breakdown through ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. Expression of the E3 ligase MuRF1, a mediator of muscle atrophy, was increased in MIKK mice. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of the IKKbeta/NF-kappaB/MuRF1 pathway reversed muscle atrophy. Denervation- and tumor-induced muscle loss were substantially reduced and survival rates improved by NF-kappaB inhibition in MISR mice, consistent with a critical role for NF-kappaB in the pathology of muscle wasting and establishing it as an important clinical target for the treatment of muscle atrophy.

Identification of SOCS-3 as a Potential Mediator of Central Leptin Resistance

Leptin affects food intake and body weight by actions on the hypothalamus. Although leptin resistance is common in obesity, mechanisms have not been identified. We examined the effect of leptin on expression of the suppressors-of-cytokine-signaling (SOCS) family of proteins. Peripheral leptin administration to ob/ob, but not db/db mice, rapidly induced SOCS-3 mRNA in hypothalamus, but had no effect on CIS, SOCS-1, or SOCS-2. A leptin-dependent increase of SOCS-3 mRNA was seen in areas of hypothalamus expressing high levels of the leptin receptor long form. In mammalian cell lines, SOCS-3, but not CIS or SOCS-2, blocked leptin-induced signal transduction. Expression of SOCS-3 mRNA in the arcuate and dorsomedial hypothalamic nuclei is increased in Ay/a mice, a model of leptin-resistant murine obesity. In conclusion, SOCS-3 is a leptin-inducible inhibitor of leptin signaling, and a potential mediator of leptin resistance in obesity.

Specific motifs recognized by the SH2 domains of Csk, 3BP2, fps/fes, GRB-2, HCP, SHC, Syk, and Vav.

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains provide specificity to intracellular signaling by binding to specific phosphotyrosine (phospho-Tyr)-containing sequences. We recently developed a technique using a degenerate phosphopeptide library to predict the specificity of individual SH2 domains (src family members, Abl, Nck, Sem5, phospholipase C-gamma, p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, and SHPTP2 (Z. Songyang, S. E. Shoelson, M. Chaudhuri, G. Gish, T. Pawson, W. G. Haser, F. King, T. Roberts, S. Ratnofsky, R. J. Lechleider, B. G. Neel, R. B. Birge, J. E. Fajardo, M. M. Chou, H. Hanafusa, B. Schaffhausen, and L. C. Cantley, Cell 72:767-778, 1993). We report here the optimal recognition motifs for SH2 domains from GRB-2, Drk, Csk, Vav, fps/fes, SHC, Syk (carboxy-terminal SH2), 3BP2, and HCP (amino-terminal SH2 domain, also called PTP1C and SHPTP1). As predicted, SH2 domains from proteins that fall into group I on the basis of a Phe or Tyr at the beta D5 position (GRB-2, 3BP2, Csk, fps/fes, Syk C-terminal SH2) select phosphopeptides with the general motif phospho-Tyr-hydrophilic (residue)-hydrophilic (residue)-hydrophobic (residue). The SH2 domains of SHC and HCP (group III proteins with Ile, Leu, of Cys at the beta D5 position) selected the general motif phospho-Tyr-hydrophobic-Xxx-hydrophobic, also as predicted. Vav, which has a Thr at the beta D5 position, selected phospho-Tyr-Met-Glu-Pro as the optimal motif. Each SH2 domain selected a unique optimal motif distinct from motifs previously determined for other SH2 domains. These motifs are used to predict potential sites in signaling proteins for interaction with specific SH2 domain-containing proteins. The Syk SH2 domain is predicted to bind to Tyr-hydrophilic-hydrophilic-Leu/Ile motifs like those repeated at 10-residue intervals in T- and B-cell receptor-associated proteins. SHC is predicted to bind to a subgroup og these same motifs. A structural basis for the association of Csk with Src family members is also suggested from these studies.

Phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase is activated by association with IRS-1 during insulin stimulation.

IRS‐1 undergoes rapid tyrosine phosphorylation during insulin stimulation and forms a stable complex containing the 85 kDa subunit (p85) of the phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 3′‐kinase, but p85 is not tyrosyl phosphorylated. IRS‐1 contains nine tyrosine phosphorylation sites in YXXM (Tyr‐Xxx‐Xxx‐Met) motifs. Formation of the IRS‐1‐PtdIns 3′‐kinase complex in vitro is inhibited by synthetic peptides containing phosphorylated YXXM motifs, suggesting that the binding of PtdIns 3′‐kinase to IRS‐1 is mediated through the SH2 (src homology‐2) domains of p85. Furthermore, overexpression of IRS‐1 potentiates the activation of PtdIns 3‐kinase in insulin‐stimulated cells, and tyrosyl phosphorylated IRS‐1 or peptides containing phosphorylated YXXM motifs activate PtdIns 3′‐kinase in vitro. We conclude that the binding of tyrosyl phosphorylated IRS‐1 to the SH2 domains of p85 is the critical step that activates PtdIns 3′‐kinase during insulin stimulation.

ArticleIKKβ/NF-κB Activation Causes Severe Muscle Wasting in Mice

Muscle wasting accompanies aging and pathological conditions ranging from cancer, cachexia, and diabetes to denervation and immobilization. We show that activation of NF-kappaB, through muscle-specific transgenic expression of activated IkappaB kinase beta (MIKK), causes profound muscle wasting that resembles clinical cachexia. In contrast, no overt phenotype was seen upon muscle-specific inhibition of NF-kappaB through expression of IkappaBalpha superrepressor (MISR). Muscle loss was due to accelerated protein breakdown through ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. Expression of the E3 ligase MuRF1, a mediator of muscle atrophy, was increased in MIKK mice. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of the IKKbeta/NF-kappaB/MuRF1 pathway reversed muscle atrophy. Denervation- and tumor-induced muscle loss were substantially reduced and survival rates improved by NF-kappaB inhibition in MISR mice, consistent with a critical role for NF-kappaB in the pathology of muscle wasting and establishing it as an important clinical target for the treatment of muscle atrophy.

SOCS-1 and SOCS-3 Block Insulin Signaling by Ubiquitin-mediated Degradation of IRS1 and IRS2

Inflammation associates with peripheral insulin resistance, which dysregulates nutrient homeostasis and leads to diabetes. Inflammation induces the expression of SOCS proteins. We show that SOCS1 or SOCS3 targeted IRS1 and IRS2, two critical signaling molecules for insulin action, for ubiquitin-mediated degradation. SOCS1 or SOCS3 bound both recombinant and endogenous IRS1 and IRS2 and promoted their ubiquitination and subsequent degradation in multiple cell types. Mutations in the conserved SOCS box of SOCS1 abrogated its interaction with the elongin BC ubiquitin-ligase complex without affecting its binding to IRS1 or IRS2. The SOCS1 mutants also failed to promote the ubiquitination and degradation of either IRS1 or IRS2. Adenoviral-mediated expression of SOCS1 in mouse liver dramatically reduced hepatic IRS1 and IRS2 protein levels and caused glucose intolerance; by contrast, expression of the SOCS1 mutants had no effect. Thus, SOCS-mediated degradation of IRS proteins, presumably via the elongin BC ubiquitin-ligase, might be a general mechanism of inflammation-induced insulin resistance, providing a target for therapy.