Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the main activator of plasminogen into plasmin in the brain where it may have beneficial roles but also neurotoxic effects that could be plasmin dependent or not. Little is known about the substrates and pathways that mediate plasmin-independent tPA neurotoxicity. Here we show in primary hippocampal neurons that tPA promotes a catalytic-independent activation of the extracellular regulated kinase (Erk)1/2 signal transduction pathway through the N-methyl-Daspartate receptor, G-proteins and protein kinase C. This results in GSK3 activation in a process that requires de novo synthesis of proteins, and leads to tau aberrant phosphorylation, microtubule destabilization and apoptosis. Similar effects are produced by amyloid aggregates in a tPA-dependent manner, as demonstrated by pharmacological treatments and in wt and tPAÀ/À mice neurons. Consistently, in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients' brains, high levels of tPA colocalize with amyloid-rich areas, activated Erk1/2 and phosphorylated tau. This is the first demonstration of an intracellular pathway by which tPA triggers kinase activation, tau phosphorylation and neurotoxicity, suggesting a key role for this molecule in AD pathology.

Sodium tungstate is a powerful antidiabetic agent when administered orally. In primary cultured hepatocytes, tungstate showed insulin-like actions, which led to an increase in glycogen synthesis and accumulation. However, this compound did not significantly alter the insulin receptor activation state or dephosphorylation rate in cultured cells (CHO-R) or in primary hepatocytes, in either short or long term treatments. In contrast, at low concentrations, tungstate induced a transient strong activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) after 5-10 min of treatment, in a similar way to insulin. Moreover, this compound did not significantly delay or inhibit the dephosphorylation of ERK1/2. ERK1/2 activation triggered a cascade of downstream events, which included the phosphorylation of p90rsk and glycogen synthase-kinase 3␤. Experiments with a specific inhibitor of ERK1/2 activation and kinase assays indicate that these proteins were directly involved in the stimulation of glycogen synthase and glycogen synthesis induced by tungstate without a direct involvement of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt). These results show a direct involvement of ERK1/2 in the mechanism of action of tungstate at the hepatic level.

We generated mice that overexpress protein targeting to glycogen (PTG) in the liver (PTG OE ), which results in an increase in liver glycogen. When fed a high-fat diet (HFD), these animals reduced their food intake. The resulting effect was a lower body weight, decreased fat mass, and reduced leptin levels. Furthermore, PTG overexpression reversed the glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinemia caused by the HFD and protected against HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. Of note, when fed an HFD, PTG OE mice did not show the decrease in hepatic ATP content observed in control animals and had lower expression of neuropeptide Y and higher expression of proopiomelanocortin in the hypothalamus. Additionally, after an overnight fast, PTG OE animals presented high liver glycogen content, lower liver triacylglycerol content, and lower serum concentrations of fatty acids and b-hydroxybutyrate than control mice, regardless of whether they were fed an HFD or a standard diet. In conclusion, liver glycogen accumulation caused a reduced food intake, protected against the deleterious effects of an HFD, and diminished the metabolic impact of fasting. Therefore, we propose that hepatic glycogen content be considered a potential target for the pharmacological manipulation of diabetes and obesity.Liver glycogen acts as an energy store in times of nutritional sufficiency for use in times of need. The metabolism of this polysaccharide in the liver is controlled by the activities of two key enzymes: glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP) (1). GS is phosphorylated at multiple sites, which induces its inactivation, whereas GP is activated by phosphorylation at a single site. Both enzymes are also regulated allosterically (2,3).Glycogen-targeting subunits bind to glycogen and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and facilitate the dephosphorylation of GS and GP, thus activating the former and inactivating the latter. Six genes encode glycogen-targeting subunits (4). Among these, protein targeting to glycogen (PTG) (PPP1R3C or PPP1R5), which is expressed in many tissues, has been shown to control glycogen stores in various animal models (5-7).Adenoviral PTG overexpression in the liver of normal rats increases glycogen and improves glucose tolerance without perturbing lipid metabolism (8). In a diabeticfocused approach, Yang and Newgard (9) showed that adenoviral expression of PTG in the liver of STZ-diabetic rats increased glycogen content and reversed hyperglycemia and hyperphagia. Through a different approach, we reported that hepatic adenoviral expression of an active form of liver GS (LGS), which also increases glycogen content, in STZ-diabetic rats reduced food intake and hyperglycemia (10).Russek (11) was the first to propose a hepatostatic theory of food intake, which was further redefined as a glycogenostatic model by Flatt (12). This model predicts that individuals consume food to a level that maintains glycogen levels in the body (12). In fact, many lines of experimental evidence establish a correlation between the size of liver ...

