Proinsulin and the Genetics of Diabetes Mellitus

Insulin plays a central role in the regulation of vertebrate metabolism. The hormone, the post-translational product of a single-chain precursor, is a globular protein containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues). Recent advances in human genetics have identified dominant mutations in the insulin gene causing permanent neonatal-onset DM² (1–4). The mutations are predicted to block folding of the precursor in the ER of pancreatic β-cells. Although expression of the wild-type allele would in other circumstances be sufficient to maintain homeostasis, studies of a corresponding mouse model (5–7) suggest that the misfolded variant perturbs wild-type biosynthesis (8, 9). Impaired β-cell secretion is associated with ER stress, distorted organelle architecture, and cell death (10). These findings have renewed interest in insulin biosynthesis (11–13) and the structural basis of disulfide pairing (14–19). Protein evolution is constrained not only by structure and function but also by susceptibility to toxic misfolding.Insulin plays a central role in the regulation of vertebrate metabolism. The hormone, the post-translational product of a single-chain precursor, is a globular protein containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues). Recent advances in human genetics have identified dominant mutations in the insulin gene causing permanent neonatal-onset DM² (1–4). The mutations are predicted to block folding of the precursor in the ER of pancreatic β-cells. Although expression of the wild-type allele would in other circumstances be sufficient to maintain homeostasis, studies of a corresponding mouse model (5–7) suggest that the misfolded variant perturbs wild-type biosynthesis (8, 9). Impaired β-cell secretion is associated with ER stress, distorted organelle architecture, and cell death (10). These findings have renewed interest in insulin biosynthesis (11–13) and the structural basis of disulfide pairing (14–19). Protein evolution is constrained not only by structure and function but also by susceptibility to toxic misfolding.     

Phosphoproteome Analysis of Functional Mitochondria Isolated from Resting Human Muscle Reveals Extensive Phosphorylation of Inner Membrane Protein Complexes and Enzymes

Mitochondria play a central role in energy metabolism and cellular survival, and consequently mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with a number of human pathologies. Reversible protein phosphorylation emerges as a central mechanism in the regulation of several mitochondrial processes. In skeletal muscle, mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to insulin resistance in humans with obesity and type 2 diabetes. We performed a phosphoproteomics study of functional mitochondria isolated from human muscle biopsies with the aim to obtain a comprehensive overview of mitochondrial phosphoproteins. Combining an efficient mitochondrial isolation protocol with several different phosphopeptide enrichment techniques and LC-MS/MS, we identified 155 distinct phosphorylation sites in 77 mitochondrial phosphoproteins, including 116 phosphoserine, 23 phosphothreonine, and 16 phosphotyrosine residues. The relatively high number of phosphotyrosine residues suggests an important role for tyrosine phosphorylation in mitochondrial signaling. Many of the mitochondrial phosphoproteins are involved in oxidative phosphorylation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and lipid metabolism, i.e. processes proposed to be involved in insulin resistance. We also assigned phosphorylation sites in mitochondrial proteins involved in amino acid degradation, importers and transporters, calcium homeostasis, and apoptosis. Bioinformatics analysis of kinase motifs revealed that many of these mitochondrial phosphoproteins are substrates for protein kinase A, protein kinase C, casein kinase II, and DNA-dependent protein kinase. