Previously we showed that interleukin 1 beta stimulates the conversion of sphingomyelin to ceramide in the caveolae fraction of normal human fibroblasts. The ceramide, in turn, blocked platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulated DNA synthesis. We now present evidence that the PDGF receptor initiates signal transduction from caveolae. Cell fractionation and immunocytochemistry show caveolae to be the principal location of PDGF receptors at the cell surface. Multiple caveolae proteins acquire phosphotyrosine when PDGF binds to its receptor, but the hormone appears to have little effect on the tyrosine phosphorylation of non-caveolae membrane proteins. Five proteins known to interact with the phosphorylated receptor were found to be highly enriched in caveolae membrane. PDGF caused the concentration of three of these proteins to significantly increase in the caveolae fraction. Finally, PDGF stimulated the association of a 190-kDa phosphoprotein with the caveolae marker protein, caveolin. Therefore, ceramide may modulate PDGF receptor function directly in caveolae.
Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to confirm a link between mitochondrial dysfunction and type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: Cellular levels of mitochondrial proteins, cellular mitochondrial DNA content, and mitochondrial function and morphology were assessed by MitoTracker staining and electron microscopy, in white adipose tissue of 12-week-old male wild-type, obese (ob/ob), and diabetic (db/db) mice. Results: Levels of mitochondrial proteins were found to be very similar in the livers and muscles of all the mice studied. However, levels were greatly decreased in the adipocytes of db/db mice, but not in those of the wild-type and ob/ob mice. Levels of mitochondrial DNA were also found to be considerably reduced in the adipocytes of db/db mice. MitoTracker staining and under electron microscopy revealed that the number of mitochondria was reduced in adipocytes of db/db mice. Respiration and fatty acid oxidation studies indicated mitochondrial dysfunction in adipocytes of db/db mice. Interestingly, there was an increase in mitochondria and mitochondrial protein production in adipocytes of db/db mice treated with rosiglitazone, an agent that enhances insulin sensitivity. Conclusions/interpretation: Taken together, these data indicate that mitochondrial loss in adipose tissue is correlated with the development of type 2 diabetes.
The lipid-rafts hypothesis proposes that naturally occurring lipid aggregates exist in the plane of membrane that are involved in signal transduction, protein sorting, and membrane transport. To understand their roles in cell biology, a direct visualization of such domains in living cells is essential. For this purpose, 6-dodecanoyl-2-(dimethylamino)naphthalene (laurdan), a membrane probe that is sensitive to the polarity of the membrane, has often been used. We have synthesized and characterized 6-dodecanoyl-2-[N-methyl-N-(carboxymethyl)amino]naphthalene (C-laurdan), which has the advantages of greater sensitivity to the membrane polarity, a brighter two-photon fluorescence image, and reflecting the cell environment more accurately than laurdan. Lipid rafts can be visualized by two-photon microscopy by using C-laurdan as a probe. Our results show that the lipid rafts cover 38 % of the cell surface.
Senescent human diploid fibroblasts do not respond to growth factors like epidermal growth factor (EGF), although they have a normal level of receptors and downstream signaling molecules. To examine the mechanism of signaling attenuation, we investigated Erk activation after EGF stimulation in senescent cells. Senescent cells did not phosphorylate Erk-1/2 after EGF stimulation, whereas young cells did. In those senescent cells, we found an increased level of caveolin proteins and strong interactions between caveolin-1 and EGF receptor. Electron microscopic analysis demonstrated an increased number of caveolae structures in senescent cells. More interestingly, brain, spleen, and lung from 26-month-old rats showed substantial increases of caveolin proteins. However, in the case of p53-induced senescence, caveolin-1 was not induced, and EGF stimulation phosphorylated Erk-1/2 as much as young control cells. Finally, we overexpressed caveolin-1 in young human diploid fibroblasts in which the activation of Erk-1/2 upon EGF stimulation was significantly suppressed. These results suggest that the unresponsiveness of senescent fibroblasts to EGF stimulation may be due to the overexpression of caveolins, which seems to be independent of growth arrest and other aging phenotypes.Normal human diploid cells show cellular senescence in vitro after a finite number of population doublings (1). Although senescent cells can maintain their metabolic activity, the loss of proliferation capacity may be due to a diminished response to growth factors (2-4). In aged human diploid fibroblasts, the decreased response to growth factors is suggested to be associated with a repression of c-fos expression, a reduced AP-1 DNA binding, and diminished DNA synthesis. Senescent cells in culture or tissues have been reported to have normal numbers of EGF 1 receptors (EGFRs) (5, 6), and the binding capacity of EGF to EGFR is normal (7). However, there is no mitogenactivated protein kinase activation upon EGF stimulation in senescent cells, and the mechanism for the age-related modulation of EGFR in response to the EGF stimulation is not yet fully resolved. Caveolae are vesicular invaginations of the plasma membrane with a diameter of 50 -100 nm (8, 9) and regulate signal transduction, potocytosis, and transcytosis (10, 11). Caveolin, a 21-24-kDa integral membrane protein, is a principal structural component of caveolae membranes in vivo. The stable expression of the caveolin-1 or -3 gene to the mammalian cells without caveolin induced the formation of caveolae structures (12). Caveolin functions as a scaffolding protein within the caveolae membrane and interacts with signaling proteins, namely EGFR, G-proteins, Src-like kinases, Ha-Ras, protein kinase C, endothelial nitric-oxide synthase, integrin and so on (13-18). A short cytosolic N-terminal region of caveolin is involved in the formation of oligomers and mediates the interaction with these signal molecules, which results in the inactivation of signaling (11). The suppression of these signaling m...
Mitsugumin 53 (MG53) negatively regulates skeletal myogenesis by targeting insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1). Here, we show that MG53 is a ubiquitin E3 ligase that induces IRS-1 ubiquitination with the help of an E2-conjugating enzyme UBE2H. Molecular manipulations that disrupt the E3 ligase function of MG53 abolishes IRS-1 ubiquitination and enhances skeletal myogenesis. Skeletal muscles derived from the MG53−/− mice show an elevated IRS-1 level with enhanced insulin signaling, which protects the MG53−/− mice from developing insulin resistance when challenged with a high fat/high sucrose diet. Muscle samples derived from human diabetic patients and mice with insulin resistance show normal expression of MG53, indicating that altered MG53 expression does not serve as a causative factor for the development of metabolic disorders. Thus, therapeutic interventions that target the interaction between MG53 and IRS-1 may be a novel approach for the treatment of metabolic diseases that are associated with insulin resistance.
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