Yoshikazu Shibasaki

A Critical Role for a Rho-Associated Kinase, p160ROCK, in Determining Axon Outgrowth in Mammalian CNS Neurons

We tested the contribution of the small GTPase Rho and its downstream target p160ROCK during the early stages of axon formation in cultured cerebellar granule neurons. p160ROCK inhibition, presumably by reducing the stability of the cortical actin network, triggered immediate outgrowth of membrane ruffles and filopodia, followed by the generation of initial growth cone-ike membrane domains from which axonal processes arose. Furthermore, a potentiation in both the size and the motility of growth cones was evident, though the overall axon elongation rate remained stable. Conversely, overexpression of dominant active forms of Rho or ROCK was suggested to prevent initiation of axon outgrowth. Taken together, our data indicate a novel role for the Rho/ROCK pathway as a gate critical for the initiation of axon outgrowth and the control of growth cone dynamics.

Type I Phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-Kinases CLONING OF THE THIRD ISOFORM AND DELETION/SUBSTITUTION ANALYSIS OF MEMBERS OF THIS NOVEL LIPID KINASE FAMILY

Type I phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns(4)P) 5-kinases (PIP5K) catalyze the synthesis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, an essential lipid molecule in various cellular processes. Here, we report the cloning of the third member (PIP5Kγ) and the characterization of members of the type I PIP5K family. Type I PIP5Kγ has two alternative splicing forms, migrating at 87 and 90 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid sequence of the central portion of this isoform shows approximately 80% identity with those of the α and β isoforms. Northern blot analysis revealed that the γ isoform is highly expressed in the brain, lung, and kidneys. Among three isoforms, the β isoform has the greatest V max value for the PtdIns(4)P kinase activity and the γ isoform is most markedly stimulated by phosphatidic acid. By analyzing deletion mutants of the three isoforms, the minimal kinase core sequence of these isoforms were determined as an approximately 380-amino acid region. In addition, carboxyl-terminal regions of the β and γ isoforms were found to confer the greatest V max value and the highest phosphatidic acid sensitivity, respectively. It was also discovered that lysine 138 in the putative ATP binding motif of the α isoform is essential for the PtdIns(4)P kinase activity. As was the case with the α isoform reported previously (Shibasaki, Y., Ishihara, H., Kizuki, N., Asano, T., Oka, Y., Yazaki, Y. (1997) J. Biol. Chem.272, 7578–7581), overexpression of either the β or the γ isoform induced an increase in short actin fibers and a decrease in actin stress fibers in COS7 cells. Surprisingly, a kinase-deficient substitution mutant also induced an abnormal actin polymerization, suggesting a role of PIP5Ks via structural interactions with other molecules.

Type Iα phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase mediates Rac-dependent actin assembly

Action polymerization is essential for a variety of cellular processes including movement, cell division and shape change. The induction of actin polymerization requires the generation of free actin filament barbed ends, which results from the severing or uncapping of pre-existing actin filaments [1] [2], or de novo nucleation, initiated by the Arp2/3 complex [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]. Although little is known about the signaling pathways that regulate actin assembly, small GTPases of the Rho family appear to be necessary [8] [9] [10] [11]. In thrombin-stimulated platelets, the Rho family GTPase Rac1 induces actin polymerization by stimulating the uncapping of actin filament barbed ends [2]. The mechanism by which Rac regulates uncapping is unclear, however. We previously demonstrated that Rac interacts with a type I phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP 5-kinase) in a GTP-independent manner [12] [13]. Because PIP 5-kinases synthesize phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P(2)), a lipid that dissociates capping proteins from the barbed ends of actin filaments [14] [15] [16], they are good candidates for mediating the effects of Rac on actin assembly. Here, we have identified the Rac-associated PIP 5-kinase as the PIP 5-kinase isoforms alpha and beta. When added to permeabilized platelets, PIP 5-kinase alpha induced actin filament uncapping and assembly. In contrast, a kinase-inactive PIP 5-kinase alpha mutant failed to induce actin assembly and blocked assembly stimulated by thrombin or Rac. Furthermore, thrombin- or Rac-induced actin polymerization was inhibited by a point mutation in the carboxyl terminus of Rac that disrupts PIP 5-kinase binding. These results demonstrate that PIP 5-kinase alpha is a critical mediator of thrombin- and Rac-dependent actin assembly.