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of performing phosphoproteome analysis of organelles isolated from human tissue and provide novel targets for functional studies of reversible phosphorylation in mitochondria. Future comparative phosphoproteome analysis of mitochondria from healthy and diseased individuals will provide insights into the role of abnormal phosphorylation in pathologies, such as type 2 diabetes.Mitochondria are the primary energy-generating systems in eukaryotes. They play a crucial role in oxidative metabolism, including carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, and urea cycle, as well as in calcium signaling and apoptosis (1, 2). Mitochondrial dysfunction is centrally involved in a number of human pathologies, such as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson disease, and cancer (3). The most prevalent form of cellular protein post-translational modifications (PTMs),1 reversible phosphorylation (4–6), is emerging as a central mechanism in the regulation of mitochondrial functions (7, 8). The steadily increasing numbers of reported mitochondrial kinases, phosphatases, and phosphoproteins imply an important role of protein phosphorylation in different mitochondrial processes (9–11).Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteome analysis is a powerful tool for global profiling of proteins and their PTMs, including protein phosphorylation (12, 13). A variety of proteomics techniques have been developed for specific enrichment of phosphorylated proteins and peptides and for phosphopeptide-specific data acquisition techniques at the MS level (14). Enrichment methods based on affinity chromatography, such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂) (15–17), zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) (18), immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) (19, 20), and ion exchange chromatography (strong anion exchange and strong cation exchange) (21, 22), have shown high efficiencies for enrichment of phosphopeptides (14). Recently, we demonstrated that calcium phosphate precipitation (CPP) is highly effective for enriching phosphopeptides (23). It is now generally accepted that no single method is comprehensive, but combinations of different enrichment methods produce distinct overlapping phosphopeptide data sets to enhance the overall results in phosphoproteome analysis (24, 25). Phosphopeptide sequencing by mass spectrometry has seen tremendous advances during the last decade (26). For example, MS/MS product ion scanning, multistage activation, and precursor ion scanning are effective methods for identifying serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), and tyrosine (Tyr) phosphorylated peptides (14, 26).A “complete” mammalian mitochondrial proteome was reported by Mootha and co-workers (27) and included 1098 proteins. The mitochondrial phosphoproteome has been characterized in a series of studies, including yeast, mouse and rat liver, porcine heart, and plants (19, 28–31). To date, the largest data set by Deng et al. (30) identified 228 different phosphoproteins and 447 phosphorylation sites in rat liver mitochondria. However, the in vivo phosphoproteome of human mitochondria has not been determined. A comprehensive mitochondrial phosphoproteome is warranted for further elucidation of the largely unknown mechanisms by which protein phosphorylation modulates diverse mitochondrial functions.The percutaneous muscle biopsy technique is an important tool in the diagnosis and management of human muscle disorders and has been widely used to investigate metabolism and various cellular and molecular processes in normal and abnormal human muscle, in particular the molecular mechanism underlying insulin resistance in obesity and type 2 diabetes (32). Skeletal muscle is rich in mitochondria and hence a good source for a comprehensive proteomics and functional analysis of mitochondria (32, 33).The major aim of the present study was to obtain a comprehensive overview of site-specific phosphorylation of mitochondrial proteins in functionally intact mitochondria isolated from human skeletal muscle. Combining an efficient protocol for isolation of skeletal muscle mitochondria with several different state-of-the-art phosphopeptide enrichment methods and high performance LC-MS/MS, we identified 155 distinct phosphorylation sites in 77 mitochondrial phosphoproteins, many of which have not been reported before. We characterized this mitochondrial phosphoproteome by using bioinformatics tools to classify functional groups and functions, including kinase substrate motifs.     

