Subcellular compartmentalization has become an important theme in cell signaling such as spatial regulation of Ras by RasGRP1 and MEK/ERK by Sef. Here, we report spatial regulation of Raf kinase by RKTG (Raf kinase trapping to Golgi). RKTG is a seven-transmembrane protein localized at the Golgi apparatus. RKTG expression inhibits EGF-stimulated ERK and RSK phosphorylation, blocks NGF-mediated PC12 cell differentiation, and antagonizes Ras-and Raf-1-stimulated Elk-1 transactivation. Through interaction with Raf-1, RKTG changes the localization of Raf-1 from cytoplasm to the Golgi apparatus, blocks EGF-stimulated Raf-1 membrane translocation, and reduces the interaction of Raf-1 with Ras and MEK1. In RKTG-null mice, the basal ERK phosphorylation level is increased in the brain and liver. In RKTG-deleted mouse embryonic fibroblasts, EGF-induced ERK phosphorylation is enhanced. Collectively, our results reveal a paradigm of spatial regulation of Raf kinase by RKTG via sequestrating Raf-1 to the Golgi apparatus and thereby inhibiting the ERK signaling pathway.R af kinase relays the signals from Ras to MEK (MAPK and ERK kinase) and ERK/MAPK (1, 2). This pathway regulates many fundamental cellular functions, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, motility, and metabolism, and is implicated in many human diseases including cancer (3). In the Ras/Raf/MEK/ ERK signaling cascade, several players within this pathway are exquisitely regulated by subcellular compartmentalization (4, 5). Kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) is a scaffold protein that coordinates the assembly of multiprotein MAPK complex in plasma membrane (6). ␤-Arrestin could also function as a scaffold protein to target the MAPK protein complex to early endosome (7). Different lipid anchors are able to shuttle Ras between different membrane compartments to modulate subcellular Ras signaling (8-10). In T lymphocyte, Ras could be activated in situ on the Golgi apparatus via the Ras exchange factor RasGRP1, which is activated by phospholipase C (11). Compartmentalized signaling of Ras/ MAPK in T lymphocyte on either plasma membrane or Golgi apparatus leads to distinct output of ERK activation and thereby determines the threshold of thymic selection (12). MEK could be targeted to endosome by a scaffold protein MP1 through adaptor p14 (13). It was also found that MEK/ERK can be recruited to the Golgi by Sef, and that such spatial regulation blocks the Ras signaling to the nucleus but not to the cytosol (14). However, how Raf is regulated in a spatial manner has not been characterized.The activity of Raf kinase is mainly regulated by phosphorylation events and scaffold proteins (1, 2). In addition, Raf could be negatively regulated by interaction with other proteins. Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) is able to interact with Raf-1, MEK, and ERK (15). RKIP blocks Raf-1 signaling to MEK by competitively disrupting the interaction between Raf-1 and MEK because both Raf-1 and MEK bind to overlapping sites in RKIP (15, 16). After stimulation of G protein...

Aims/hypothesis In humans, one of the hallmarks of type 2 diabetes is a reduced plasma concentration of HDL and its major protein component, apolipoprotein A

Summary Bile acid (BA) biosynthesis is tightly controlled by intrahepatic negative feedback signaling elicited by BA binding to farnesoid X receptor (FXR), and also by enterohepatic communication involving ileal BA reabsorption and FGF15/19 secretion. However, how these pathways are coordinated is poorly understood. We show here that non-receptor tyrosine phosphatase Shp2 is a critical player that couples and regulates the intrahepatic and enterohepatic signals for repression of BA synthesis. Ablating Shp2 in hepatocytes suppressed signal relay from FGFR4, receptor for FGF15/19, and attenuated BA activation of FXR signaling, resulting in elevation of systemic BA levels and chronic hepatobiliary disorders in mice. Acting immediately downstream of FGFR4, Shp2 associates with FRS2α and promotes the receptor activation and signal relay to several pathways. These results elucidate a molecular mechanism for the control of BA homeostasis by Shp2 through orchestration of multiple signals in hepatocytes.

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Extensive and in-depth investigations of high-altitude adaptation have been carried out at the level of morphology, anatomy, physiology and genomics, but few investigations focused on the roles of microRNA (miRNA) in high-altitude adaptation. We examined the differences in the miRNA transcriptomes of two representative hypoxia-sensitive tissues (heart and lung) between yak and cattle, two closely related species that live in high and low altitudes, respectively. In this study, we identified a total of 808 mature miRNAs, which corresponded to 715 pre-miRNAs in the two species. The further analysis revealed that both tissues showed relatively high correlation coefficient between yak and cattle, but a greater differentiation was present in lung than heart between the two species. In addition, miRNAs with significantly differentiated patterns of expression in two tissues exhibited co-operation effect in high altitude adaptation based on miRNA family and cluster. Functional analysis revealed that differentially expressed miRNAs were enriched in hypoxia-related pathways, such as the HIF-1α signaling pathway, the insulin signaling pathway, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, nucleotide excision repair, cell cycle, apoptosis and fatty acid metabolism, which indicated the important roles of miRNAs in high altitude adaptation. These results suggested the diverse degrees of miRNA transcriptome variation in different tissues between yak and cattle, and suggested extensive roles of miRNAs in high altitude adaptation.