Overexpression of Catalytic Subunit p110α of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Increases Glucose Transport Activity with Translocation of Glucose Transporters in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

To elucidate the mechanisms of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase involvement in insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity, the epitope-tagged p110α subunit of PI 3-kinase was overexpressed in 3T3-L1 adipocytes using an adenovirus-mediated gene transduction system. Overexpression of p110α was confirmed by immunoblot using anti-tagged epitope antibody. p110α overexpression induced a 2.5-fold increase in PI 3-kinase activity associated with its regulatory subunits in the basal state, an increase exceeding that of the maximally insulin-stimulated control cells, while PI 3-kinase activity associated with phosphotyrosyl protein was only modestly elevated. Overexpression of p110α induced an approximately 14-fold increase in the basal glucose transport rate, which was also greater than that observed in the stimulated control. No apparent difference was observed in the cellular expression level of either GLUT1 or GLUT4 proteins between control and p110α-overexpressing 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Subcellular fractionation revealed translocation of glucose transporters from intracellular to plasma membranes in basal p110α-overexpressing cells. The translocation of GLUT4 protein to the plasma membrane was further confirmed using a membrane sheet assay. These findings indicate that an increment in PI 3-kinase activity induced by overexpression of p110α of PI 3-kinase stimulates glucose transport activity with translocation of glucose transporters, i.e., mimics the effect of insulin.

Massive Actin Polymerization Induced by Phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-Kinase in Vivo

The Rho family GTP-binding proteins have been known to mediate extracellular signals to the actin cytoskeleton. Although several Rho interacting proteins have been found, downstream signals have yet to be determined. Many actin-binding proteins are known to be regulated by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in vitro Rho has been shown to enhance the activity of phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase (PI4P5K), the phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate synthesizing enzyme. Recently we isolated several isoforms of type I PI4P5K. Here we report that PI4P5K Iα induces massive actin polymerization resembling “pine needles” in COS-7 cells in vivo When truncated from the C terminus to amino acid 308 of PI4P5K Iα, both kinase activity and actin polymerizing activity were lost. Although the dominant negative form of Rho, RhoN19, alone decreased actin fibers, those induced by PI4P5K were not affected by the coexpression of RhoN19. These results suggest that PI4P5K is located downstream from Rho and mediates signals for actin polymerization through its phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase activity.

Human diabetes associated with a mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain of the insulin receptor

Insulin receptor complementary DNA has been cloned from an insulin-resistant individual whose receptors have impaired tyrosine protein kinase activity. One of this individuals alleles has a mutation in which valine is substituted for Gly996, the third glycine in the conserved Gly-X-Gly-X-X-Gly motif in the putative binding site fo adenosine triphosphate. Expression of the mutant receptor by transfection into Chinese hamster ovary cells confirmed that the mutation impairs tyrosine kinase activity.

Cloning of a rabbit brain glucose transporter cDNA and alteration of glucose transporter mRNA during tissue development

A full-length cDNA clone that codes for glucose transporter protein was isolated from a rabbit brain cDNA library by using synthetic oligonucleotide probe derived from the sequence of human glucose transporter cDNA. The coding region shared 93.2% nucleotide and 97.0% amino-acid similarities with those of human glucose transporter and 89.4% nucleotide and 97.4% amino-acid similarities with those of rat transporter. Northern blot analysis revealed that glucose transporter mRNA is most abundant in the placenta and that it is also abundant in the brain. The fat tissue, heart, liver, and skeletal muscle of adult rats contained a very small amount of mRNA, while heart, liver, skeletal muscle and kidney of fetal rats contained a very high amount of glucose transporter mRNA. These results suggest that this type of glucose transporter might be closely related with cell proliferation and tissue development.