Lipogenesis Is Decreased by Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins According to Liver Proteomics of Rats Fed a High Fat Diet

Bioactive proanthocyanidins have been reported to have several beneficial effects on health in relation to metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. We studied the effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) in rats fed a high fat diet (HFD). This is the first study of the effects of flavonoids on the liver proteome of rats suffering from metabolic syndrome. Three groups of rats were fed over a period of 13 weeks either a chow diet (control), an HFD, or a high fat diet supplemented for the last 10 days with GSPE (HFD + GSPE). The liver proteome was fractionated, using a Triton X-114-based two-phase separation, into soluble and membrane protein fractions so that total proteome coverage was considerably improved. The data from isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based nano-LC-MS/MS analysis revealed 90 proteins with a significant (p < 0.05) minimal expression difference of 20% due to metabolic syndrome (HFD versus control) and 75 proteins due to GSPE treatment (HFD + GSPE versus HFD). The same animals have previously been studied (Quesada, H., del Bas, J. M., Pajuelo, D., Díaz, S., Fernandez-Larrea, J., Pinent, M., Arola, L., Salvadó, M. J., and Bladé, C. (2009) Grape seed proanthocyanidins correct dyslipidemia associated with a high-fat diet in rats and repress genes controlling lipogenesis and VLDL assembling in liver. Int. J. Obes. 33, 1007–1012), and GSPE was shown to correct dyslipidemia observed in HFD-fed rats probably through the repression of hepatic lipogenesis. Our data corroborate those findings with an extensive list of proteins describing the induction of hepatic glycogenesis, glycolysis, and fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis in HFD, whereas the opposite pattern was observed to a large extent in GSPE-treated animals. GSPE was shown to have a wider effect than previously thought, and putative targets of GSPE involved in the reversal of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome were revealed. Some of these novel candidate proteins such as GFPT1, CD36, PLAA (phospholipase A₂-activating protein), METTL7B, SLC30A1, several G signaling proteins, and the sulfide-metabolizing ETHE1 and SQRDL (sulfide-quinone reductase-like) might be considered as drug targets for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.An increase in high calorie diets and a sedentary lifestyle are considered the key factors in explaining the epidemic rise in obesity in developed countries (1). Obese patients, especially those with abdominal obesity due to visceral adipose tissue accumulation, run a higher risk of impaired glucose tolerance, which frequently evolves into insulin resistance (2). Obesity and insulin resistance are frequently associated with hypertension, proatherogenic dyslipidemia, chronic inflammation, a prothrombotic state, and recently also fatty liver (3), conditions that together make up what is known as metabolic syndrome and lead to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD)¹ and type 2 diabetes (4). Conversely, some dietary patterns and specific food components have been associated with a lower prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and CVD. In this sense, the traditional Mediterranean diet (characterized by a high fiber content, low glycemic index carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, vitamins, and antioxidant polyphenols) has been linked to a lower incidence of CVD, obesity, and type 2 diabetes (5–8). Moreover, the French population presents a very low prevalence of death due to CVD despite consuming a diet rich in saturated fats and cholesterol. This phenomenon, known as “the French paradox” (9), has been ascribed to the moderate consumption of red wine and specifically to its content of polyphenols (10–12).Polyphenols include flavonoids of which flavan-3-ols and their oligomeric forms (proanthocyanidins) have been reported to exhibit several beneficial health effects by acting as antioxidant, anticarcinogen, cardioprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, and neuroprotective agents (for a review, see Ref. 13). Specifically, grape and wine proanthocyanidins have a cardioprotective effect through increasing plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol, decreasing low density lipoprotein-derived atherosclerotic foam cell lesions, attenuating oxidant formation by quenching harmful radicals, increasing endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, etc. (13). In this context, our group has been working for years on the effect of a grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) (containing monomers and oligomers of flavan-3-ols) in relation to metabolic syndrome. In previous works, we have found that GSPE prevents oxidative injury (14), has an insulinomimetic effect on adipocytes and adipose tissue (15), modulates glucose homeostasis (16), decreases plasma levels of triglycerides (TGs) and apolipoprotein B in normolipidemic rats (17), and acts as an in vitro (18, 19) and in vivo (20) anti-inflammatory. We have also shown that GSPE decreases postprandial plasma TG and apolipoprotein B in mice through a hepatic induction of a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and the small heterodimer partner (SHP) that in turn down-regulates SREBP1c and other lipogenic genes in the liver (21, 22). Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the molecules responsible for the reduced TG synthesis in HepG2 cells treated with GSPE are the sum of a proanthocyanidins trimer and a dimer gallate because they reproduce the GSPE effect (23).The effect of GSPE on metabolic syndrome has been studied in our laboratory by feeding rats a “cafeteria diet.” This diet is an experimental model of a western high sugar and high fat diet extensively used to produce obesity in rats because its palatability induces the animals to increase their energy intake (24). In a recent study conducted by our group (25) as well as this study, the rats were fed a high fat diet (HFD) (cafeteria diet) for 13 weeks, and one group of the animals was treated with a daily dose of GSPE (25 mg/kg of body weight) for the last 10 days (HFD + GSPE). In that study, HFD was shown to cause the animals to be overweight and to suffer from fatty liver, dyslipidemia, and hepatic overexpression of key genes involved in lipogenesis and VLDL assembly, whereas GSPE treatment corrected dyslipidemia and down-regulated some of the genes up-regulated by HFD (25).To better investigate the mechanism behind the changes observed in HFD- and HFD + GSPE-fed rats, we analyzed protein expression in the liver. Because GSPE treatment and obesity have multiple effects, a proteome-wide approach is needed to map proteins from different pathways. Proteomics studies related to obesity, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver, or insulin resistance have previously been performed on the liver (26–32). Two such studies looked into the effects of flavonoids in mouse livers (33, 34), but to our knowledge, this is the first hepatic proteome analysis of the effect of flavonoids in rats suffering from metabolic syndrome. To improve the proteome coverage of the complex liver samples, we performed a proteome fractionation according to protein solubility using a two-phase detergent protocol (35). This strategy was advantageous because it captured membrane proteins that otherwise would have been difficult to detect. The resulting soluble and membrane protein fractions were digested, iTRAQ-labeled, fractionated according to isoelectric point, and analyzed by nano-LC-MS/MS. The proteomics study presented here reports a differential expression due to HFD or HFD + GSPE for approximately 140 proteins, indicating that both conditions were potent modifiers of the liver proteome. We have focused on the sugar and lipid metabolism data, which confirmed the repression of hepatic lipogenesis in HFD + GSPE rats. Additionally, new proteins have been revealed as putative GSPE targets.     