AimsOral administration of sodium tungstate has shown hyperglycemia-reducing activity in several animal models of diabetes. We present new insights into the mechanism of action of tungstate.MethodsWe studied protein expression and phosphorylation in the liver of STZ rats, a type I diabetes model, treated with sodium tungstate in the drinking water (2 mg/ml) and in primary cultured-hepatocytes, through Western blot and Real Time PCR analysis.ResultsTungstate treatment reduces the expression of gluconeogenic enzymes (PEPCK, G6Pase, and FBPase) and also regulates transcription factors accountable for the control of hepatic metabolism (c-jun, c-fos and PGC1α). Moreover, ERK, p90rsk and GSK3, upstream kinases regulating the expression of c-jun and c-fos, are phosphorylated in response to tungstate. Interestingly, PKB/Akt phosphorylation is not altered by the treatment. Several of these observations were reproduced in isolated rat hepatocytes cultured in the absence of insulin, thereby indicating that those effects of tungstate are insulin-independent.ConclusionsHere we show that treatment with tungstate restores the phosphorylation state of various signaling proteins and changes the expression pattern of metabolic enzymes.

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In this study, we tested the efficacy of increasing liver glycogen synthase to improve blood glucose homeostasis. The overexpression of wild-type liver glycogen synthase in rats had no effect on blood glucose homeostasis in either the fed or the fasted state. In contrast, the expression of a constitutively active mutant form of the enzyme caused a significant lowering of blood glucose in the former but not the latter state. Moreover, it markedly enhanced the clearance of blood glucose when fasted rats were challenged with a glucose load. Hepatic glycogen stores in rats overexpressing the activated mutant form of liver glycogen synthase were enhanced in the fed state and in response to an oral glucose load but showed a net decline during fasting. In order to test whether these effects were maintained during long term activation of liver glycogen synthase, we generated liver-specific transgenic mice expressing the constitutively active LGS form. These mice also showed an enhanced capacity to store glycogen in the fed state and an improved glucose tolerance when challenged with a glucose load. Thus, we conclude that the activation of liver glycogen synthase improves glucose tolerance in the fed state without compromising glycogenolysis in the postabsorptive state. On the basis of these findings, we propose that the activation of liver glycogen synthase may provide a potential strategy for improvement of glucose tolerance in the postprandial state.The liver responds to an increase in blood glucose concentration in the postprandial state by net uptake of glucose and conversion to glycogen, which is subsequently mobilized in the postabsorptive state to maintain blood glucose homeostasis. Various attempts have been made to improve blood glucose homeostasis through the modulation of the expression or activity of proteins involved in the control of liver glycogen metabolism. Glucokinase (GK) 3 catalyzes the first step in hepatic glucose metabolism and exerts high control on liver glycogen synthesis (1). Previous studies using either transgenic models (2, 3) or adenoviral vectors targeting the liver (4) demonstrated improved glucose tolerance and/or a lowering of blood glucose in basal conditions. However, GK overexpression also increases flux through glycolysis, and in some circumstances this leads to hypertriglyceridemia (4). An alternative approach to modulating liver glycogen metabolism without stimulating glycolysis and triglyceride formation is through modifying the enzymes that are involved exclusively in glycogen synthesis and degradation or regulatory proteins that may affect the activity of the former, such as protein targeting to glycogen (PTG) (5). Overexpression of PTG in the liver by means of an adenoviral vector increases glucose tolerance without perturbing lipid homeostasis (6). However, a limitation of this experimental model is that it leads to the progressive accumulation of glycogen because PTG promotes the inactivation of glycogen phosphorylase (GP) also during fasting, and consequently there is ne...

Tungstate treatment increases the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) at serine 9, which triggers its inactivation both in cultured neural cells and in vivo. GSK3 phosphorylation is dependent on the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) induced by tungstate. As a consequence of GSK3 inactivation, the phosphorylation of several GSK3-dependent sites of the microtubule-associated protein tau decreases. Tungstate reduces tau phosphorylation only in primed sequences, namely, those prephosphorylated by other kinases before GSK3beta modification, which are serines 198, 199, or 202 and threonine 231. The phosphorylation at these sites is involved in reduction of the interaction of tau with microtubules that occurs in Alzheimer's disease.

a b s t r a c tTungstate treatment ameliorates experimental diabetes by increasing liver glycogen deposition through an as yet unidentified mechanism. The signalling mechanism of tungstate was studied in CHOIR cells and primary cultured hepatocytes. This compound exerted its pro-glycogenic effects through a new G-protein-dependent and Tyr-Kinase Receptor-independent mechanism. Chemical or genetic disruption of G-protein signalling prevented the activation of the Ras/ERK cascade and the downstream induction of glycogen synthesis caused by tungstate. Thus, these findings unveil a novel non-canonical signalling pathway that leads to the activation of glycogen synthesis and that could be exploited as an approach to treat diabetes.