Since the discovery of insulin nearly 70 years ago, there has been no problem more fundamental to diabetes research than understanding how insulin works at the cellular level. Insulin binds to the alpha subunit of the insulin receptor which activates the tyrosine kinase in the beta subunit, but the molecular events linking the receptor kinase to insulin-sensitive enzymes and transport processes are unknown. Our discovery that insulin stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of a protein of relative molecular mass between 165,000 and 185,000, collectively called pp185, showed that the insulin receptor kinase has specific cellular substrates. The pp185 is a minor cytoplasmic phosphoprotein found in most cells and tissues; its phosphorylation is decreased in cells expressing mutant receptors defective in signalling. We have now cloned IRS-1, which encodes a component of the pp185 band. IRS-1 contains over ten potential tyrosine phosphorylation sites, six of which are in Tyr-Met-X-Met motifs. During insulin stimulation, the IRS-1 protein undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation and binds phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, suggesting that IRS-1 acts as a multisite 'docking' protein to bind signal-transducing molecules containing Src-homology 2 and Src-homology-3 domains. Thus IRS-1 may link the insulin receptor kinase and enzymes regulating cellular growth and metabolism.
We identified SH2-Balpha as an insulin-receptor-binding protein based on interaction screening in yeast hybrid systems and co-precipitation in cells. SH2-Balpha contains pleckstrin-homology ('PH') and Src homology 2 (SH2) domains and is closely related to APS (adapter protein with a PH domain and an SH2 domain) and lnk, adapter proteins first identified in lymphocytes. SH2-Balpha is ubiquitously expressed and is present in rat epididymal adipose tissue, liver and skeletal muscle, physiological sites of insulin action. On SDS/PAGE, SH2-Balpha migrates at a molecular mass of 98 kDa, although the predicted size of SH2-Balpha is 79.6 kDa. Insulin causes an electrophoretic mobility shift. SH2-Balpha can be immunoprecipitated using anti-(insulin receptor) antibody from insulin-stimulated cells. Anti-phosphotyrosine antibody or the growth factor receptor-binding protein 2 (Grb2) SH2 domain precipitate SH2-Balpha after insulin stimulation, suggesting that SH2-Balpha is tyrosine-phosphorylated and may be a substrate for the insulin receptor. The SH2-Balpha SH2 domain did not interact with insulin-receptor substrate (IRS) proteins or epidermal-growth-factor receptor. Mutation of the juxtamembrane and C-terminus of the insulin receptor did not abolish the interaction with the SH2 domain. This was further confirmed using a panel of activation-loop single point mutants where mutation of Tyr1158, Tyr1162 and Tyr1163 abolished interaction. Thus SH2-Balpha is a likely component in the insulin-signalling pathway and may function as an alternative signalling protein by interacting with the activation loop of the insulin-receptor cytoplasmic domain.
Vascular smooth muscle cells respond to the purinergic agonist ATP by increasing intracellular calcium concentration and increasing the rate of cell proliferation. In many cells the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade plays an important role in cellular proliferation. We have studied the effect of extracellular ATP on ERK activation and cell proliferation. ATP binding to a UTP-sensitive P2Y nucleotide receptor activates ERK1/ERK2 in a time- and dose-dependent manner in coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMC). ATP-induced activation of ERK1/ERK2 is dependent on the dual-specificity kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase (i.e., MEK) but independent of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity. We provide evidence that both ERK1/ERK2 and PI3K activities are required for CASMC proliferation. Thus ATP-stimulation of CASMC proliferation requires independent activation of both the ERK and PI3K signaling pathways.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.