Absence of Nitric-oxide Synthase in Sequentially Purified Rat Liver Mitochondria

Data, both for and against the presence of a mitochondrial nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) isoform, is in the refereed literature. However, irrefutable evidence has not been forthcoming. In light of this controversy, we designed studies to investigate the existence of the putative mitochondrial NOS. Using repeated differential centrifugation followed by Percoll gradient fractionation, ultrapure, never frozen rat liver mitochondria and submitochondrial particles were obtained. Following trypsin digestion and desalting, the mitochondrial samples were analyzed by nano-HPLC-coupled linear ion trap-mass spectrometry. Linear ion trap-mass spectrometry analyses of rat liver mitochondria as well as submitochondrial particles were negative for any peptide from any NOS isoform. However, recombinant neuronal NOS-derived peptides from spiked mitochondrial samples were easily detected, down to 50 fmol on column. The protein calmodulin (CaM), absolutely required for NOS activity, was absent, whereas peptides from CaM-spiked samples were detected. Also, l-[¹⁴C]arginine to l-[¹⁴C]citrulline conversion assays were negative for NOS activity. Finally, Western blot analyses of rat liver mitochondria, using NOS (neuronal or endothelial) and CaM antibodies, were negative for any NOS isoform or CaM. In conclusion, and in light of our present limits of detection, data from carefully conducted, properly controlled experiments for NOS detection, utilizing three independent yet complementary methodologies, independently as well as collectively, refute the claim that a NOS isoform exists within rat liver mitochondria.Nitric oxide (NO^·)² is a highly diffusible, hydrophobic, and gaseous free radical (1) that is responsible for autocrine and paracrine signaling activities (2). NO^· can readily partition into and through membranes (3–5) to influence biological functions such as blood pressure regulation, platelet aggregation and adhesion, neurotransmission, and cellular defense (4, 6–11). The mechanism by which NO^· influences biological functions is by binding to target proteins that contain heme and/or thiol(s). Alternatively, NO^· can combine with to produce the highly reactive species peroxynitrite.Mitochondria are highly compartmentalized, membranous organelles that contain abundant amounts of reactive hemoproteins and thiols (12, 13), to which NO^· may bind reversibly (14, 15) or irreversibly (16–18). Mitochondria also generate various amounts of during the process of cellular respiration (19, 20). Studies conducted during the past decade have suggested that NO^· can diffuse into mitochondria and cause mitochondrial dysfunction by reversibly inhibiting cytochrome c oxidase (14, 21, 22) and NADH dehydrogenase (23).In the mid-90s, a putative variant of NOS was proposed to reside within mitochondria. Initially, Kobzik et al. (24) and Hellsten and co-workers (25) observed an apparent endothelial NOS (eNOS) immunoreactivity in skeletal muscle mitochondria. Simultaneously, Bates et al. (26, 27) observed an apparent eNOS histochemical reactivity in inner mitochondrial membrane preparations, isolated from rat liver, brain, heart, skeletal muscle, and kidney. Tatoyan and Giulivi (28), acting on these initial observations, performed experiments in an attempt to confirm the identity of this putative mtNOS. Relying on immunochemical analysis, Tatoyan and Giulivi (28) claimed that inducible NOS (iNOS) was the NOS isoform present in rat liver mitochondria. This same group using mass spectrometry later presented data in support of the putative mtNOS being a variant of nNOS (29). Ghafourifar and Richter (30) had reported previously that the putative mtNOS was calcium-sensitive and constitutive in nature. Since these reports, different groups have reported the presence of each of the three main isoforms of NOS within mitochondria (29, 31, 32). Also, biochemical characterization of the putative mtNOS performed by Giulivi and co-workers (29) revealed certain post-translational modifications (myristoylation and phosphorylation of the protein) that are thought to be unique to eNOS. During the last decade, various reports have supported the presence of at least one of the three main isoforms of NOS residing in mitochondria. However, the more recent reports tend to question this claim (33–36). Because of the contradictory reports regarding the existence of a putative mtNOS, Brookes (33) compiled a critical and thorough review of the literature published up to 2003 dealing with the putative mtNOS. This review brought to light the diverse technical issues involved in the aforementioned studies. Major issues were the degree of purity of mitochondrial preparations (37, 38), shortcomings of measurement methodology (29, 39–41), use of inappropriate, or total lack of, experimental controls and confusing technical practices. Lacza et al. (42) has reviewed the more recent developments in the area of mitochondrial NO^· production and discussed some of the shortcomings of certain techniques still being used.In light of this ongoing controversy regarding the presence or absence of a mtNOS, we designed and carefully conducted properly controlled studies to either confirm or refute the existence of any NOS isoform within mitochondria. Ultrapure rat liver mitochondria were isolated using repeated differential centrifugation followed by Percoll gradient purification. Proteomic analyses were then performed using a nano-HPLC-coupled nanospray LTQ-MS. To avoid the interfering factors that are rampant in NO^· trapping assays (43), the NOS-catalyzed conversion of l-[¹⁴C]arginine to l-[¹⁴C]citrulline was used to probe for NOS activity in mitochondria. Appropriate controls were employed and, for inhibition studies, high concentrations of l-thiocitrulline (TC) (44) were used. Additionally, immunochemical analyses were performed with ultrapure mitochondria using nNOS, eNOS, and CaM antibodies. The problems faced with the commonly used techniques in mtNOS studies are discussed.     

The Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acid Pathway Enhances Hepatic Insulin Signaling and is Repressed in Insulin-Resistant Mouse Liver*

