The insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) is one of the major substrates of both the insulin and IGF-I receptors and is generally localized in the cytosol/membrane fraction of the cell. We show here that a substantial fraction of IRS-1 is translocated to the nucleus in mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF) expressing the simian virus 40 T antigen. Nuclear translocation of IRS-1 occurs also in MEF stimulated with IGF-I or in MEF expressing the oncogene v-src. Nuclear translocation of IRS-1 can be demonstrated by confocal microscopy, immunohistochemistry, or subcellular fractionation. An antibody to IRS-1 immunoprecipitates from nuclear fractions (but not from cytosolic fractions) the upstream binding factor, which is a key regulator of RNA polymerase I activity and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis. In agreement with this finding, in 32D murine hemopoietic cells, nuclear translocation of IRS-1 correlates with a markedly increased rRNA synthesis. Our experiments suggest that nuclear IRS-1 may play a specialized role in rRNA synthesis and/or processing.The insulin receptor substrate (IRS) 1 proteins are a family of docking proteins, which include IRS-1-4, Gab-1, and p62 dok (1). IRS-1 was the first to be identified as a docking protein for both the insulin and the IGF-I receptors. It transmits a signal from both receptors by interacting with a number of partners, including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, SHP2, Grb2, Crk, and others (2, 3). Tyrosine kinase activity of the receptors and phosphorylation of IRS-1 are essential steps in signal transduction. Of the downstream signals generated by IRS-1, the best studied is the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway, which plays a major role in a number of biological responses to growth factors (1, 4). IRS-1 interacts directly with both the insulin and the IGF-I receptors, and the domains required for their interaction have also been identified (5). Because of its direct interaction with the receptors, its size, and its downstream signaling, it has been generally assumed that IRS-1 is an exclusively cytosolic (or plasma membrane) protein (6, 7). However, IRS-1 is known to interact with the SV40 T antigen (8, 9) and nucleolin (10). T antigen and nucleolin are predominantly nuclear proteins, although minor fractions of either protein can be found in the cytosol (11-13). It has been therefore tacitly assumed that IRS-1, anchored to the receptor, was interacting with the minor cytosolic fractions of T antigen and nucleolin. There is evidence, however, that signal-transduction molecules can translocate to the nucleus. They include mitogen-activated protein kinase (14), p70 S6K /TOR (15, 16), the STAT proteins (17, 18), Akt (19), ␤-catenin (20), the epidermal growth factor receptor (21), phosphatases (22), IRS-3 (23), and a cleaved ErbB-4 receptor (24). Indeed, Jans and Hassan (25) have summarized in a review the evidence that growth factors and their receptors can accumulate in the nuclei of cells. IGF-I, IGF-IR, and IRS-1 are not mentioned in that review, but insulin is (26).T...

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A simple method for the gas-liquid chromatographic quantitation of human fecal bile acids and sterols is described where bile acids are subjected to n-butyl ester derivatization, without prior isolation from the stool, followed by trimethylsilylation of the sterols and bile acids. Under these conditions, bile acid derivatives are well resolved from each other and from the trimethylsilyl ether derivatives of fecal sterols and no overlap occurs. The method was shown to be highly reproducible and recoveries were similar to those obtained with other methods used for fecal bile acid analysis. Application of the method for bile acid and sterol analysis in human stool is described. -Batta, A