title: Activation of the PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway and increased levels of insulin receptor in protein repair-deficient mice.
abstract: Protein L-isoaspartate (D-aspartate) O-methyltransferase is an enzyme that catalyses the repair of isoaspartyl damage in proteins. Mice lacking this enzyme (Pcmt1-/- mice) have a progressive increase in brain size compared with wild-type mice (Pcmt1+/+ mice), a phenotype that can be associated with alterations in the PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway. Here we show that components of this pathway, including Akt, GSK3beta and PDK-1, are more highly phosphorylated in the brains of Pcmt1-/- mice, particularly in cells of the hippocampus, in comparison with Pcmt1+/+ mice. Examination of upstream elements of this pathway in the hippocampus revealed that Pcmt1-/- mice have increased activation of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptor and/or insulin receptor. Western blot analysis revealed an approximate 200% increase in insulin receptor protein levels and an approximate 50% increase in IGF-I receptor protein levels in the hippocampus of Pcmt1-/- mice. Higher levels of the insulin receptor protein were also found in other regions of the adult brain and in whole tissue extracts of brain, liver, heart and testes of both juvenile and adult Pcmt1-/- mice. There were no significant differences in plasma insulin levels for adult Pcmt1-/- mice during glucose tolerance tests. However, they did show higher peak levels of blood glucose, suggesting a mild impairment in glucose tolerance. We propose that Pcmt1-/- mice have altered regulation of the insulin pathway, possibly as a compensatory response to altered glucose uptake or metabolism or as an adaptive response to a general accumulation of isoaspartyl protein damage in the brain and other tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, 637 Paul D. Boyer Hall, 611 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1570, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farrar
authors.forename: Carolyn R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Houser
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clarke
mesh_terms: D064413:3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D055504:Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009929:Organ Size; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D026601:Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D054562:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D017526:Receptor, IGF Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D011972:Receptor, Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D064413:3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases; D001786:Blood Glucose; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D007328:Insulin; D055504:Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D026601:Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054562:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D017526:Receptor, IGF Type 1; D011972:Receptor, Insulin; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C526295:Irs1 protein, mouse; C000605507:Gsk3b protein, mouse; C487757:Pten protein, mouse