title: Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta by bivalent zinc ions: insight into the insulin-mimetic action of zinc.
abstract: Zinc is an important trace element found in most body tissues as bivalent cations and has essential roles in human health. The insulin-like effect of zinc cations raises the possibility that they inhibit glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta), a serine/threonine protein kinase linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Here we show that physiological concentrations of zinc ions directly inhibit GSK-3beta in vitro in an uncompetitive manner. Treatment of HEK-293 cells with zinc enhanced glycogen synthase activity and increased the intracellular levels of beta-catenin, providing evidence for inhibition of endogenous GSK-3beta by zinc. Moreover, zinc ions enhanced glucose uptake 3-fold in isolated mouse adipocytes, an increase similar to activation with saturated concentrations of insulin. We propose that the in vivo insulin-mimetic actions of zinc are mediated via direct inhibition of endogenous GSK-3beta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Sackler Institute of Molecular Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ilouz
authors.forename: Oksana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kaidanovich
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gurwitz
authors.forename: Hagit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eldar-Finkelman
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D038341:Glycogen Synthase Kinases; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D015032:Zinc / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007328:Insulin; D038341:Glycogen Synthase Kinases; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D005947:Glucose; D015032:Zinc