The role of insulin against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damages in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells

Abstract

Exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) can easily penetrate into biological membranes and enhance the formation of other reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the present study, we have investigated the neuroprotective effects of insulin on H₂O₂-induced toxicity of retinoic acid (RA)-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. To measure the changes in the cell viability of SH-SY5Y cells at different concentrations of H₂O₂ for 24?h, a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT)-based assay was used and a 100?µM H₂O₂ was selected to establish a model of H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress. Further assays showed that 24?h of 100?µM H₂O₂-induced significant changes in the levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), nitric oxide (NO), ROS, and calcium ion (Ca²⁺) in neuronal cells, but insulin can effectively diminish the H₂O₂-induced oxidative damages to these cells. Moreover, cells treated with insulin increased H₂O₂-induced suppression of glutathione levels and exerted an apparent suppressive effect on oxidative products. The results of insulin treatment with SH-SY5Y cells increased the Bcl-2 levels and decreased the Akt levels. The treatment of insulin had played a protective effect on H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress related to the Akt/Bcl-2 pathways.     

The multifaceted role of mTORC1 in the control of lipid metabolism

The mechanistic target of rapamycin is a protein kinase that, as part of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), senses both local nutrients and, through insulin signalling, systemic nutrients to control a myriad of cellular processes. Although roles for mTORC1 in promoting protein synthesis and inhibiting autophagy in response to nutrients have been well established, it is emerging as a central regulator of lipid homeostasis. Here, we discuss the growing genetic and pharmacological evidence demonstrating the functional importance of its signalling in controlling mammalian lipid metabolism, including lipid synthesis, oxidation, transport, storage and lipolysis, as well as adipocyte differentiation and function. Defining the role of mTORC1 signalling in these metabolic processes is crucial to understanding the pathophysiology of obesity and its relationship to complex diseases, including diabetes and cancer.     

Increased dosage of Ink4/Arf protects against glucose intolerance and insulin resistance associated with aging

Recent genome‐wide association studies have linked type‐2 diabetes mellitus to a genomic region in chromosome 9p21 near the Ink4/Arf locus, which encodes tumor suppressors that are up‐regulated in a variety of mammalian organs during aging. However, it is unclear whether the susceptibility to type‐2 diabetes is associated with altered expression of the Ink4/Arf locus. In the present study, we investigated the role of Ink4/Arf in age‐dependent alterations of insulin and glucose homeostasis using Super‐Ink4/Arf mice which bear an extra copy of the entire Ink4/Arf locus. We find that, in contrast to age‐matched wild‐type controls, Super‐Ink4/Arf mice do not develop glucose intolerance with aging. Insulin tolerance tests demonstrated increased insulin sensitivity in Super‐Ink4/Arf compared with wild‐type mice, which was accompanied by higher activation of the insulin receptor substrate (IRS)‐PI3K‐AKT pathway in liver, skeletal muscle and heart. Glucose uptake studies in Super‐Ink4/Arf mice showed a tendency toward increased ¹⁸F‐fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in skeletal muscle compared with wild‐type mice (P = 0.079). Furthermore, a positive correlation between glucose uptake and baseline glucose levels was observed in Super‐Ink4/Arf mice (P < 0.008) but not in wild‐type mice. Our studies reveal a protective role of the Ink4/Arf locus against the development of age‐dependent insulin resistance and glucose intolerance.     