OBJECTIVEMost animals experience fasting–feeding cycles throughout their lives. It is well known that the liver plays a central role in regulating glycogen metabolism. However, how hepatic glycogenesis is coordinated with the fasting–feeding cycle to control postprandial glucose homeostasis remains largely unknown. This study determines the molecular mechanism underlying the coupling of hepatic glycogenesis with the fasting–feeding cycle.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThrough a series of molecular, cellular, and animal studies, we investigated how PPP1R3G, a glycogen-targeting regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), is implicated in regulating hepatic glycogenesis and glucose homeostasis in a manner tightly orchestrated with the fasting–feeding cycle.RESULTSPPP1R3G in the liver is upregulated during fasting and downregulated after feeding. PPP1R3G associates with glycogen pellet, interacts with the catalytic subunit of PP1, and regulates glycogen synthase (GS) activity. Fasting glucose level is reduced when PPP1R3G is overexpressed in the liver. Hepatic knockdown of PPP1R3G reduces postprandial elevation of GS activity, decreases postprandial accumulation of liver glycogen, and decelerates postprandial clearance of blood glucose. Other glycogen-targeting regulatory subunits of PP1, such as PPP1R3B, PPP1R3C, and PPP1R3D, are downregulated by fasting and increased by feeding in the liver.CONCLUSIONSWe propose that the opposite expression pattern of PPP1R3G versus other PP1 regulatory subunits comprise an intricate regulatory machinery to control hepatic glycogenesis during the fasting–feeding cycle. Because of its unique expression pattern, PPP1R3G plays a major role to control postprandial glucose homeostasis during the fasting–feeding transition via its regulation on liver glycogenesis.

RKTG (Raf kinase trapping to Golgi) is exclusively localized at the Golgi apparatus and functions as a spatial regulator of Raf-1 kinase by sequestrating Raf-1 to the Golgi. Based on the structural similarity with adiponectin receptors, RKTG was predicted to be a seven-transmembrane protein with a cytosolic N-terminus, distinct from classical GPCRs (G-protein-coupled receptors). We analysed in detail the topology and functional domains of RKTG in this study. We determined that the N-terminus of RKTG is localized on the cytosolic side. Two short stretches of amino acid sequences at the membrane proximal to the N- and C-termini (amino acids 61-71 and 299-303 respectively) were indispensable for Golgi localization of RKTG, but were not required for the interaction with Raf-1. The three loops facing the cytosol between the transmembrane domains had different roles in Golgi localization and Raf-1 interaction. While the first cytosolic loop was only important for Golgi localization, the third cytosolic loop was necessary for both Golgi localization and Raf-1 sequestration. Taken together, these findings suggest that RKTG is a type III membrane protein with its N-terminus facing the cytosol and multiple sequences are responsible for its localization at the Golgi apparatus and Raf-1 interaction. As RKTG is the first discovered Golgi protein with seven transmembrane domains, the knowledge derived from this study would not only provide structural information about the protein, but also pave the way for future characterization of the unique functions of RKTG in the regulation of cell signalling.

BackgroundSpecies living at high altitude are subject to strong selective pressures due to inhospitable environments (e.g., hypoxia, low temperature, high solar radiation, and lack of biological production), making these species valuable models for comparative analyses of local adaptation. Studies that have examined high-altitude adaptation have identified a vast array of rapidly evolving genes that characterize the dramatic phenotypic changes in high-altitude animals. However, how high-altitude environment shapes gene expression programs remains largely unknown.FindingsWe generated a total of 910 Gb of high-quality RNA-seq data for 180 samples derived from 6 tissues of 5 agriculturally important high-altitude vertebrates (Tibetan chicken, Tibetan pig, Tibetan sheep, Tibetan goat, and yak) and their cross-fertile relatives living in geographically neighboring low-altitude regions. Of these, ∼75% reads could be aligned to their respective reference genomes, and on average ∼60% of annotated protein coding genes in each organism showed FPKM expression values greater than 0.5. We observed a general concordance in topological relationships between the nucleotide alignments and gene expression–based trees. Tissue and species accounted for markedly more variance than altitude based on either the expression or the alternative splicing patterns. Cross-species clustering analyses showed a tissue-dominated pattern of gene expression and a species-dominated pattern for alternative splicing. We also identified numerous differentially expressed genes that could potentially be involved in phenotypic divergence shaped by high-altitude adaptation.ConclusionsThese data serve as a valuable resource for examining the convergence and divergence of gene expression changes between species as they adapt or acclimatize to high-altitude environments.