Increased Liver Glucose-Transporter Protein and mRNA in Streptozocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The effect of insulin-deficient diabetic states on the rat liver glucose-transporter (L-transporter isoform) protein and mRNA levels were studied. Rats were injected with 65 mg/kg streptozocin to induce diabetes and were maintained for 10 days and then treated with or without insulin for the next 5 days. The L-transporter isoform with apparent Mr of 55,000 was observed to be increased approximately twofold in the membranes from liver homogenates of diabetic rats compared with control rats when assessed by Western blot analysis with an anti-peptide antibody directed against rat L-transporter isoform. Insulin treatment of diabetic rats decreased the amount of L-transporter isoform protein toward levels observed in nondiabetic rats. Northern blot analysis demonstrated similar alterations in the rat L-transporter isoform mRNA that paralleled the changes observed in the L-transporter isoform protein. The increased levels of the L-transporter isoform protein and mRNA in diabetic rats are in marked contrast to the effects of insulin deficiency in rat adipocytes, which specifically decrease the amount of the adipocyte glucose-transporter isoform protein and mRNA. These results suggest that glucose-transporter isoforms in rat liver and adipocytes are regulated by different mechanisms and that an increased synthesis of the L-transporter isoform may contribute to the increased glucose output that occurs from the liver during insulin deficiency.

Altered expression of glucose transporter isoforms with aging in rats — selective decrease in GluT4 in the fat tissue and skeletal muscle

SummaryTo elucidate the cellular mechanisms of glucose intolerance associated with aging, both the protein and mRNA levels of glucose transporter isoforms were studied in the various tissues of young (7-week-old) and aged (20-monthold) rats. GluT4 (adipose/muscle-type glucose transporter) protein, which is specifically expressed in insulin-responsive tissues, was selectively decreased per milligramme of cellular membrane protein in both the epididymal fat tissues and the gastrocnemius muscle of the aged rats compared with the young rats. When the changes in total cellular membranes per gramme of tissue are taken into account, a further decrease in GluT4 protein per gramme of tissue was observed in the tissues of the aged rats compared with the young rats. The decreased amount of GluT4 protein in the fat tissues of the aged rats is probably due to the decreased protein synthesis rather than the stability, since GluT4 mRNA/μg of cellular total RNA was also decreased. In contrast, GluT4 mRNA in the gastrocnemius muscle was rather increased and a ratio of GluT4 protein/GluT4 mRNA was decreased by 70% in the aged rats, suggesting that the translational efficiency and/or stability of GluT4 protein is decreased in the skeletal muscle of the aged rats compared with the young rats. GluT2 (livertype glucose transporter) protein and mRNA in the liver were also decreased in the aged rats, while no apparent decrease in GluT1 (HepG2/brain-type glucose transporter) protein/mg of cellular membrane protein was observed in the skeletal muscle and fat tissues of the aged rats compared with the young rats. Thus, the tissue and isoform-specific alterations of glucose transporter expression are associated with aging and may contribute to glucose intolerance observed with aging.

Cooperation of Phosphoinositides and BAR Domain Proteins in Endosomal Tubulation

Phosphorylated derivatives of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) regulate many intracellular events, including vesicular trafficking and actin remodeling, by recruiting proteins to their sites of function. PtdIns(4,5)‐bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] and related phosphoinositides are mainly synthesized by type I PtdIns‐4‐phosphate 5‐kinases (PIP5Ks). We found that PIP5K induces endosomal tubules in COS‐7 cells. ADP‐ribosylation factor (ARF) 6 has been shown to act upstream of PIP5K and regulate endocytic transport and tubulation. ARF GAP with coiled‐coil, ankyrin repeat, and pleckstrin homology domains 1 (ACAP1) has guanosine triphosphatase‐activating protein (GAP) activity for ARF6. While there were few tubules induced by the expression of ACAP1 alone, numerous endosomal tubules were induced by coexpression of PIP5K and ACAP1. ACAP1 has a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain known to bind phosphoinositide and a Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domain that has been reported to detect membrane curvature. Truncated and point mutations in the ACAP1 BAR and PH domains revealed that both BAR and PH domains are required for tubulation. These results suggest that two ARF6 downstream molecules, PIP5K and ACAP1, function together in endosomal tubulation and that phosphoinositide levels may regulate endosomal dynamics.