Novel Systems for Dynamically Assessing Insulin Action in Live Cells Reveals Heterogeneity in the Insulin Response

Regulated GLUT4 trafficking is a key action of insulin. Quantitative stepwise analysis of this process provides a powerful tool for pinpointing regulatory nodes that contribute to insulin regulation and insulin resistance. We describe a novel GLUT4 construct and workflow for the streamlined dissection of GLUT4 trafficking; from simple high throughput screens to high resolution analyses of individual vesicles. We reveal single cell heterogeneity in insulin action highlighting the utility of this approach – each cell displayed a unique and highly reproducible insulin response, implying that each cell is hard‐wired to produce a specific output in response to a given stimulus. These data highlight that the response of a cell population to insulin is underpinned by extensive heterogeneity at the single cell level. This heterogeneity is pre‐programmed within each cell and is not the result of intracellular stochastic events.     

mTORC1 signaling and regulation of pancreatic β-cell mass

The capacity of β cells to expand in response to insulin resistance is a critical factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. Proliferation of β cells is a major component for these adaptive responses in animal models. The extracellular signals responsible for β-cell expansion include growth factors, such as insulin, and nutrients, such as glucose and amino acids. AKT activation is one of the important components linking growth signals to the regulation of β-cell expansion. Downstream of AKT, tuberous sclerosis complex 1 and 2 (TSC1/2) and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling have emerged as prime candidates in this process, because they integrate signals from growth factors and nutrients. Recent studies demonstrate the importance of mTORC1 signaling in β cells. This review will discuss recent advances in the understanding of how this pathway regulates β-cell mass and present data on the role of TSC1 in modulation of β-cell mass. Herein, we also demonstrate that deletion of Tsc1 in pancreatic β cells results in improved glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia and expansion of β-cell mass that persists with aging.     

Differential impact of structurally different anti-diabetic drugs on proliferation and chemosensitivity of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

Hyperglycemia during hyper-CVAD chemotherapy is associated with poor outcomes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (Cancer 2004; 100:1179–85). The optimal clinical strategy to manage hyperglycemia during hyper-CVAD is unclear. To examine whether anti-diabetic pharmacotherapy can influence chemosensitivity of ALL cells, we examined the impacts of different anti-diabetic agents on ALL cell lines and patient samples. Pharmacologically achievable concentrations of insulin, aspart and glargine significantly increased the number of ALL cells, and aspart and glargine did so at lower concentrations than human insulin. In contrast, metformin and rosiglitazone significantly decreased the cell number. Human insulin and analogs activated AKT/mTOR signaling and stimulated ALL cell proliferation (as measured by flow cytometric methods), but metformin and rosiglitazone blocked AKT/mTOR signaling and inhibited proliferation. Metformin 500 μM and rosiglitazone 10 μM were found to sensitize Reh cells to daunorubicin, while aspart, glargine and human insulin (all at 1.25 mIU/L) enhanced chemoresistance. Metformin and rosiglitazone enhanced daunorubicin-induced apoptosis, while insulin, aspart and glargine antagonized daunorubicin-induced apoptosis. In addition, metformin increased etoposide-induced and L-asparaginase-induced apoptosis; rosiglitazone increased etoposide-induced and vincristine-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, our results suggest that use of insulins to control hyperglycemia in ALL patients may contribute to anthracycline chemoresistance, while metformin and thiazolidinediones may improve chemosensitivity to anthracycline as well as other chemotherapy drugs through their different impacts on AKT/mTOR signaling in leukemic cells. Our data suggest that the choice of anti-diabetic pharmacotherapy during chemotherapy may influence clinical outcomes in ALL.     

Phosphoproteomic analysis identifies insulin enhancement of discoidin domain receptor 2 phosphorylation

The discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) are collagen binding receptor tyrosine kinases that play important roles in cell migration, invasion and adhesion. Crosstalk between growth factor signaling and components of the extracellular matrix are drivers of cellular function but the integrated signaling networks downstream of such crosstalk events have not been extensively characterized. In this report, we have employed mass spectrometry-based quantitative phosphotyrosine analysis to identify crosstalk between DDR2 and the insulin receptor. Our phosphoproteomic analysis reveals a cluster of phosphorylation sites in which collagen and insulin cooperate to enhance phosphotyrosine levels. Importantly, Y740 on the DDR2 catalytic loop was found in this cluster indicating that insulin acts to promote collagen I signaling by increasing the activity of DDR2. Furthermore, we identify two additional migration associated proteins that are candidate substrates downstream of DDR2 activation. Our data suggests that insulin promotes collagen I signaling through the upregulation of DDR2 phosphorylation which may have important consequences in DDR2 function in health and disease.     