Although it is widely accepted that ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver is associated with hepatic insulin resistance, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been well characterized.Here we employed time resolved quantitative proteomic profiling of mice fed a high fat diet to determine which pathways were affected during the transition of the liver to an insulin-resistant state. We identified several metabolic pathways underlying altered protein expression. In order to test the functional impact of a critical subset of these alterations, we focused on the epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET) eicosanoid pathway, whose deregulation coincided with the onset of hepatic insulin resistance. These results suggested that EETs may be positive modulators of hepatic insulin signaling. Analyzing EET activity in primary hepatocytes, we found that EETs enhance insulin signaling on the level of Akt. In contrast, EETs did not influence insulin receptor or insulin receptor substrate-1 phosphorylation. This effect was mediated through the eicosanoids, as overexpression of the deregulated enzymes in absence of arachidonic acid had no impact on insulin signaling. The stimulation of insulin signaling by EETs and depression of the pathway in insulin resistant liver suggest a likely role in hepatic insulin resistance. Our findings support therapeutic potential for inhibiting EET degradation.Hepatosteatosis has a strong association with hepatic insulin resistance, which plays a major role in the early stages of type 2 diabetes. Although the contribution of the liver to total energy consumption is not as high as other tissues, the liver is the main organ responsible for endogenous glucose production through gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis (1). The liver''s pivotal role in type 2 diabetes is underscored by a strong correlation between fasting hyperglycemia and endogenous glucose production in patients (2). Studies on the early stages of hepatosteatosis and hepatic insulin resistance are complicated by the fact that patients are often unaware of their impaired insulin sensitivity. Therefore, the transition of the liver to an insulin resistant state is not as well studied as other aspects of the disease.To study early stage hepatic insulin resistance in an unbiased fashion, we analyzed the transition of the liver to an insulin-resistant state in a mouse model fed a high fat diet (HFD)¹, rich in safflower oil, on the proteome level. Phenotypic characterization in combination with proteomic profiling resulted in the identification of alterations in protein patterns, which were correlated with hepatic insulin resistance in a time-resolved manner. Protein expression was monitored using state of the art LC-MS/MS based proteomics, employing non-targeted discovery as well as targeted strategies.The comparison of expression profiles from HFD-fed mice with standard diet-fed controls directed us to a group of eicosanoid lipid mediators - epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EET). Our proteomic approach uncovered a down-regulation of the EET pathway at the protein level through HFD feeding in insulin resistant mouse liver. In order to link expression patterns to signaling alterations and connect alterations on the level of signaling pathways to insulin sensitivity we proceeded to investigate the influence of these eicosanoids on insulin signaling in primary hepatocytes. Up to now, EETs have been extensively studied in the biology of blood vessels (3) and have been found to have profound influence on intracellular signaling (4–6) and ion channel activity (7) in endothelial as well as smooth muscle cell. Their vasodilating (7), anti-inflammatory (8) and proliferation inducing effects on endothelial cells (5, 6) have made inhibition of the EET degrading enzyme Ephx2 an attractive pharmacological strategy for the treatment of hypertension, with clinical trials already in progress (9).Recent studies using genetic mouse models have shown that knockdown or overexpression of EET pathway enzymes affect insulin secretion (10) and glucose homeostasis (11, 12) and point to as yet poorly understood effects of EETs on insulin sensitivity (10, 11). Moreover, EETs have been implicated in activating insulin signaling directly by increasing insulin receptor (IR) phosphorylation (11). In line with this model, medium supplementation, but not acute stimulation of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 with high doses (30 μm) of EETs, has been shown to increase insulin mediated activation of Akt, the central protein kinase in insulin signaling (13).We show here that acute application of 4 μm of exogenous EETs but not overexpression of the EET pathway enzymes in absence of arachidonic acid had a strong positive effect on insulin mediated phosphorylation of Akt in primary mouse hepatocytes. The activation was not associated with changes in IR or insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) tyrosine phosphorylation through EETs. These results indicate that EET influence insulin signaling downstream of IRS-1 and upstream of Akt rather than at the level of the IR.     

Analysis of Free Energy Signals Arising from Nucleotide Hybridization Between rRNA and mRNA Sequences during Translation in Eubacteria

A decoding algorithm is tested that mechanistically models the progressive alignments that arise as the mRNA moves past the rRNA tail during translation elongation. Each of these alignments provides an opportunity for hybridization between the single-stranded, -terminal nucleotides of the 16S rRNA and the spatially accessible window of mRNA sequence, from which a free energy value can be calculated. Using this algorithm we show that a periodic, energetic pattern of frequency 1/3 is revealed. This periodic signal exists in the majority of coding regions of eubacterial genes, but not in the non-coding regions encoding the 16S and 23S rRNAs. Signal analysis reveals that the population of coding regions of each bacterial species has a mean phase that is correlated in a statistically significant way with species () content. These results suggest that the periodic signal could function as a synchronization signal for the maintenance of reading frame and that codon usage provides a mechanism for manipulation of signal phase.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32]     

