title: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha is a phosphoprotein: regulation by insulin.
abstract: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily implicated in adipocyte differentiation. The observations that PPAR alpha is a regulator of hepatic lipid metabolism and that the insulin-sensitizing thiazolidinediones are ligands for PPAR gamma suggest that cross-talk might exist between insulin signaling and PPAR activity, possibly through insulin-induced PPAR phosphorylation. Immunoprecipitation of endogenous PPAR alpha from primary rat adipocytes prelabeled with [32P]-orthophosphate and pretreated for 2 h with vanadate and okadaic acid demonstrated for the first time that PPAR alpha is a phosphoprotein in vivo. Treatment with insulin induced a time-dependent increase in PPAR phosphorylation showing a 3-fold increase after 30 min. Insulin also increased the phosphorylation of human PPAR alpha expressed in CV-1 cells. These changes in phosphorylation were paralleled by enhanced transcriptional activity of PPAR alpha and gamma. Transfection studies in CV-1 cells and HepG2 cells revealed a nearly 2-fold increase of PPAR activity in the presence of insulin. In contrast, insulin had no effect on the transcriptional activity of transfected thyroid hormone receptor in CV-1 cells, suggesting a PPAR-specific effect. Thus, insulin stimulates PPAR alpha phosphorylation and enhances the transcriptional activity of PPAR, suggesting that the transcriptional activity of this nuclear hormone receptor might be modulated by insulin-mediated phosphorylation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shalev
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Siegrist-Kaiser
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wahli
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000502:physiology*; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D014157:Transcription Factors