不同胰岛素给药方式救治糖尿病酮症酸中毒临床研究

目的：比较不同胰岛素给药方式治疗糖尿病酮症酸中毒（DKA）的临床疗效。方法：82例DKA患者随机分为胰岛素泵持续皮下输液胰岛素（CSⅡ）组和微量泵持续静脉泵入胰岛素（CXqI）组各41例,分别给予胰岛素泵持续皮下输注胰岛素和小剂量胰岛素持续微量泵静脉泵入不同胰岛素给药方式,观察两组治疗后血糖变化、血糖达标时间、尿酮体变化、pH值变化、胰岛素平均日用量、平均低血糖次数及平均住院时间。结果：两组治疗后空腹血糖、餐后血糖显著下降及血糖达标时间显著缩短差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）;CSII组尿酮体转阴时间（22．3±7．4）h短于CVII组（32．1±12．1）h（P〈0．01）;CSII组PH值恢复时间（9．4±2．5）h短于CVII组（15．7±3．5）h（P〈0．01）;CSII组平均胰岛素日用量为（47±5）U比CVII组（58＋7）U少（P〈0．01）;CSII组人均低血糖次数为（0．6±O．5）次／人。少于CVII组（1．5±0．8）次／人（P〈O．01）;CSII组住院时间（9．8±1．2）天明显比CVII组（12．5±2．0）天短（P〈0．01）。结论：CSII相较于CVII能更快更有效的纠正代谢紊乱,减少胰岛素日用量,缩短住院时间,从而提高临床疗效。具有较高的安全性及患者依从性。     

Autophagy plays a protective role in endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated pancreatic β cell death

There is a growing evidence of the role of autophagy in pancreatic β cell homeostasis. During development of type 2 diabetes, β cells are required to supply the increased demand of insulin. In such a stage, β cells have to address high ER stress conditions that could lead to abnormal insulin secretion, and ultimately, β cell death and overt diabetes. In this study, we used insulin secretion-deficient β cells derived from fetal mice. These cells present an increased accumulation of polyubiquitinated protein aggregates and LC3B-positive puncta, when compared with insulinoma-derived β cell lines. We found that insulin secretion deficiency renders these cells hypersensitive to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated cell death. Chemical or shRNA-mediated inhibition of autophagy increased β cell death under ER stress. On the other hand, rapamycin treatment increased both autophagy and cell survival under ER stress. Insulin secretion-deficient β cells showed a marked reduction of the antiapoptotic protein BCL2, together with increased BAX expression and ERN1 hyperactivation upon ER stress induction. These results showed how insulin secretion deficiency in β cells may be contributing to ER stress-mediated cell death, and in this regard, we showed how the autophagic response plays a prosurvival role.     

Epigenetics: The missing link to understanding β-cell dysfunction in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing health problem worldwide. While peripheral insulin resistance is common during obesity and aging in both animals and people, progression to T2D is largely due to insulin secretory dysfunction and significant apoptosis of functional β-cells, leading to an inability to compensate for insulin resistance. It is recognized that environmental factors and nutrition play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. However, our knowledge surrounding molecular mechanisms by which these factors trigger β-cell dysfunction and diabetes is still limited. Recent discoveries raise the possibility that epigenetic changes in response to environmental stimuli may play an important role in the development of diabetes. In this paper, we review emerging knowledge regarding epigenetic mechanisms that may be involved in β-cell dysfunction and pathogenesis of diabetes, including the role of nutrition, oxidative stress and inflammation. We will mainly focus on the role of DNA methylation and histone modifications but will also briefly review data on miRNA effects on the pancreatic islets. Further studies aimed at better understanding how epigenetic regulation of gene expression controls β-cell function may reveal potential therapeutic targets for prevention and treatment of diabetes.