Mcl-1 Degradation during Hepatocyte Lipoapoptosis

The mechanisms of free fatty acid-induced lipoapoptosis are incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that Mcl-1, an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, was rapidly degraded in hepatocytes in response to palmitate and stearate by a proteasome-dependent pathway. Overexpression of a ubiquitin-resistant Mcl-1 mutant in Huh-7 cells attenuated palmitate-mediated Mcl-1 loss and lipoapoptosis; conversely, short hairpin RNA-targeted knockdown of Mcl-1 sensitized these cells to lipoapoptosis. Palmitate-induced Mcl-1 degradation was attenuated by the novel protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor rottlerin. Of the two human novel PKC isozymes, PKCδ and PKCθ, only activation of PKCθ was observed by phospho-immunoblot analysis. As compared with Jurkat cells, a smaller PKCθ polypeptide and mRNA were expressed in hepatocytes consistent with an alternative splice variant. Short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown of PKCθ reduced Mcl-1 degradation and lipoapoptosis. Likewise, genetic deletion of Pkcθ also attenuated Mcl-1 degradation and cytotoxicity by palmitate in primary hepatocytes. During treatment with palmitate, rottlerin inhibited phosphorylation of Mcl-1 at Ser¹⁵⁹, a phosphorylation site previously implicated in Mcl-1 turnover. Consistent with these results, an Mcl-1 S159A mutant was resistant to degradation and improved cell survival during palmitate treatment. Collectively, these results implicate PKCθ-dependent destabilization of Mcl-1 as a mechanism contributing to hepatocyte lipoapoptosis.Current evidence suggests that hepatic steatosis is present in up to 30% of the American population (1). A subset of these individuals develop severe hepatic lipotoxicity, a syndrome referred to as NASH² (2), which can progress to cirrhosis and its chronic sequela (3, 4). A major risk factor for hepatic lipotoxicity is insulin resistance (5–7), resulting in excessive lipolysis within peripheral adipose tissue with release of high levels of free fatty acids (FFA) to the circulation. Circulating FFA are taken up by the liver via fatty acid transporter 5 and CD36 (8–10), and the bulk of hepatic neutral fat is derived from re-esterification of circulating FFA (8). Current concepts indicate that FFA, and not their esterified product (triglyceride), mediate hepatic lipotoxicity (11, 12). Elevated serum FFA correlate with liver disease severity (13–15), and therapies that enhance insulin sensitivity ameliorate hepatic lipotoxicity, in part, by decreasing plasma FFA (16). Hepatic FFA also accumulate in experimental steatohepatitis, further supporting a role for these nutrients in hepatic lipotoxicity (17). Saturated FFA are more strongly implicated in hepatic lipotoxicity than unsaturated FFA (18, 19). Saturated FFA induce hepatocyte apoptosis (20, 21), a cardinal feature of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (22), and serum biomarkers of apoptosis are useful for identifying hepatic lipotoxicity (23). Thus, FFA-mediated lipotoxicity occurs, in part, by apoptosis.Apoptosis is regulated by members of the Bcl-2 protein family (24). These proteins can be categorized into three subsets as follows: the guardians or anti-apoptotic members of this family, which include Bcl-2, A1, Mcl-1, Bcl-x_L, and Bcl-w; the multidomain executioners or proapoptotic members of this family, which include Bax and Bak; and the messengers or biosensors of cell death, which share only the third Bcl-2 homology domain and are referred to as BH3-only proteins. This last group of proteins includes Bid, Bim, Bmf, Puma, Noxa, Hrk, Bad, and Bik. We have previously reported that cytotoxic FFA induce Bim expression by a FoxO3a-dependent mechanism that contributes, in part, to lipoapoptosis by activating Bax (20, 21). However, Bax activation can be held in check by anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family suggesting their function may also be dysregulated during FFA-mediated cytotoxicity.Bcl-2 is not expressed in hepatocytes at the protein level (25), whereas Bcl-w and Bfl-1/A1 knock-out mice have no liver phenotype (26–28). However, both potent anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-x_L and Mcl-1 are expressed by hepatocytes and exhibit a liver phenotype in knock-out mice (29, 30), whereas up-regulation of Mcl-1 renders hepatocytes resistant to apoptosis (31–33). It has also been posited that cellular elimination of Mcl-1 is a critical step in certain proapoptotic cascades (34, 35). Mcl-1 is unique among Bcl-2 proteins in that it has a short half-life, 30–120 min in most cell types, due to the presence of two sequences rich in proline, glutamic acid, serine, and threonine, which target the protein for rapid degradation by the proteasome (36). Proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1 is promoted by ubiquitination, which in turn is regulated by various kinase cascades (36). Despite its potential importance, a role for Mcl-1 in regulating hepatocyte FFA-mediated lipoapoptosis remains unexplored.Given that FFA induce insulin resistance (37), the kinases potentially regulating lipoapoptosis are likely those also identified in insulin resistance syndromes, especially the novel PKC isoforms PKCδ and PKCθ (38). The novel PKC isoforms are activated by diacylglycerol, which rises in the presence of FFA (39–41), and diacylglycerol levels are significantly increased in NASH (42). A role for PKCδ in apoptosis has not been described. PKCθ has recently been shown to be activated by endoplasmic reticulum stress in liver cells (43) and lipids in vivo (44, 45). Furthermore, PKCθ has also been implicated in apoptosis of Jurkat cells, neuroblastoma cells, and myeloid leukemia cells (46, 47). However, neither its role in mediating lipoapoptosis nor modulating levels/activity of Bcl-2 proteins has been examined.This study addresses the role of Mcl-1 and PKCθ in FFA-induced lipoapoptosis. We identify a pathway that involves PKCθ-dependent proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1. Using inhibitors of various steps along this pathway, along with Mcl-1 mutants that are resistant to proteasomal degradation or Ser¹⁵⁹ phosphorylation, our studies implicate Mcl-1 degradation via a PKCθ-dependent process as a critical step in lipoapoptosis.     

Insulin Receptor Dysfunction Impairs Cellular Clearance of Neurotoxic Oligomeric A��

Accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) oligomers in the brain is toxic to synapses and may play an important role in memory loss in Alzheimer disease. However, how these toxins are built up in the brain is not understood. In this study we investigate whether impairments of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptors play a role in aggregation of Aβ. Using primary neuronal culture and immortal cell line models, we show that expression of normal insulin or IGF-1 receptors confers cells with abilities to reduce exogenously applied Aβ oligomers (also known as ADDLs) to monomers. In contrast, transfection of malfunctioning human insulin receptor mutants, identified originally from patient with insulin resistance syndrome, or inhibition of insulin and IGF-1 receptors via pharmacological reagents increases ADDL levels by exacerbating their aggregation. In healthy cells, activation of insulin and IGF-1 receptor reduces the extracellular ADDLs applied to cells via seemingly the insulin-degrading enzyme activity. Although insulin triggers ADDL internalization, IGF-1 appears to keep ADDLs on the cell surface. Nevertheless, both insulin and IGF-1 reduce ADDL binding, protect synapses from ADDL synaptotoxic effects, and prevent the ADDL-induced surface insulin receptor loss. Our results suggest that dysfunctions of brain insulin and IGF-1 receptors contribute to Aβ aggregation and subsequent synaptic loss.Abnormal protein misfolding and aggregation are common features in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer (AD),² Parkinson, Huntington, and prion diseases (1–3). In the AD brain, intracellular accumulation of hyperphosphorylated Tau aggregates and extracellular amyloid deposits comprise the two major pathological hallmarks of the disease (1, 4). Aβ aggregation has been shown to initiate from Aβ1–42, a peptide normally cleaved from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) via activities of α- and γ-secretases (5, 6). A large body of evidence in the past decade has indicated that accumulated soluble oligomers of Aβ1–42, likely the earliest or intermediate forms of Aβ deposition, are potently toxic to neurons. The toxic effects of Aβ oligomers include synaptic structural deterioration (7, 8) and functional deficits such as inhibition of synaptic transmission (9) and synaptic plasticity (10–13), as well as memory loss (11, 14, 15). Accumulation of high levels of these oligomers may also trigger inflammatory processes and oxidative stress in the brain probably due to activation of astrocytes and microglia (16, 17). Thus, to understand how a physiologically produced peptide becomes a misfolded toxin has been one of the key issues in uncovering the molecular pathogenesis of the disease.Aβ accumulation and aggregation could derive from overproduction or impaired clearance. Mutations of APP or presenilins 1 and 2, for example, are shown to cause overproduction of Aβ1–42 and amyloid deposits in the brain of early onset AD (18, 19). Because early onset AD accounts for less than 5% of entire AD population, APP and presenilin mutations cannot represent a universal mechanism for accumulation/aggregation of Aβ in the majority of AD cases. With respect to clearance, Aβ is normally removed by both global and local mechanisms, with the former requiring vascular transport across the blood-brain barrier (20, 21) and the latter via local enzymatic digestions by several metalloproteases, including neprilysin, insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), and endothelin converting enzymes 1 and 2 (22–24).The fact that insulin is a common substrate for most of the identified Aβ-degrading enzymes has drawn attention of investigators to roles of insulin signaling in Aβ clearance. Increases in insulin levels frequently seen in insulin resistance may compete for these enzymes and thus contribute to Aβ accumulation. Indeed, insulin signaling has been shown to regulate expression of metalloproteases such as IDE (25, 26), and influence aspects of Aβ metabolism and catabolism (27). In the endothelium of the brain-blood barrier and glial cells, insulin signaling is reported to regulate protein-protein interactions in an uptake cascade involving low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein and its ligands ApoE and α2-macroglobulin, a system known to bind and clear Aβ via endocytosis and/or vascular transport (28, 29). Similarly, circulating IGF-1 has been reported to play a role in Aβ clearance probably via facilitating brain-blood barrier transportation (30, 31).In the brain, insulin signaling plays a role in learning and memory (32–34), potentially linking insulin resistance to AD dementia. Recently we and others have shown that Aβ oligomers interact with neuronal insulin receptors to cause impairments of the receptor expression and function (35–37). These impairments mimic the Aβ oligomer-induced synaptic long term potentiation inhibition and can be overcome by insulin treatment (35, 38). Consistently, impairments of both IR and IGF-1R have been reported in the AD brain (39–41).Based on these results, we ask whether impairment of insulin and IGF-1 signaling contribute to Aβ oligomer build-up in brain cells. To address this question, we set out to test roles of IR and IGF-1R in cellular clearance and transport of Aβ oligomers (ADDLs) applied to primary neuronal cultures and cell lines overexpressing IR and IGF-1R. Our results show that insulin and IGF-1 receptors function to reduce Aβ oligomers to monomers, and prevent Aβ oligomer-induced synaptic toxicity both at the level of synapse composition and structure. By contrast, receptor impairments resulting from “kinase-dead” insulin receptor mutations, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the insulin and IGF-1 receptor, or an inhibitory IGF-1 receptor antibody increase ADDL aggregation in the extracellular medium. Our results provide cellular evidence linking insulin and IGF-1 signaling to amyloidogenesis.     

Algorithms for Finding Small Attractors in Boolean Networks

A Boolean network is a model used to study the interactions between different genes in genetic regulatory networks. In this paper, we present several algorithms using gene ordering and feedback vertex sets to identify singleton attractors and small attractors in Boolean networks. We analyze the average case time complexities of some of the proposed algorithms. For instance, it is shown that the outdegree-based ordering algorithm for finding singleton attractors works in time for , which is much faster than the naive time algorithm, where is the number of genes and is the maximum indegree. We performed extensive computational experiments on these algorithms, which resulted in good agreement with theoretical results. In contrast, we give a simple and complete proof for showing that finding an attractor with the shortest period is NP-hard.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32]     

Phosphorylation Dependence of Hsp27 Multimeric Size and Molecular Chaperone Function

The molecular chaperone Hsp27 exists as a distribution of large oligomers that are disassembled by phosphorylation at Ser-15, -78, and -82. It is controversial whether the unphosphorylated Hsp27 or the widely used triple Ser-to-Asp phospho-mimic mutant is the more active molecular chaperone in vitro. This question was investigated here by correlating chaperone activity, as measured by the aggregation of reduced insulin or α-lactalbumin, with Hsp27 self-association as monitored by analytical ultracentrifugation. Furthermore, because the phospho-mimic is generally assumed to reproduce the phosphorylated molecule, the size and chaperone activity of phosphorylated Hsp27 were compared with that of the phospho-mimic. Hsp27 was triply phosphorylated by MAPKAP-2 kinase, and phosphorylation was tracked by urea-PAGE. An increasing degree of suppression of insulin or α-lactalbumin aggregation correlated with a decreasing Hsp27 self-association, which was the least for phosphorylated Hsp27 followed by the mimic followed by the unphosphorylated protein. It was also found that Hsp27 added to pre-aggregated insulin did not reverse aggregation but did inhibit these aggregates from assembling into even larger aggregates. This chaperone activity appears to be independent of Hsp27 phosphorylation. In conclusion, the most active chaperone of insulin and α-lactalbumin was the Hsp27 (elongated) dimer, the smallest Hsp27 subunit observed under physiological conditions. Next, the Hsp27 phospho-mimic is only a partial mimic of phosphorylated Hsp27, both in self-association and in chaperone function. Finally, the efficient inhibition of insulin aggregation by Hsp27 dimer led to the proposal of two models for this chaperone activity.Oligomeric heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27)² is a ubiquitous mammalian protein with a variety of functions in health and disease (1–8). These functions include ATP-independent chaperone activity in response to environmental stress, e.g. heat shock and oxidative stress, control of apoptosis, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics. Hsp27 is a member of the α-crystallin small heat shock protein family of which αB-crystallin is the archetype. These proteins are characterized by an α-crystallin domain of 80–90 residues consisting of roughly eight β-strands that form an intermolecular β-sheet interaction interface within a dimer, the basic building subunit of the oligomer (2, 4, 9–11).Hsp27 is in equilibrium between high molecular weight oligomers and much lower molecular weight multimers. It has been reported that unphosphorylated Hsp27 includes predominantly a distribution of high molecular species ranging in size from 12-mer to 35-mer (12–19). Phosphorylation of Hsp27 at serines 15, 78, and 82 by the p38-activated MAPKAP-2 kinase (20–22) or the use of the triple Ser-to-Asp phospho-mimic results in a major shift in the equilibrium toward much smaller multimers (23) and in an alteration of its function (1, 3, 6, 7, 24, 25). The size distribution of the smaller species has been reported to be between monomer and tetramer (12–16, 18, 19).Small heat shock proteins, including Hsp27, behave as ATP-independent molecular chaperones during cellular heat shock. They bind partially unfolded proteins and prevent their aggregation until the proteins can be refolded by larger ATP-dependent chaperones or are digested (7, 8, 26). This function includes the up-regulation and/or phosphorylation of Hsp27.It is not entirely clear what the role of Hsp27 size and phosphorylation state plays in its heat shock function because there are conflicting results in the literature. Some in vitro studies concluded that the unphosphorylated oligomeric Hsp27 (or the murine isoform Hsp25) protects proteins against aggregation better than does the phosphorylation mimic (13, 19, 27), whereas others found no difference (16, 28, 29), and still other studies found that the mimic protects better than does the unphosphorylated wild type (27, 30, 31). In-cell studies found that phosphorylation of Hsp27 was essential for thermo-protection of actin filaments (32), and the Hsp27 phosphorylation mimic decreased inclusion body formation better than did unphosphorylated Hsp27 (33). This study was undertaken to investigate the molecular chaperone function of Hsp27 by correlating chaperone activity with Hsp27 size and by comparing fully phosphorylated Hsp27 with its phospho-mimic.     

The Wavelet-Based Cluster Analysis for Temporal Gene Expression Data

A variety of high-throughput methods have made it possible to generate detailed temporal expression data for a single gene or large numbers of genes. Common methods for analysis of these large data sets can be problematic. One challenge is the comparison of temporal expression data obtained from different growth conditions where the patterns of expression may be shifted in time. We propose the use of wavelet analysis to transform the data obtained under different growth conditions to permit comparison of expression patterns from experiments that have time shifts or delays. We demonstrate this approach using detailed temporal data for a single bacterial gene obtained under 72 different growth conditions. This general strategy can be applied in the analysis of data sets of thousands of genes under different conditions.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]     

Splitting the BLOSUM Score into Numbers of Biological Significance

Mathematical tools developed in the context of Shannon information theory were used to analyze the meaning of the BLOSUM score, which was split into three components termed as the BLOSUM spectrum (or BLOSpectrum). These relate respectively to the sequence convergence (the stochastic similarity of the two protein sequences), to the background frequency divergence (typicality of the amino acid probability distribution in each sequence), and to the target frequency divergence (compliance of the amino acid variations between the two sequences to the protein model implicit in the BLOCKS database). This treatment sharpens the protein sequence comparison, providing a rationale for the biological significance of the obtained score, and helps to identify weakly related sequences. Moreover, the BLOSpectrum can guide the choice of the most appropriate scoring matrix, tailoring it to the evolutionary divergence associated with the two sequences, or indicate if a compositionally adjusted matrix could perform better.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]